Tenor uke plans wanted!

[Ronald_Handmade]

Hey guys, can anyone recommend a good (preferably cheap or free) set of plans for a tenor uke? I've had a look around the interwebs and have found several soprano plans that look good, but not any tenor ones...

[kiwigeo]

Ive just bought a bunch of plans here:

http://www.hanalimastore.com/servlet/th ... Categories

The plans are high quality and the service is great.

[Allen]

The Hanalima Tenor plan is one of the better ones out there. I've got a few others and they are ordinary to down right incorrect as far as dimensions go.

The Hanalima has both 12 and 14 fret to the body dimensions, and while not perfect (you have to know a little bit about instruments and ukes in particular) it's about as good a plan as you're likely to find.

If you want free, then the best bet is to draw one up yourself. Tenor scale length is typically 17" so that is where you start at. Decide on fret to body join. Head stocks are about 125 - 130mm long. Width of lower bout is around 8 to 8.5 inches. Depth of body can be tapered or not. If not the depth is 70 - 75mm. If tapered it' as much as 85mm at the end block down to 65-70mm at the heel.

Fret boards shouldn't be anything more than 4.5mm thick. Closer to 4 and even a bit under is better. You will see lots thicker and it's a sure sign that those were built by people that had only built guitars before.

Bracing is typically 3 fan braces but can be as many as 5. Use a bridge patch. If you have a look as some classical guitar bracing patterns you are going to get an idea of what is required. Just built a lot lighter.

Sound boards will be 1.8 to 2.0 mm thick. Backs are around the 2mm thick. Sides will need to be 1.8 mm thick. Back braces 6mm x perhaps 8mm but I'm making mine 6x6mm now. Same goes for the upper transverse braces on the top.

Decide on the body shape and start sketching. Nothing teaches you more about the instrument you are building than putting pencil to paper.

[liam_fnq]

The hana lima plans are indeed cheap and are probably the best out there. However, I suspect they have been drafted up with the intention that no one contacts the publishers to say that they built to the plan and the uke imploded. That is, the plans (that I have seen) are over built.
Allen has kindly stated most of his dimensions but many successful instruments have been built using many combinations of material dimensions. There are no "right" dimensions. It's all part of a process of refining your own build style. What I'm saying is that as soon as you build to a plan you will want to deviate from it in order to refine your instruments.

I draw my own plans when I build a new size/style of uke. The only definite is the scale length and even that can be + or - half an inch or so.

First thing I do is draw out the scale length. For a tenor this is 17" (+ or -).

Then work out the string spacing at the nut and saddle. This gives the fretboard and therefore neck width dimensions

The headstock can be any size you like just draw it out to make sure the string don't rub on the wrong tuners.

The scale length and string spacing gives the placement of the bridge and bridge patch. Bridge patch should be a smidge bigger than the bridge.

Decide which fret you want the body to join the neck.

Decide how many frets you want on your fretboard, this gives your sound hole placement. the soundhole sits at the end of the fretboard (unless you have a short fretboard).

Decide on a sound hole size.

Place a transverse brace above and below the soundhole.

Add the fan braces. Three regular sized or 5 smaller.

Last of all I look at the actual instrument shape. To do this I take the distance from the neck join to the saddle and add to it the distance from the lower transverse brace to the saddle (I just do this by eye), this puts the bridge in the middle of the sweet spot in the lower bout. This gives me the body length.

Then I find a front on pic of a guitar or uke on the interweb that I like the look of, copy it to Paint. I alter the pic's scale until the body length matches the length I want, then use the monitor as a light box to trace the shape onto a piece of paper.

Most of the elements that make up a plan are now sorted by adding linings, back braces, neck profile etc, etc.

[ProfChris]

First thing I do is draw out the scale length. For a tenor this is 17" (+ or -).

Then work out the string spacing at the nut and saddle. This gives the fretboard and therefore neck width dimensions

The headstock can be any size you like just draw it out to make sure the string don't rub on the wrong tuners.

The scale length and string spacing gives the placement of the bridge and bridge patch. Bridge patch should be a smidge bigger than the bridge.

Decide which fret you want the body to join the neck.

Decide how many frets you want on your fretboard, this gives your sound hole placement. the soundhole sits at the end of the fretboard (unless you have a short fretboard).

Decide on a sound hole size.

Place a transverse brace above and below the soundhole.

Add the fan braces. Three regular sized or 5 smaller.

Last of all I look at the actual instrument shape. To do this I take the distance from the neck join to the saddle and add to it the distance from the lower transverse brace to the saddle (I just do this by eye), this puts the bridge in the middle of the sweet spot in the lower bout. This gives me the body length.

Then I find a front on pic of a guitar or uke on the interweb that I like the look of, copy it to Paint. I alter the pic's scale until the body length matches the length I want, then use the monitor as a light box to trace the shape onto a piece of paper.

Most of the elements that make up a plan are now sorted by adding linings, back braces, neck profile etc, etc.

That's how I've built my sopranos, but with rather less measuring and more "close enough" mutterings.

Just finished this one, based (very loosely) on an 1890s Dias uke. Note the asymmetries - these are not in the original, but down to my ham-handed building. Even so it sounds nice and plays well. I don't think there are any plans for this kind of shape, but it really isn't difficult to design for yourself.

Dias 18-5-11 001 front (small).JPG (167.66 KiB) Viewed 12620 times

Dias 18-5-11 003 back (small).JPG (161.92 KiB) Viewed 12621 times

The other thing I like about ukes is that you can recycle old wood. For this one, top = dead grand piano, body = discarded shelf,neck= wardrobe.

[pavliku]

Hi guys.
I am currently in the process of drawing up plans for two ukes - a concert and a tenor - can anyone give an average string spacing at the nut and saddle for both scale lengths.
Thanks, Paul.

[Allen]

As the strings are the same size or so close it's not worth considering, you use the same width for both models. They are Just a different length.

I'm using a 36mm wide nut on both sizes 3mm in from each edge and your left with 10mm between strings. And either 42 or 45mm spacing at the saddle. That will give you either 14 or 15mm spacing at the south end.

I was using 34mm at the nut, but had some comments that it was just a bit too tight for some people.

[pavliku]

Thanks Allen.

[ernie]

Got my tenor sop/conc uke plans from GAL guild of american losers