Soprano uke - build #1

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Fisherman
Blackwood
Posts: 197
Joined: Tue Dec 31, 2013 7:10 pm
Location: Brisbane

Soprano uke - build #1

Post by Fisherman » Sun Dec 20, 2015 11:15 pm

Build #1 strung up just now. Engelmann spruce/tasmanian blackwood. Neck is spanish cedar, fingerboard also tassie blackwood. Bridge is tiger myrtle. Finish is just a single coat of superglue for now - planning to add another coat or two and then french polish. I was more excited to hear what it sounded like than to polish it up ;)

Made a little video using an iPhone... bearing in mind it'd only been strung up 10 minutes, I reckon it sounds ok!

https://youtu.be/u4_xMUCI5VU

Built mostly with hand tools, with no previous experience so lots of learning on the way - now at least a bit more familiar with the tools and working wood. Favourite tools both from stewmac: Japanese fretsaw and guitar brace chisel - a lot of this build achieved with those two ! Quite enjoyed using the bending iron too, although taking it slow I probably took three times as long as it should.

Quite a few mistakes along the way and some big flaws remain - I know where to be more careful next time round. My aim was to not build a clunker, and it's pretty thin, maybe too thin in some places (about 1.4mm in the lower bout). Body resonance is around E and it's a loud uke. Intonation is pretty good, which was a relief because measuring and sawing the fret slots was one of the less enjoyable bits. Overall, loved the process and can't wait to get going on #2.

Planning on a spruce/cypress classical guitar next.

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