NUD: Tennis Racket Uke

Jerryc41

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After seeing a couple of tennis racket ukes here and online, I thought I'd give it a try. I bought a few rackets on eBay in April and moved slowly toward completion. It it perfect? Of course not, but I'm satisfied, and I did learn a lot along the way, with help from members here.

The body is western cedar, and the additions to the handle and headstock are oak, with a layer of cedar on top of the headstock. I wanted to make the headstock match the shape of the body, but I forgot about the need to place the tuners within a half inch of the edge. That resulted in a sharp angle for the C and E strings. People here suggested using string guides. They arrived from Stew-Mac today, and I attached one. The next time, I'll be more careful placing the tuners.

The strings are Worth Brown with low-G. The sound is nice and mellow. It's loud enough, and it has nice sustain. It isn't really finished yet. I still have adjust the action, clean it up, and center the nut, which I just noticed it is off-center. Looking at the pictures, it seems like the bridge is tilted, but the ruler says it's straight. It's a tenor, by the way.

Total cost was $61.55.

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That's fantastic! It's been fun watching your journey with it and great to see the payoff!
 
A Dunlop Pineapple! I like it :D
 
Love the look of it and especially love the contrast of the woods selected and shallow body profile that preserves its racket-y origin as much as possible.

Bluesy.
 
I love it! It looks great. To be honest I think the "V" shape created by the string guide is really a great design detail. Perfect place to add your logo.

Terrific build. I envy your skill.
 
I love it! It looks great. To be honest I think the "V" shape created by the string guide is really a great design detail. Perfect place to add your logo.

Terrific build. I envy your skill.

Thanks. My "skill" look great in a small picture, but I learned from my mistakes. I was surprised the string guide was so small. The spacing is less than on the nut, and that was made for a guitar.
 
Nice work, Jerry. That looks great!

John Colter
 
Great job Jerry! (By the way, friction pegs or UPTs can be placed away from the edge of the headstock.)
 
After seeing a couple of tennis racket ukes here and online, I thought I'd give it a try. I bought a few rackets on eBay in April and moved slowly toward completion. It it perfect? Of course not, but I'm satisfied, and I did learn a lot along the way, with help from members here.

The body is western cedar, and the additions to the handle and headstock are oak, with a layer of cedar on top of the headstock. I wanted to make the headstock match the shape of the body, but I forgot about the need to place the tuners within a half inch of the edge. That resulted in a sharp angle for the C and E strings. People here suggested using string guides. They arrived from Stew-Mac today, and I attached one. The next time, I'll be more careful placing the tuners.

The strings are Worth Brown with low-G. The sound is nice and mellow. It's loud enough, and it has nice sustain. It isn't really finished yet. I still have adjust the action, clean it up, and center the nut, which I just noticed it is off-center. Looking at the pictures, it seems like the bridge is tilted, but the ruler says it's straight. It's a tenor, by the way.

Total cost was $61.55.

View attachment 130645 View attachment 130646 View attachment 130647

So,your time was worth nothing?


I disagree. This cost, at pre-tip waiting table rates, at least $200 to make. Assuming you only put 15 hours into it.


-Kurt​
 
Fortunately, I didn't keep track of the time I spent on it. I also spent hours thinking about how to solve various problems, so the total would probably be in the hundreds. And then there's the searching for rackets on eBay - probably thousands of hours all together. :D

Of course, if I figured the cost of the time I spent researching and looking for a certain uke to buy, that would add a huge amount to the price. I'm retired, so my time is "worth nothing." :D
 
I remember you posting about the tennis racket uke a few months ago. Is this the same one? or did you make a second?
 
I remember you posting about the tennis racket uke a few months ago. Is this the same one? or did you make a second?

Yes, it is the same one. I have three more tennis rackets, but I don't know if I need three more tennis racket ukes. I'm thinking about a Halloween uke.
 
Very cool. You did a great job. :shaka:
 
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