Quick question

Michael N. · Sep 4, 2011

Hello all. I'm building an instrument that will finish a little larger than a Baritone Uke. I need a ball park figure for Neck thickness (or depth) at around fret 1 - including fretboard. Neck width at the Nut will also be a useful figure for me to have.
Thanks in advance.

BR Ukuleles · Sep 4, 2011

Nut with is sort of a personal thing. Most customers of mine want 36mm on 4 string models. As far as neck depth a the 1st fret it also depends on the style. I prefer a 'C' shape to the neck and have the neck blank at 12mm plus the fret board. If the nut is wider then the neck needs to be a bit thicker to get the same profile.

They all get a 1/8 x 3/8" CF rod down the centre for a stiffener.

BlackBearUkes · Sep 4, 2011

What does "a little bigger than a Baritone uke" mean? I find it odd that you haven't figured all this out before construction began. Just curious.

Michael N. · Sep 4, 2011

Hello Allen.
Thanks for your reply. The instrument is a Renaissance Guitar with 4 double courses, very similar to a Taro patch Uke. The Nut width of 36mm makes sense. I thought 40 mm would be about right, allowing a few mm's more for the doubled strings.
The 12 mm is la little less than I thought. . . but I suppose I should allow for the increased width and the 5 cm' longer (over a Baritone) string length.
I intend to veneer the back of the Neck, so it's not as though I can thin it at a later date.

Michael N. · Sep 4, 2011

Hello BlackbearUkes. Construction is already fairly advanced. I make this stuff up as I go along. Makes it all the more exciting

ksquine · Sep 4, 2011

With 8 strings and a long scale you probably want to reinforce the neck with a truss rod or carbon fiber bar.
Neck thickness at the 1st fret should be around 0.5"-0.6" (without the fretboard on). That would give you enough depth to use a truss rod.
40mm nut width sounds a bit wide.....most taropatch ukes I've seen use 1.5" or 38mm nuts. 40mm wouldn't be too crazy though.

Michael N. · Sep 5, 2011

I doubt it will need a truss rod even though I've used the lightest Cedrela I've ever come across. The strings are like elastic bands, very low tension. The combination pf the fretboard and veneering of the Back of the Neck creates a pretty stiff structure.

BR Ukuleles · Sep 5, 2011

If you are going out to 40mm then I'd perhaps add a mm to the depth of the neck.

As for adding CF truss rods, I use them for a couple of reasons. One is very cheap insurance. The other is that I find that it helps to even out the tone all through the neck vs. an identically built instrument that doesn't have one installed.

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