I’ve got the kerfed linings in.
The sides ring nicely when tapped 🙂
Continue readingDIY Sopranino Ukulele Part 8 – back and front rough cut
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Category Archives: Ukulele
DIY Sopranino Ukulele Part 7 – Getting ready for back
More general prep on the sides. I’ve got the sides planed down to thr right height.
DIY Sopranino Ukulele Part 6 – Gluing sides
The neck and tail blocks were inset into the mold so I could glue the sides together around the mold. I held the blocks in place with dollups of hot-melt glue on the surface – hopefully this will come off ok. We’ll see.
Continue readingDIY Sopranino Ukulele Part 5 – Neck block
Got the neck block shaped today. This was interesting to make as it has different shapes at top and bottom – both need to meet the sides in a complex curve.
I marked out the shapes on top and bottom, then connected the ends of the lines.
DIY Sopranino Ukulele Part 4 – Body again
I’ve made a mold for the body from scrap plywood. It is slightly more complex than usual because the body sides are twisted near the neck – the top and bottom are different shapes. Hopefully the sides will blend into the neck.
DIY Sopranino Ukulele Part 4 – Neck taking shape
DIY Sopranino Ukulele Part 3 – Neck
I’ve made another front or back – will decide where to use the panels later. This one is a bit thinner – about 2mm – so maybe it would be a good front with the thicker panel for the back where the instrument is damped by the player’s body.
DIY Sopranino Ukulele Part 2 – Sides
Thanks to Khai Nguyen on YouTube for the suggestion of using hair curling tongs for bending the sides.
I cut two more strips on the bandsaw and thinned them down. They were slightly too narrow to use for the bottom of the uke so I used them for the sides. Thinning the sides takes a while but gets there in the end. I’m aiming for 2mm thick.
Continue readingDIY Sopranino Ukulele Part 1
Ok – there are lots of things I’m supposed to be doing but here’s another project just for fun. I’ve long wanted a Sopranino Ukulele but I can’t really afford one, plus it would be fun to have a go at making one.
A Sopranino is smaller than a Soprano Ukulele – the Soprano has a scale length of around 13″/330mm and the Sopranino has a scale length of around 12″/305mm. One big advantage of this size is that I can resaw the timber on my mini-bandsaw which has a capacity of around 75mm.
This is the concept I came up with:
DIY Bass Ukulele – Finished!
Well – if not finished at least it is working. I’ve got the sound post in (somewhat unconventional – see below) and strung it up and it sounds lovely!
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