Uke heel block size

Talk about musical instrument construction, setup and repair.

Moderators: kiwigeo, Jeremy D

Post Reply
User avatar
colburge
Blackwood
Posts: 344
Joined: Fri Mar 02, 2012 11:14 am
Location: Upper Caboolture

Uke heel block size

Post by colburge » Fri Jun 28, 2013 8:35 am

Hi all

I'm currently building a tenor uke and don't have any plans to work from, so need a bit of help. The body shape / bracing and scale length was easy enough to work out (with help), but I am unsure of the heel/head block size and design. In particular, how much wood do I leave on the body side of the kerf cuts? I was thinking about leaving 25mm - 30mm and scalloping out the centre to lighten it up, just guessing though.

Any suggestions

Cheers

Col

User avatar
colburge
Blackwood
Posts: 344
Joined: Fri Mar 02, 2012 11:14 am
Location: Upper Caboolture

Re: Uke heel block size

Post by colburge » Fri Jun 28, 2013 4:01 pm

colburge wrote:Hi all

I'm currently building a tenor uke and don't have any plans to work from, so need a bit of help. The body shape / bracing and scale length was easy enough to work out (with help), but I am unsure of the heel/head block size and design. In particular, how much wood do I leave on the body side of the kerf cuts? I was thinking about leaving 25mm - 30mm and scalloping out the centre to lighten it up, just guessing though.

Any suggestions

Cheers

Col
I should of mentioned I am using the spanish heel method, otherwise the reference to the kerf cuts may not have made sense.

Col

ProfChris
Myrtle
Posts: 57
Joined: Thu Nov 04, 2010 5:13 am

Re: Uke heel block size

Post by ProfChris » Fri Jun 28, 2013 6:52 pm

Anything above 20mm should work OK - even on a tenor there's not a huge amount of string tension. 25mm sounds like a happy medium.
Chris Reed

User avatar
colburge
Blackwood
Posts: 344
Joined: Fri Mar 02, 2012 11:14 am
Location: Upper Caboolture

Re: Uke heel block size

Post by colburge » Fri Jun 28, 2013 7:08 pm

ProfChris wrote:Anything above 20mm should work OK - even on a tenor there's not a huge amount of string tension. 25mm sounds like a happy medium.
Thanks Chris, I will run with that.

Col

User avatar
Allen
Blackwood
Posts: 5252
Joined: Thu Oct 11, 2007 5:39 pm
Location: Cairns, Australia
Contact:

Re: Uke heel block size

Post by Allen » Sat Jun 29, 2013 5:35 am

I use 20mm inside the body
Allen R. McFarlen
https://www.brguitars.com
Facebook
Cairns, Australia

User avatar
colburge
Blackwood
Posts: 344
Joined: Fri Mar 02, 2012 11:14 am
Location: Upper Caboolture

Re: Uke heel block size

Post by colburge » Sat Jun 29, 2013 8:15 am

Allen wrote:I use 20mm inside the body
Thanks Allen

Col

liam_fnq
Blackwood
Posts: 596
Joined: Tue Jun 02, 2009 4:54 pm

Re: Uke heel block size

Post by liam_fnq » Sat Jun 29, 2013 4:07 pm

colburge wrote:
Allen wrote:I use 20mm inside the body
Thanks Allen

Col
I wouldn't scollop it though.

User avatar
colburge
Blackwood
Posts: 344
Joined: Fri Mar 02, 2012 11:14 am
Location: Upper Caboolture

Re: Uke heel block size

Post by colburge » Sat Jun 29, 2013 4:49 pm

liam_fnq wrote:
colburge wrote:
Allen wrote:I use 20mm inside the body
Thanks Allen

Col
I wouldn't scollop it though.
Thanks Liam, I made it around the 20mm mark, and after seeing it, I wont be scalloping it, it would be a bit light on.

Cheers

Col

Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 275 guests