Beginner Starting Uke

[sam]

I'm starting my first uke project, having been inspired by some picking at the Nariel Creek festival last weekend. I would appreciate wisdom re:

-a fret spacing reference for the scale lengths of the common ukelele
sizes? Is Trevor and Gerard's spacing formula applicable to this style of instrument?

- suitability of a quarter sawn (or nearly so), close-grained western red cedar weatherboard
for sound board blank.

-edge gluing mahogany to make width required for sides. Is it possible to glue then bend?
If so, what is the recommended glue?

Many thanks,

Sam

[Tod Gilding]

Hi Sam, Until one of the Uke Guru's comes along to help , you may find the info here helpful http://liveukulele.com/gear/ukulele-sizes/

You possibly need to decide what Uke you want to build ie Soprano, concert etc you can then get the scale length from the site above and then use the Stew Mac calculator for the fret spacings.

Good luck with it

[Allen]

Pick the size of instrument first. I recommend you don't go with soprano first up. It's a very difficult instrument to build well even when you have lots of experience. Go for a concert or tenor first up.

Stew Mac'sfret spacing calculatoris all you will need for the spacing. Common scale lengths are 13.75" for soprano, 15" for concert, 17" for tenor.

Western Red Cedar makes a great soundboard. Be warned that it is very delicate and will mark and ding more easily that you will possibly believe. It will also stain in a way that will leave you really disappointed if you try and use CA (super glue) without sealing the end grain first. And no, if it does stain it won't sand out.

I wouldn't in a million years attempt to glue up veneers to get the required width for sides. That's a recipe for disaster and one that's sure to leave you pretty sour to the whole build process. Do yourself a favour and get some appropriately sized wood. It doesn't have to cost you a lot. For instance, a concert side needs to be approximately 60mm wide and 430mm long. A tenor would be 70mm wide and 480mm long.

If you've never built an instrument before, then don't go with mahogany for back and sides as the first go. It's actually quite difficult to bend compared to other contenders. Some readily available woods that make fantastic ukuleles and are really easy to work with are Tassy Blackwood or New Guinea Rosewood. Both of these woods are great contenders for the neck as well. And if you have Mahogany that is suitably sized for necks, you can go with that too.

As for glues to build with. You can use Titebond original (red cap) or similar PVA glue. We just got a Masters store in Cairns and they carry it cheaper than anywhere I've seen. Or Carbatec will have it as well. If you really want to delve in, I recommend hot hide glue.

And if you want and are able to attend a uke building course the first week of July just before the 2013 uke festival, I will be running one in Cairns where we'll be building a Pineapple tenor out of Blackwood. More info on my website.

Good luck, and don't be shy about asking lots of questions. And we all like pictures too.