Small Community Uke Building Project

[vandenboom]

I moved to East Arnhem to teach a few months ago, & plan to stay for a couple of years. We live within an indigenous community, called Yirrkala.
The locals love their music, including Uke's, but very few of them actually have their own uke.
So I am planning to start a Sat morning Uke building class.
As I haven't made a uke myself yet, I'll do the first project on a small scale with 2 or 3 students and make my first with them. I'll make jigs etc in that first pass.

I don't just want to use the "bolt-together" type kits. I want the students to see the instrument grow from basic wood. If further projects follow on from this, it may encourage the use of local timber. More creative people than myself may also find a tasteful to include some aboriginal art on the finished piece as well.

I want to make minimal use of machinery, not just for OHS reasons, but it may make it more accessible if any want to continue to do it on their own. Hopefully I can limit it to thickness sander, sanding attachments on the drill press, and router for saddle slot and neck joint mortice. I will precut timber myself so they don't use band saws themselves.
I think we will bend sides on a hot pipe, and learn to use coping saw, small pull saw and chisels. As usual, jigs will help achieve some accuracy to compensate for inexperience. Whittle's wax/oil is a nice, easy safe finishing product, so that will be the go there.

I have read some of the earlier threads relating to Uke's and see that the Hana Lima Store is a good place to start for parts and plans, though the Grover tuners from Stewmac look like a good alternative. A couple of questions:
- I just want to choose one type of Uke to begin with - which would you recommend? I read in one of threads that Soprano's are a bit more challenging than the others. So perhaps Concert Fan Braced?
- Initially, I thought I would buy 4 x "Parts Package" kits from Hana Lima at $60 each. They don't include tuners so I'll get the Grovers from Stewmac. They also don't include top, back and sides but I have lots of Gippsland Blackwood in Melb so will prep some that when I go home in June. Would you recommend an alternative approach for getting started?
- To keep costs down in follow on projects, I'll source/cut all the timber components myself and buy the non-timber bits (tuners, fretwire, strings, MOP dots, saddle/nut) from one source - probably Stewmac if I am going to get their tuners every time. Hana Lime don't seem to offer volume discounts. Any other suggestions here?

Frank

[kiwigeo]

Frank,

See what Tim Spittle at Australian Tonewoods can do for you. I think Allen used some of Tims wood for his classes.

Cheers Martin

[Puff]

Such a venture would surely qualify for backing and cooperation by departments of education, indigenous people etc - sorry don't know the actual names - and that could cut your costs considerably. Sponsorship and Patronage widens the "ownership" marvelously. Bonaventure.

[kiwigeo]

Frank will be achieving in a few days what governments have failed to achieve in years.

[Puff]

Yep and with didgereedos for a baseline -walking or otherwise- a bit of steel drum stuff in there, there could be some great hoedowns too

[DarwinStrings]

Yole manymak Frank. Dump that router, nothing wrong with a backsaw for a saddle slot and the drill press and a chisel for a mortise. Hope it goes well.

Jim

[liam_fnq]

Ten thumbs up from me Frank. I spent a few years working in indigenous communities and I can see this being a great way to show the community that you want to contribute to making the community a better place though up-skilling. it's the sort of selfless stuff that shows the community that you're not just about doing time, collecting the cash and buggering off (happens pretty often).

might I suggest a non-fan braced concert model. I haven't built one but I believe Allen may have. Just a bridge patch and a slightly thicker top to keep things simple. If you've got a bandsaw I'd be more than happy to purchase some NGR from the local joinery supplies that you can cut up for sets and post it to you. NGR is suitable for necks, tops back and sides. As for bridges/fretboards Allied has el cheapo EIR guitar fretboards for $3 each that yield (i think) two concert fretboards and a bunch of bridges. Those $14 stewmac tuners can't be faulted.

Good luck and let me know if I can help.

[Bob Connor]

Great work Frank.

Send me through your address up there and I'll chuck together some Blackwood for you for backs and sides.

This really sounds like a worthwhile project so If anyone else has a bit of spare tonewood in their stashes and feel like donating I'm sure Frank and the folks who end up doing his course will appreciate it.

Regards

[vandenboom]

Such a venture would surely qualify for backing and cooperation by departments of education, indigenous people etc - sorry don't know the actual names - and that could cut your costs considerably. Sponsorship and Patronage widens the "ownership" marvelously. Bonaventure.

Absolutely right. Initially, I will just ask the school for a room to work in and two apprentices for the first project. I am pretty confident about getting some funding once I demonstrate some initial results.

[vandenboom]

Yole manymak Frank. Dump that router, nothing wrong with a backsaw for a saddle slot and the drill press and a chisel for a mortise. Hope it goes well.

Jim

Ok Jim - will have to give that a go.....

[vandenboom]

might I suggest a non-fan braced concert model. I haven't built one but I believe Allen may have. Just a bridge patch and a slightly thicker top to keep things simple. If you've got a bandsaw I'd be more than happy to purchase some NGR from the local joinery supplies that you can cut up for sets and post it to you. NGR is suitable for necks, tops back and sides. As for bridges/fretboards Allied has el cheapo EIR guitar fretboards for $3 each that yield (i think) two concert fretboards and a bunch of bridges.

Liam, Thank you for your generous offer re timber. I will put that on hold till we get through stage 1 using Hana Lima kits. Valuable suggestion on the Allied fretboards. I will probably use the fan bracing for the first project as I will follow the Hana Lima plans closely and consider your more straight forward approach once I have had a go at it.
Frank

[vandenboom]

Send me through your address up there and I'll chuck together some Blackwood for you for backs and sides.

This really sounds like a worthwhile project so If anyone else has a bit of spare tonewood in their stashes and feel like donating I'm sure Frank and the folks who end up doing his course will appreciate it.

Bob, thank you too for your generous offer. I will be in Melb for the mid year break in June/July for a few weeks. I will PM you to see if I can pop down for a visit.
Thanks again. Frank.

[Lillian]

Frank, how are you set for hand tools? If you aren't able to get the patronage/backing, maybe a bit of a group effort scrounging through yard sales and second hand stores could get you want you need for the apprentices. Getting the tools cleaned up and ready for use would give them sharpening skills and knowledge of how the tool works.

You ought to talk with Allen and see how he runs his course, what he is using for tools and wood. Maybe he can give you some insight to what's around the bend for you.

[ProfChris]

If you built pineapple shapes you could do sopranos - and thus use smaller pieces of wood, easier to find and a little cheaper.

Plus bending pineapple shapes on a pipe is the easiest introduction to pipe bending.

[vandenboom]

If you built pineapple shapes you could do sopranos - and thus use smaller pieces of wood, easier to find and a little cheaper.

Plus bending pineapple shapes on a pipe is the easiest introduction to pipe bending.

Excellent suggestion, never considered that....thanks. Frank.

[Allen]

I'm at Micheals (Localele) right now and we are prepping kits for the Cairns Uke Festival. Got 22 necks done in one day and all the other timber ready to run through the saws this morning. We're just taking it easy though.

My suggestion for a simple instrument is the Pinapple shape using a Spanish Heel. Only a bridge patch and one transverse brace on the top. 2 Braces on the back. They are small enough that its easy to find one piece top and backs so it takes that plate joining step out of the equation, and the building board will be much easier to assemble. You don't need waist cauls. Makes for a very easy instrument to build with little opportunity for things to go wrong.