Welcome back to another entry in the projects of the workshop. Today, we start a special series of posts. It is about no other thing than the first Ukulele build. Without too much else to add, I hope you find the sum of the entries interesting.
Let's get to it!
Templates
Before starting the whole building process, there was something to address that will come in handy later. The first part of this issue was making a template for the fretboard. This took a while because I needed to look for some references to the kind of scale used in concert Ukuleles. This is something that varies from builder to build. However, I came with some free references online and decided to use them for this first project. If I like the results, it might stick in the projects.
After having the scale, I used my Excel doc where I have the calculations for any kind of frets and compensation between them. That is another interesting resource a friend shared a while ago. It has helped me a lot. Besides, it saves time. The number used for the frets has a lot of decimals. Having a calculator do this for you is the best thing possible.
However, the template has to be done by hand. For this, we need a caliper. It doesn't give us the whole lot of decimals we should have for such a task, but we can make up for this by having some other form of exact measures. After taking all the required steps to mark the position of the frets on the piece of plywood, we use the drill to make a little hole where each fret should go. This will help retain the measure without having up use the caliper each time. The rest of the work is to cut the template to the shape.
Neck blank
We get to the first piece to get the shape. It is the neck. We start on this cedar blank. The idea is go through the usual motions. The building steps are similar to the thing I'm already used to do. We have to make all the faces of this blank even. We use a hand plane for this. The idea is also to make sure the calibration of the tool gives us the results we want. And that might require some tweaking while we work. The perfect setup comes with a good shaving being removed while we use the tool. We also use a sanding block to make sure we are getting to the right amount of flatness.
Once the blank is flat, we can start drawing the lines that will guide the cuts and the position of the heel and fretboard. We also limit the space between the fretboard area and the head stock with the position for the nut.
After doubling checking all measures and lines, we are ready to make the first cut.
Head Stock
The first cut is for the head stock. This gives us the angle needed to have the right string tension when the Ukulele is complete. The angle goes from 12 to 15 degrees. But, in general, it is also a detail that depends a lot on who is building the instrument. Before we make the cut, we have to score the wood to guide the saw. Japanese saws tend to work better when we do this step. With a first mark the saw will cut in the same line. Besides, we can use the reflection of the saw to keep the straight cut.
Working with a steady hand and using the whole saw, we can make this head stock cut. Then we need to use the wedge resulting of the previous action to mark work on both parts of the head stock. This is to make sure we can create a good joint and also to make a clean surface to add the veneer.
To glue the head stock, we can use some anchors to keep the pieces in place. First, we hold the pieces together. Then we can use the drill to make some holes between the two pieces. We can use a parts of a toothpick to create these anchors. Now we take the time for a dry fit. Once we are sure the pieces fit together properly, we can apply the glue. Finally, we hold everything with clamps. The rest of the work is up to the glue.
And while this glues up, we can take some time to plan the rest of the work ahead. However, that is something for the next entry. Thanks for reading!
Photos 📷: Redmi Note 13
Thumbnail 🖼️: Canva.
Editing 🎬:Adobe Photoshop Lightroom.
Follow me on Instagram for enquires and commission.
If you'd like to help the workshop grow, you can make a donation here.
You can find me at discord as bertrayo#1763