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My brother's never made a musical instrument before, so he tried his hand at this 6-string ukulele. He's making the next one for me! Yippee!
If you luthiers out there have some constructive comments for him before he starts his second ukulele (which I want to be a 4-string)...
Here's his commentary:
If you luthiers out there have some constructive comments for him before he starts his second ukulele (which I want to be a 4-string)...
Here's his commentary:
Here's the uke. It's not completely finished. I'm giving it a few days for the finish to harden more and then I'll level it out and put another coat on. I'll have to take the strings and tuners back off, but I just couldn't wait to hear what it sounded like. Loud and full with lots of sustain, and great intonation up and down the fretboard (which means I got the math and measurements right for the fret and bridge placement.) I'm relieved--If it didn't sound good I was just going to hang it on the wall for decoration.
I'll take some good pictures once it's all finished and maybe a sound sample. I made everything from scratch. The top came from some redwood planks I salvaged from a remodel job. The quilted maple back came from a tree I found washed up on a beach in Puget Sound in Tacoma. The curly maple sides came from a board from a pallet that was laying around the jobsite. The curly maple neck came from some tree I salvaged while building sport courts in Seattle. The koa fretboard and accents came from some boards given to me by a 90 year old man in our stake who lived in Kealakekua back in the '60s and has been carting them around since then. I think he's on his last legs and could no longer do any woodworking. The abalone shell accents I cut out and ground from some shells I bought on ebay years ago.
The hardest, or most intimidating parts are: Bending the sides into the proper curves, laying out and cutting the fret slots, and attaching the neck to the body accurately.
I'll take some good pictures once it's all finished and maybe a sound sample. I made everything from scratch. The top came from some redwood planks I salvaged from a remodel job. The quilted maple back came from a tree I found washed up on a beach in Puget Sound in Tacoma. The curly maple sides came from a board from a pallet that was laying around the jobsite. The curly maple neck came from some tree I salvaged while building sport courts in Seattle. The koa fretboard and accents came from some boards given to me by a 90 year old man in our stake who lived in Kealakekua back in the '60s and has been carting them around since then. I think he's on his last legs and could no longer do any woodworking. The abalone shell accents I cut out and ground from some shells I bought on ebay years ago.
The hardest, or most intimidating parts are: Bending the sides into the proper curves, laying out and cutting the fret slots, and attaching the neck to the body accurately.
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