First Build- Bunya and silky concert uke

A place where you can let us see your finished instruments in all their glory.

Moderators: kiwigeo, Jeremy D

Post Reply
Jim
Blackwood
Posts: 120
Joined: Thu Feb 04, 2016 3:48 pm

First Build- Bunya and silky concert uke

Post by Jim » Mon Jun 13, 2016 10:22 pm

Hi Everybody,

New to the forum. It's with some trepidation I'm posting some photos of my first build. Concert ukulele:
Bunya Top
Bunya Braces
Silky oak back, sides and headplate
Acacia (not sure exactly what type, came from Dad's place down the sth coast of NSW) neck
She-oak fretboard, bridge and binding (ditto Dad's place, old fallen tree)
Finished in tung oil and wax

I'd loved the process, made tonnes of mistakes, learned a great deal. The uke plays really nicely and sounds good.
I can see all the mistakes when I look at it though and consequently really motivated to build a better one.
So it starts I guess.....
Image
Image
Image
Image

Jim

User avatar
kiwigeo
Admin
Posts: 10582
Joined: Sat Sep 29, 2007 5:57 pm
Location: Adelaide, Sth Australia

Re: First Build- Bunya and silky concert uke

Post by kiwigeo » Mon Jun 13, 2016 10:28 pm

Welcome to the forum Jim.

Your pics dont appear to have uploaded. Try again and let me know if you have further problems.

Cheers Martin (Mod)
Jim wrote:Hi Everybody,

New to the forum. It's with some trepidation I'm posting some photos of my first build. Concert ukulele:
Bunya Top
Bunya Braces
Silky oak back, sides and headplate
Acacia (not sure exactly what type, came from Dad's place down the sth coast of NSW) neck
She-oak fretboard, bridge and binding (ditto Dad's place, old fallen tree)
Finished in tung oil and wax

I'd loved the process, made tonnes of mistakes, learned a great deal. The uke plays really nicely and sounds good.
I can see all the mistakes when I look at it though and consequently really motivated to build a better one.
So it starts I guess.....
Image
Image
Image
Image

Jim
Martin

User avatar
kiwigeo
Admin
Posts: 10582
Joined: Sat Sep 29, 2007 5:57 pm
Location: Adelaide, Sth Australia

Re: First Build- Bunya and silky concert uke

Post by kiwigeo » Mon Jun 13, 2016 10:38 pm

Jim you appear to have posted up links to photo bucket to the forum using the image upload. Try uploading the jpeg files directly to the forum.
Martin

Jim
Blackwood
Posts: 120
Joined: Thu Feb 04, 2016 3:48 pm

Re: First Build- Bunya and silky concert uke

Post by Jim » Tue Jun 14, 2016 8:31 am

Sorry Martin,
Forgive my ignorance, can you tell me the easiest way to do this? Thanks for your help and welcome.

Jim

Jim
Blackwood
Posts: 120
Joined: Thu Feb 04, 2016 3:48 pm

Re: First Build- Bunya and silky concert uke

Post by Jim » Tue Jun 14, 2016 8:36 am

Think I figured it out, sorry for the delays
Attachments
Concert front jpeg.jpg
Concert back jpeg.jpg
Concert side jpeg.jpg
Concert fretboard.jpg

routout
Blackwood
Posts: 289
Joined: Mon Jun 15, 2015 7:34 am

Re: First Build- Bunya and silky concert uke

Post by routout » Tue Jun 14, 2016 7:32 pm

Very nice Indeed wood choices look the part that's for sure great work ,john. :D
John ,of way too many things to do.

seeaxe
Blackwood
Posts: 768
Joined: Thu Dec 18, 2008 7:20 pm
Location: Auckland NZ

Re: First Build- Bunya and silky concert uke

Post by seeaxe » Tue Jun 14, 2016 8:22 pm

Good effort.
Nice job on getting the bindings so neat. The Aussie woods look good together.

Well done for finishing it.
Cheers
R
Richard

Jim
Blackwood
Posts: 120
Joined: Thu Feb 04, 2016 3:48 pm

Re: First Build- Bunya and silky concert uke

Post by Jim » Tue Jun 14, 2016 8:45 pm

Thanks for the complements. Lots of room for improvement though I'm afraid. Found the binding really hard to do, something I'm hoping to get better at.

User avatar
kiwigeo
Admin
Posts: 10582
Joined: Sat Sep 29, 2007 5:57 pm
Location: Adelaide, Sth Australia

Re: First Build- Bunya and silky concert uke

Post by kiwigeo » Wed Jun 15, 2016 2:12 pm

Jim wrote:Thanks for the complements. Lots of room for improvement though I'm afraid. Found the binding really hard to do, something I'm hoping to get better at.
It's your first build Jim....but as you say yourself, the more builds you do the better you get at it. Im on No 16 but still on a steep learning curve :)
Martin

routout
Blackwood
Posts: 289
Joined: Mon Jun 15, 2015 7:34 am

Re: First Build- Bunya and silky concert uke

Post by routout » Wed Jun 15, 2016 5:19 pm

Time is the trick the binding thing was it routing or bending ,I'v used an old soldering Iron for tight corners the back part near the handle it's cooler plenty of wetting down and I slide it back and forth I use maple a lot it's a breeze .
John ,of way too many things to do.

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

Re: First Build- Bunya and silky concert uke

Post by Allen » Wed Jun 15, 2016 6:29 pm

A very good first effort Jim.

I'd say that you have picked some of the more difficult timbers to work with, so take heart that most everyone would struggle the first time around using them.

I just machined up a bunch of sheoak for bindings and they all crumbled on me as I was carrying them to the work bench. So off to the wood racks to pick out a different piece to try. Hopefully these ones will work when I go to bend them.

The thing that will make you a better builder is to be critical of your work, and strive to make even just one thing better the next time around......and just get stuck in and build. Far too many people are afraid of making a mistake and never produce anything. You're already in the small group of people who can say they've built an instrument from scratch.

Well done mate.
Allen R. McFarlen
https://www.brguitars.com
Facebook
Cairns, Australia

Jim
Blackwood
Posts: 120
Joined: Thu Feb 04, 2016 3:48 pm

Re: First Build- Bunya and silky concert uke

Post by Jim » Wed Jun 15, 2016 7:57 pm

Thanks for all the encouragement everybody. I must say it's addictive. I've got the next couple on the go already with some new and improved jigs and ideas to do things better.

User avatar
Mark McLean
Blackwood
Posts: 1084
Joined: Thu Apr 10, 2008 2:03 pm
Location: Sydney

Re: First Build- Bunya and silky concert uke

Post by Mark McLean » Thu Jun 16, 2016 5:56 am

Nice work Jim.
Your reference to "new and improved jigs" made me smile. Now you are sounding like a real luthier. It is all about the home-made jigs!
Cheers
Mark

User avatar
StratoA
Wandoo
Posts: 15
Joined: Thu May 19, 2016 4:50 pm
Location: Lake Macquarie NSW
Contact:

Re: First Build- Bunya and silky concert uke

Post by StratoA » Sun Jun 19, 2016 9:40 pm

Well done Jim. Keep going, It becomes even more fun the more you make and the more you challenge yourself.
I started 35 years ago and still love it.

Jim
Blackwood
Posts: 120
Joined: Thu Feb 04, 2016 3:48 pm

Re: First Build- Bunya and silky concert uke

Post by Jim » Mon Jun 20, 2016 8:33 am

Thanks everybody for the encouragement. Think I'm hooked now, I'm finding myself daydreaming about better ways to do things. Just built myself a fox bender and the next lot of builds are under way. Going to try tenor and soprano ukes this time.
Must say I'm inspired (awed...) by the quality of work you guys are doing..... something to shoot for...
Attachments
IMG_1623.JPG

Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 43 guests