OLF Challenge Ukulele

[TonyinNYC]

FYI: I know the sides are not perfectly bent to the mold but since this is a gift for someone who does not know how to play the ukulele yet, I don't think they will mind. I certainly don't.
I cut a neck and tail block tonight and the glue is drying on the neck block right now.







Might get the tail block in tonight too....if I stay up late enough.

[Kevin in California]

Looks like a fun project Tony.
What did I miss? How soon do you have to have it done?

Kevin

[ken cierp]

Your photo brings up a point regarding mold design you may consider next time you make a form -- factory and large scale shops with toggle clamp joiners (most do not use that method) have the split off-set from the center line -- one end right the other end left. That way there are no obstructions when trying to clamp the neck and end blocks to the rim.

[TonyinNYC]

Kevin,
I think I need to be done by the end of November.
Ken,
This mold came from a vendor of questionable mental capacity. However, with such a small mold, I don't think there was much room to move the toggle. I hope I have not glued the block to the mold however, because I forgot to put any barrier to prevent such a catastrophe.

My plans for now include a simple rosette and a simple binding scheme with perhaps one purfling line if any. I am not going to get to work on this again until next week. Too much going on at home. Guests coming for the weekend, yard work, etc. You know how it goes. But I want to stay well ahead of the deadline. I did not like feeling rushed on the last two guitars I built.

[TonyinNYC]

Got my blocks glued in so I flattened the top and back edges of the rim:



Then I took the remainder of the guitar side I had cut in half to make the uke sides and its bookmatched piece and jointed and glued them together.




That is where I ended tonight. The back plate is going to be the orphaned back from the koa sets I sold a few months back. That means I will have a one piece back. Not sure if that is good or bad, but that is what it will be.

[TonyinNYC]

I made some progress on the uke last night. I have no idea what I am doing so some or all of this may be wrong as far as construction procedures are concerned, but I am building it like it was a guitar.

I installed the linings on one edge. These are traditional linings and probably a bit big for a uke, but they were here and I needed linings so in they went.


While the glue was drying, I thicknessed the soundboard and cut it out. I went with .070". I have no idea if that is thin enough or not. I may go thinner.





Tony

[Dave Bagwill]

You're punching that out in good style, Tony.