Some forum members (with an interest in such things!) might recall that I asked a question regarding the advisability of "changing horses in mid-stream", and turning a standard tenor ukulele that I was making into an 8-string instrument. I received a number of replies - thank you, all - and decided to just do it.
The soundboard is of very, very stiff Blackwood, so I don't feel any anxiety about having loaded it up with extra forces. I had left a bit of extra meat on the neck, so when it came time to carve it to shape and size, I had no problems. Because I didn't want to crowd the bridge with bridge-pins, I took a leaf out of Allen's book, and have used a hard bridge-late, and tied the end of each string onto a glass bead of appropriate size (around 4mm diameter, I think).
Other attributes include:
Blackwood bindings;
Satin Box back and sides;
Queensland Rose Mahogany neck;
Ebony fingerboard;
Finished with Rustins Danish Oil;
An (I hope) art deco look to the headstock and bridge. It's hard to elegantly fit 8 machine-heads into what needs to be a reasonably small space;
Snakewood buttons on the tuners (and the spacing is a little tight; might be a bit hard for someone with big fingers)!
The sound is exactly as I wanted and expected; shimmery and full, a bit like a charango, and not at all ukulele-like (unless you already know what an 8-string ukulele sounds like, in which case it sounds exactly like one)!
Frank.