Soprano Ukulele Jig 1900's style

[timbuck]

Just a bit of fun...Making an Island style ukulele in the old way.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vqRbjMqlWFs

[Allen]

I liked that Ken.

Did you manage to get a tight butt join at the tail block?

[timbuck]

I liked that Ken.

Did you manage to get a tight butt join at the tail block?

The Nunes ukes had a feathered lap joint held together with staples....The staples were removed after the glue had set and the damage covered over with a strip of veneer. ...The Mossman ukulele had a contrasting strip of wood inserted at the butt...I could have gone for the tight butt join....But the Mossman method was easier and it was a Mossman that I got all the measuments off...so thats what I went for I'm building a batch of 5 of these and learning the method as I go...The one in the video is number 4 this one will be Brazilian Mahogany with a Beech neck...
I'd like to make one 100% Koa like the original. ..But! Koa is very difficult to obtain at the right price in the UK, specially for neck wood.

[Allen]

When I was watching your video, I was thinking that getting a really tight butt join would be difficult with that method. Your description makes sense for the way they would have been doing it.

You could always do one in Australian Blackwood. Unless you know what you bought and store it separately, it can be pretty difficult to tell the difference in quite a few sets that I have. And Blackwood is a heck of a lot easier and less expensive to come by.