Building in the Style of Chris Knutsen

Tukanu

Handmade 2B Hand Played
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I am drawn to single bout ukes like pineapples and teardrops and when I came across some photos of a Chris Knutsen ukulele on Carter Vintage Guitars, I was blown away. The styling is way ahead of its time and is as much art as it is craft. What attracted me the most was the multiple changes in the curves of the sides. It is not a smooth arc like most teardrops, but flows from sharp to gentle curves as it makes its way from neck to tail. Brilliant. It has a relatively short neck that joins the body at the 10th fret making it more of a strummer. The asymmetrical headstock is not like anything you would find in a ukulele at the turn of the last century.
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So I decided to build one in his style, not a reproduction, more of a homage to an innovative builder.
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First, a little background: Chris emigrated from Norway in the late 1800’s and settled for a time in the area of Minnesota and the Dakotas, before moving on to California and starting his instrument building career. I feel a sort of a loose connection to him since my grandfather followed the same path at about the time. Who knows, maybe they knew each other!
 
The first step in building a uke in Chris’s style was to study the available photos, and ultimately blowing one up to life size.
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The next step was to make a mold for the sides and preserve that iconic curving of the sides.
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I decided to use crotch walnut for the body, and some straight grain walnut for the neck.
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The grain of crotch walnut wanders all over the place, and you never know if it will take a bend without splitting. Fortunately the sides bent without a problem. The next step was to glue in the glue linings. These help hold the shape of the sides as well as securing the top and back.
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The next step was the rosette for the sound hole. It is a modified rope, and quite common in older instruments. I couldn’t find a ready-made one so built my own with small pieces of walnut and maple glued up in a circular pattern, and cut out with a router.
 

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Next was the neck. It is pretty straight forward process. I did not want any glue joints so I made it out of a single piece of walnut.
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A mockup to get an idea of the final shape:
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Interesting thread and build. Thanks for sharing your vision. I can’t wait to see this one finished. Excellent work!
 
With the rosette in place, the top was thinned. Thanks to a suggestion by sequoia, the top was thinned to .07.
Here is another mockup with the rosette in place, fretboard shaped, and the top roughed out to shape:
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The neck joint is called Spanish heel. The neck extend into the body rather than being attached with a bolt or dovetail. There is a theory that this transfers more string energy directly to the body. In this photo the sides are glued to the neck, and eventually the top and back will also be glued directly to the neck.
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And yes....another mock-up:
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Wow. It is looking beautiful. I love that rosette!
 
Braces glued in place with Go-Bars.
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Braces shaped:
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Last look before the box gets closed:
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I decided on maple for the edge binding to accentuate the curve of the sides:
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I'm liking it! :cheers:
 
One last look inside the box.
The back has an 8 foot radius...nice and round.
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I can't wait to see and hear the final result!
 
Construction is complete with the fret board glued down. it is kept in line with two small brads imbedded in the neck. The rubber bands apply even pressure all along the neck, and the steel bar keeps the fret board flat while the glue dries. Note the vintage mandolin tuners. They match the original Knutsen exactly. On to the final sanding and Tru-Oil finish.
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I like the bridge design. Looks like a smile... It does look a little too far forward to my eye but I'm guessing it was just placed there for the photo and has not yet been glued down in its proper position for that scale length.
 
I like the bridge design. Looks like a smile... It does look a little too far forward to my eye but I'm guessing it was just placed there for the photo and has not yet been glued down in its proper position for that scale length.

Right, it hasn't been glued down yet. An unusual bridge for sure. Doesn't seem to serve any purpose other than esthetic.
 
First coat of TruOil. One of the things I love about walnut is the way it turns from gray to rich chocolate when the finish is applied.
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That is going to be a knockout
 
Awesome, just awesome. Gotta love walnut... One thing I would do though is knock down that sharp edge on the binding and round it out nicely. Easy to do by hand.
 
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