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Build Thread: Mahogany Tenor Ukulele
Hello AGF,
I've decided to tackle my first build and starting out small with the StewMac Tenor Ukulele Kit, but converting it to a bolt on neck with a couple of customizations. Eventually, my dream is to build a solid uke from scratch/raw materials, but this is just as exciting! The best part of this build is that my newlywed wife of 9 months has decided to build this with me! My sole intention with taking the time to document my experience in this thread is in hopes that it will help anyone who decides to take on this challenge as well. At anytime along the way, I would greatly appreciate any advice/suggestions from those who have more experience. Because I'm very new to this, at any point in this build for which I have learned from a mistake, I will highlight and describe it using this notation: Quote:
I'll be updating this post with dates as I complete each step: Material Preparation -Mark Center Lines...DONE: 05/09! -Cutout Template...DONE: 05/10! Build Jig -Cut Plywood & Dowels...DONE: 05/11! -Assemble Jig...DONE: 05/11! Headblock & Tailblock -Dry Fit Headblock & Tailblock...DONE: 05/12! -Square-Sand Side Ends...DONE: 05/12! -2nd Dry Fit Headblock & Tailblock...DONE: 05/12! -Glue Headblock & Tailblock...DONE: 05/12! -Glue Dry Time...DONE: 05/12! Non-Kerfed Lining -Size & Trim Back Lining...DONE: 05/12! -Dry Fit Lining...DONE: 05/12! -Glue Back Lining...DONE: 05/12! -Glue Dry Time...DONE: 05/12! -Size & Trim Top Lining...DONE: 05/13! -Dry Fit Lining...DONE: 05/13! -Glue Top Lining...DONE: 05/13! -Glue Dry Time...DONE: 05/13! Back Bracing -Trace Template...DONE: 05/13! -Dry Fit Back Braces...DONE: 05/13! -Glue Back Braces...DONE: 05/14! -Glue Dry Time...DONE: 05/15! -Rough Sand Back...DONE: 05/16! -Chalk Sides & Lining: Back...DONE: 05/16! -Level Sand Back...DONE: 05/16! -Trim Back Braces for Lining...DONE: 05/17! -Scallop Back Braces...DONE: 05/24! Rosette -Design Rosette...DONE: 05/17! -Trim Rosette...DONE: 05/17! -Dry Fit Rosette...DONE: 05/18! -Glue Rosette...DONE: 05/18! -Glue Dry Time...DONE: 05/19! -Level-Sand Rosette...DONE: 05/19! -CA Glue Seal Rosette...DONE: 05/19! -Final-Sand Rosette...DONE: 05/19! Top Bracing -Trace Template...DONE: 05/13! -Dry Fit Top Braces...DONE: 05/24! -Glue Top Braces...DONE: 05/24! -Glue Dry Time...DONE: 05/24! -Rough Sand Top...DONE: 05/17! -Chalk Sides & Lining: Top...DONE: 05/17! -Level Sand Top...DONE: 05/17! -Trim Top Braces for Lining...DONE: 05/25! -Scallop Top Braces...DONE: 05/25! -Add Signature & Date Stamp...DONE: 05/25! Assemble Top -Dry Fit Top...DONE: 05/25! -Glue Top...DONE: 05/25! -Glue Dry Time...DONE: 05/25! -Test Flush Trim...DONE: 05/25! -Flush-Trim Top...DONE: 05/25! Fretboard -Fretboard Markers --Remove plastic markers...DONE: 05/10! --Seal Cavity Floor w/ CA Glue...DONE: 05/10! --Fill Cavity w/ Sand and level with CA Glue...DONE: 05/18! --Level Sand And Polish...DONE: 05/18! -Side Dots --Mark Side Dots...DONE: 06/21! --Drill Side Dots...DONE: 06/21! --Install & Glue Side Dots...DONE: 06/21! --Glue Dry Time...DONE: 06/21! -Frets --Install Frets...DONE: 05/18! --File Fret Ends...DONE: 05/18! --Shape & Smooth Fret Ends --Level Frets --Crown Frets --Dress Frets --Mask Fret Tang Side Fill --Fill Fret Tang Side Slots -Sand Side Dots & Fret Tang Side Fill Neck -Sand-Fit Neck Heel...DONE: 05/26!...REDONE: 05/30! -Dry Fit Neckheel & Body...DONE: 05/26!...REDONE: 05/30! -Clamp Neckheel & Body...DONE: 05/26! -Drill Bolt Hole from Body to Neckheel...DONE: 05/26! -Install & Epoxy Threaded Inserts...DONE: 05/26!...REDONE: 05/30! -Glue Dry Time...DONE: 05/26!...REDONE: 05/30! -Install Finishing Nail/Dowel Locator Pin...DONE: 05/30! -Clamp Neck & Tighten Body w/ Bolt...DONE: 05/30! -Drill Dowel Hole: Neckheel & Body...DONE: 05/30! -Dry Fit Fretboard to Neck...DONE: 06/01! -Glue Fretboard to Neck...DONE: 06/01! -Glue Dry Time...DONE: 06/01! -Sand Neck Width to Fretboard...DONE: 06/01! Assemble Back -Dry Fit Back...DONE: 05/26! -Glue Back...DONE: 05/26! -Glue Dry Time...DONE: 05/26! -Flush-Trim Back...DONE: 05/26! Binding -Measure Binding: Top, Back & End Graft...DONE: 05/26! -IF ENOUGH MATERIAL: End Graft...DONE: 05/30! --Measure End Graft & Scribe Outline...DONE: 05/30! --Test End Graft Routing...DONE: 05/30! ---Measure Router Bit Depth...DONE: 05/30! ---Measure & Clamp Fences...CANCELED! ---Test Route End Graft...DONE: 05/30! ---Test Fit w/ End Graft...DONE: 05/30! --Clamp Fences...CANCELED! --Route End Graft...DONE: 05/30! --Dry Fit End Graft...DONE: 05/30! --Glue End Graft...DONE: 05/30! --Glue Dry Time...DONE: 05/30! -Test Binding Channel Route...DONE: 05/26! -Route Binding Channel: Top...DONE: 05/26! -Dry Fit Top Binding...DONE: 05/26! -Glue Top Binding...DONE: 05/26! -Glue Dry Time...DONE: 05/26! -Route Binding Channel: Back...DONE: 05/26! -Dry Fit Back Binding...DONE: 05/26! -Glue Back Binding...DONE: 05/26! -Glue Dry Time...DONE: 05/26! -Round-over/Smooth Binding...DONE: 07/22! Assemble Neck -Bolt-On & Dowel Neck to Body...DONE: 06/01! Assemble Fretboard -Fit, Mark & Mask Fretboard...DONE: 06/01! -Dry Fit Fretboard...DONE: 06/01! -Glue Fretboard...DONE: 06/01! -Glue Dry Time...DONE: 06/01! Finishing -Rough Sand: 80/120/220...DONE: 06/03! -Mask Fretboard & Nut...CANCELED! -Locate, Mark & Mask Bridge...DONE: 06/01!...CANCELED! -Pore Filling --Z-Poxy: 1st Coat...DONE: 07/20! --Z-Poxy: Dry Time...DONE: 07/20! --Z-Poxy: Level Sand...DONE: 07/21! --Z-Poxy: 2nd Coat...DONE: 07/21! --Z-Poxy: Dry Time...DONE: 07/21! --Z-Poxy: Level Sand...DONE: 07/22! --Z-Poxy: 3rd Coat...CANCELED! --Z-Poxy: Dry Time...CANCELED! --Z-Poxy: Final Hand-Sand to 400...DONE: 07/22! -Top Coats --TruOil: 1st Coat...DONE: 07/22! --TruOil: Dry Time...DONE: 07/22! --TruOil: Scuff...DONE: 07/23! --TruOil: 2nd Coat...DONE: 07/23! --TruOil: Dry Time...DONE: 07/23! --TruOil: Scuff...DONE: 07/23! --TruOil: 3rd Coat...DONE: 07/23! --TruOil: Dry Time...DONE: 07/23! --TruOil: Scuff...DONE: 07/24! --TruOil: 4th Coat...DONE: 07/24! --TruOil: Dry Time...DONE: 07/24! --TruOil: Scuff...CANCELED! --TruOil: 5th Coat...DONE: 07/24! --TruOil: Dry Time...DONE: 07/24! --TruOil: Scuff...CANCELED! --TruOil: 6th Coat...DONE: 07/24! --TruOil: Dry Time...DONE: 07/25! --TruOil: Scuff...CANCELED! --TruOil: 7th Coat...ADDED 7/24...DONE: 07/25! --TruOil: Dry Time...ADDED 7/24...DONE: 07/25! --TruOil: 8th Coat...ADDED 7/24... --TruOil: Dry Time...ADDED 7/24... --TruOil: Polishing/Buffing...DONE: 7/25! Bridge (Added on 06/03) - Design Bridge and Print out...DONE: 06/03! - Trace Design to RW...DONE: 06/03! - Route Saddle Slot...DONE: 06/03! - Cutout Shape...DONE: 06/03! - Reduce Thickness to 6mm...DONE: 06/08! - Carve Design...DONE: 06/08! - Drill & Chamfer Bridge Pin Holes...DONE: 06/08! - Final Smoothing and Polishing...DONE: 06/08! Final Assembly: Bridge, Tuners, Nut & Saddle -Bridge --Dry Fit Bridge...DONE: 7/26! --Glue Bridge --Glue Dry Time -Tuners --Ream Holes to Clean From Finish...DONE: 7/26! --Align & Drill Fastening Screw Hole...DONE: 7/26! --Install Tuners...DONE: 7/26! -Nut --Rough Sand Nut...DONE: 7/26! --Mark & Cut String Slots...DONE: 7/26! --Final Nut Polishing...DONE: 7/26! -Saddle --Rough Sand Saddle...DONE: 7/26! --Shape Saddle...DONE: 7/26! -Strings --Install Strings Final Setup: Nut Height, Action, Intonation -Nut Height...DONE: 7/26! --File Slots to Depth...DONE: 7/26! --Reshape Nut if Necessary...DONE: 7/26! -Action --Lower Saddle Height...DONE: 7/26! -Intonation --File Saddle for Intonation Thanks again for viewing, I hope you all enjoy the journey! ... Joe...along with my wife, Jackie! Last edited by joeguam; 07-26-2014 at 03:01 AM. |
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I've thought about it, so I'm watching.... See how many expensive tools you need?
__________________
Martin HD28E Retro Seagull Maritime Mahogany Alvarez Rd8c Dean EABC5 Gretsch 9121 Lag TN100 Nylon Recording King RO-10 Recording King RP-06 https://soundcloud.com/search?q=Smokerblacker |
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Quote:
1. I've been needing for a long time to properly do the setup and repair work on all my instruments 2. These are tools that I will have for many years to come, especially for the repairs that are in the near future (e.g. refretting & bridge resets) I justified it to myself by saying that the tools are an investment and not an expense. In addition, I hope to build several kits of tenor ukuleles and acoustic guitars in the future. These builds will either be sold, or will replace a current instrument that I will sell. In the end, lutherie is very much the same as my woodworking projects (20+ furniture builds), the tooling is worth every penny as the enjoyment is priceless. Thanks for watching! BTW, if you're interested in what tools I acquired, I basically purchased a customized version of the StewMac Guitar Shop Starter Kit, but I pieced together my own kit removing the things I had and adding the pieces I needed. Last edited by joeguam; 05-06-2014 at 11:14 PM. |
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The kit arrived today, I'm so excited to start this journey!
The package contained the tenor uke kit and the extra tools I ordered: I'm hoping to get started this weekend! |
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Cool! I'd have my fingers all glued together by the end
__________________
Martin HD28E Retro Seagull Maritime Mahogany Alvarez Rd8c Dean EABC5 Gretsch 9121 Lag TN100 Nylon Recording King RO-10 Recording King RP-06 https://soundcloud.com/search?q=Smokerblacker |
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I quickly got to work on the kit this weekend, doing what I could without the jig. I need to trek over to my dad's house to use his table saw to make the jig. Because it's Mother's Day weekend, I didn't have much time. Here's what I was able to do.
Cutting out the template, this was painfully tedious. I had to scrape every bit of patience I had in me to make sure I didn't mess up this cutout. Marked all the centerlines: You can see that the pre-marked center lines that shipped with the kit were a bit off: Traced the outline on the top and back: Marked the centerlines on the head and end blocks, made sure their radiuses matched the outlines: Dry fitted the bracing: Then marked the centerlines on all the other parts: ...and that was where I called it a night. |
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The next day my wife and I removed the plastic fretboard markers, we will be upgrading this inlay with sand from our family's private beach here in Guam. This inlay is an inspiration from our good friends Joe & Kristen Souza from Kanile'a Ukulele who use sand from Kailua beach in a lot of their inlays.
We followed this video showing how to remove the plastic dot markers: We used an awl and a 3/32" bit to drill the initial hole: Then we flipped the drill bit over and wiggled it around until the glue released. In some cases, I used a small flat head screw driver to scrape out some of the material: Repeated the same steps for each dot, then use the flat screw driver to try and level out the floor of the cavity: Here's my wife laying in #10 thin stewmac CA glue to seal the bottom of the cavity, she's got a much steadier hand than I. Then, she used #20 medium viscosity to build it up a bit and level it more. Quote:
That's it so far, I'm hoping to get the jig built by today. Last edited by joeguam; 05-11-2014 at 05:58 PM. |
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I don't have a workshop but my wife, Jackie, allowed me to rearrange our guest bedroom for this build. I basically stacked everything on top of the bed and covered it all with painter's drop-plastic from home depot.
I've completed a bunch of furniture builds in the past using recycled materials, so to make it easier, I made this quick workbench yesterday out of some pallet wood that had been sitting in our yard for about 8 months. I love the color of the patina that it acquired. Because we'll need a very flat surface for a most of the build process, my dad let me use a scrap piece of granite counter top that he had laying around (something tells me this piece won't be going back to his house...heehee). So this is my very modest workshop/workbench for this build, I might add some plywood to the leg braces to make a shelf if I can find some scrap somewhere. |
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I borrowed my dad's table saw and cut the pieces for the jig and Jackie helped me assemble it.
Jackie then marked the center lines and traced the template. I've said it before, her hands are much more steady than mine. I just 2" pieces of a 1" dowel to use as the cauls for the side shaping. Instead of screwing these into the jig, we just glued it using titebond (TB) glue. I wanted to do a rough fit of the sides while the glue was still wet to see if all looked good. Everything looked good so we let the cauls dry overnight. |
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I could not wait to get up the next morning and get back to working on the build. The cauls glued up real nice and solid, so I moved on to the next step which was to dry fit the sides/endblock/neckblock.
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While clamping the pieces for the dry fit, something didn't look and feel right. It seemed that the butt joint of the sides that meet at the neck block weren't seating properly. Quote:
So I disassembled everything and checked the ends of the sides against a square for squareness. You can see in this picture that there's some slight correction needed. This should be simple enough to square out with a sanding block and 120-grit. Thankfully the other end of the sides was actually pretty square. Quote:
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Very nice joe I appreciate the details. Lookin good!
__________________
Martin HD28E Retro Seagull Maritime Mahogany Alvarez Rd8c Dean EABC5 Gretsch 9121 Lag TN100 Nylon Recording King RO-10 Recording King RP-06 https://soundcloud.com/search?q=Smokerblacker |
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Thanks Luke, we're having a blast already and we haven't even got anything glued together yet. Haha.
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Glue can't be undone so easy... Make sure she fits perfect first, lol
__________________
Martin HD28E Retro Seagull Maritime Mahogany Alvarez Rd8c Dean EABC5 Gretsch 9121 Lag TN100 Nylon Recording King RO-10 Recording King RP-06 https://soundcloud.com/search?q=Smokerblacker |
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To square up the edge of the sides, I used a tip that I found from a woodworking article months ago, double-sided tape with 120-grit on a hand plane.
Keeping both flat against the granite, I used slow and short motions to sand down to the pencil line. I was able to get it real close to square. I didn't get it perfect, so I kept working at it. After a couple of tries, I accepted that I won't be able to get it perfect using a hand plane. There's just too much variance in my motion. These are the times I wish I had a disc sander. I got it very close and I'll accept this bit of imperfection. So after a 2nd dry fit (LESSON LEARNED #4), Jackie and I glued in the end and neck blocks. This is Jackie cleaning up the squeeze out with a chisel. Glued up the neck block and cleaned up the squeeze out. Here he is all clamped up, next step will be to glue in the lining. |
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We dodged a huge bullet last night and recovered from a major disaster...I forgot to put wax paper between the jig and the neckblock.
Quote:
I was able to carefully work a small chisel in between the jig and the sides and thankfully get it loose, but there was a bit of damage done. I glued the cracked piece back together using TB glue and sanded off most of the glue residue from the affected area. This area will be pore-filled and final sanded and, more specifically covered by the neck heel. Phew! Glad it wasn't a disaster, just took about an hour extra of time to correct. |
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first build, stewmac tenor kit |
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