OLF Challenge Ukulele

[TonyinNYC]

In case some of you are not aware, or do not frequent the OLF, the Official Luthiers Forum, they are having a build challenge. Actually, it is the second one this year. There is a sponsor, this time around it is a member who makes his own knives, chisels, bladed thingies etc. He has offered to make a Damascus steel brace carving chisel for the winner. There is a budget of course, $150 and the members will vote for the winner. I thought it would be nice for everyone to follow along, so I have decided to post the build here as well. Since I have amassed a large pile of scraps, I am going to make a ukulele out of them. I am going to use some of the koa I bought a while back. Here are my materials:


Cost so far:
Koa billet=$70. Divided by the 21 slices it yielded comes to $3.33 per slice, times the three slices I intend to use, is $9.99
Free neck blank = $0.00
scrap for bracing = $0.00
I should be able to get the neck and tail blocks out of the neck blank, so $0.00
Free cherry from a former friend for fret board = $0.00
Fret wire: I bought a pound from Stew Mac so lets just use their price for the same wire by the foot, Part #0152 $3.47
Binding, purfling, rosette, to be decided, but I do have a wenge practice side I got for free from a member of another forum that would probably work for all of that except the rosette which will be decided later on.
Finish will be a brushed lacquer. Probably a pint of the Deft I have around already, so 8 pints in a gallon, $60 for the gallon, and I get $7.50 for finishing.
My total so far is : $20.96

Thanks for looking.

Tony

[John Parchem]

I will be rooting for you.

[Dave Bagwill]

I could be routing for you, but I'll root instead :-)

[John Parchem]

I never am sure if it is rout or root for this use. Oh course I could look it up:)

[Dave Bagwill]

You were right to root!! I could not lay off the word play though, so I took another route.

[TonyinNYC]

Thanks guys! I promised my cousin a ukulele over a year ago, but I slacked on the job after I had the sides bent for me by a certain vendor who shall remain nameless and they returned to me cracked and sanded as thin as paper in one spot.
Since I have some spare koa sides, I can turn them into a nice little concert uke!

[TonyinNYC]

The competition started at midnight tonight. I started bending sides at 12:15AM.
Got my sides bent. I didn't want to make a bending form and I had this mold from a while back, so I got my bending blanking and used the mold as my form. Worked well enough. Here are the pics:


One down, one to go!


Done!!


Next up, finding or making some linings and blocks. But for now, it is off to bed.

Tony