Best selling wood projects - Building a Ukulele Part 4 Moulds and Jigs

Best selling wood projects

These are a necessary part of any ukulele build and the time taken to prepare then is returned multi-fold down the track.
I have used an outline from the LOMLs tenor ukulele body.  That particular uke has such a sweet sound - lets hope this one is as good.

The body mould is made from laminated scraps of MDF and particleboard, while the interior retainers are simply radiata pine with cable tensioners used as expanders.  The mould is made in two pieces so that the body can be removed when complete.

The neck brace is made up of some 4"X2" radiata pine scraps that will be held in the bench vice in use.  It has a sliding headstock support, made from an offcut from this neck and some scraps that have been glued together. 

A sliding bolt anchors this in any position to suit the length of the neck being worked on. 
This ukulele neck is a tenor - a concert and soprano have shorter necks, and a baritone neck is longer. 
This jig will support them all.

The back braces have to be formed on a radius of 15 feet, so a sanding block - cut to this profile - is necessary.  A 15 feet length of string and a pencil are all that are needed to mark this out.

After marking it out and rough cutting, it needs smoothing.  What better than a compass plane to finish this off.  Here I am using a Record 020, which has a sole that can be adjusted to the required curve.  Planing has to take place from the ends to the middle - to avoid tearout.  This planes with the grain, and not against it.

I was hoping to have the soundboard made, but I took my newly made rosette cutter across to The Hastings Woodworkers Guild Clubroom on Saturday, and foolishly left it there.

So I have had to make myself busy on other aspects of the Uke build until I retrieve it.  Its over an hours drive, so Im going to leave it there until next time I visit.

Tomorrow, Ill start cutting out the sides and the end blocks, as well as forming up the back braces and gluing up the  the back.

The back and sides are sassafras, and the soundboard will be western red cedar.
Tomorrow will be busy.

Happy woodworking to all ................ and ........................
May your life sing ....................


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Best selling wood projects - Building a Ukulele Part 5A Backs and Necks Continued

Best selling wood projects

A few more steps before the back is finished.  Firstly the bracing needs thinning down to reduce weight, and hopefully improve the sound.

I use a Stanley 102 block plane, which suits this task very well, as it has curved sides.  A straight sided block plane would put undue pressure on the already curved back and may cause cracking.  The little wood block is used as a side support for the brace while planing.

Lie Nielsen claim that the tiny violin plane was based on the Stanley 101, but I think that it more closely resembles the 102 - which is itself a small block plane.  The 102 is one of the simplest of all planes with no adjuster, yet it works like a charm.

You can see the similarities here.

Once the bracing has been shaped to an appropriate profile, it is time to pare off the ends - to create a smoother interface with the sides, and to fit into the linings.

Traditionally, this has been done with a paring chisel, and the ends are scalloped in a rounded taper.

I used a long handled Japanese paring chisel as it gives more control in this situation.




The ukulele back is rounded from the application of the curved bracing, so the edges need some support while paring.

An offcut from the neck serves well here.

Here is the near finished back showing both sides.

It will sit on the body which is slowly taking shape.
I have bent one of the sides, and it is sitting in the mould, drying, while I work on the neck. The bending was a tortuously slow process of heating, bending a little, heating some more, bending a little more - and trying it on the curve of the mould - repeat over and over - ad infinitum.

It took me a full morning to form up that one side.

The Neck
Now to put the finishing touches to the neck.   I was dreading this, thinking that I would either utterly destroy it, or end up with something resembling an Irishmans buckthorn shillelagh.
Happily, it went well, and I am pleased with the result.

After rough shaping with coarse and fine rasps, I started on coarse sandpaper - 80 grit in this case.

I then worked my way through four more grades of sandpaper - from coarse 120 grit up via 180 and 220 to finish on 320 grit.
There were still some parts that were a little rough and needed the attention of a scraper.

Here it is near finished.
While it doesnt resemble those immaculate CNC creations that grace commercial ukes, it isnt too shabby either.
I have glued a piece of eucalypt burl veneer - with a similar colour to rosewood - to the face side of the headstock.  It should dry overnight.
Ill cut it to shape tomorrow after it dries.

All in all, not a bad days work.

I am beginning to wonder why ukuleles dont cost around $1000 each, given what I am finding has to go into their construction.

Next step will be part two of the body - I am getting the bends just thinking about it ..........

Love life and live ..................



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