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  #1  
Old 11-06-2020, 01:37 PM
Mattface Mattface is offline
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Default Better Ukulele kit?

I'm getting ready to order a Ukulele kit for a Christmas present for a young kid to build with his dad. There are a number of kits on Amazon that look quite easy to build and they are quite inexpensive, though not really cheaper than a cheap but playable soprano uke.

So far I've got no problem here. I've got a good enough eye to be able to pick one that looks halfway decent and the kid already has a uke, so halfway decent is fine. It's more about the project than the finished product anyway.

Here's where things get interesting though, because these are SO cheap I'm tempted to buy one for myself to build over a couple of weekends. They are super easy to put together, so it's mostly the finishing that will take some time and skill, and I'm thinking if I go to the trouble to build one and finish it nicely I'll want it to turn out to be a good instrument.

So I'm wondering if anyone here who is uke and luthier knowledgeable knows of a kit that it likely to build up to play nice. I figure with any of these kits I can work on neck set and bridge placement to make sure they are set up well, and dress the fret ends as part of the finishing process. They are all made out of one form or another of cheap plywood. Personally I'd like to build one of the Stewmac kits one day, but that's a bigger project for a different day.

So does anyone have a favorite easy to build UKE kit? Bonus points if it's not from Amazon as I'd prefer to buy elsewhere.
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Old 11-06-2020, 08:22 PM
dhalbert dhalbert is offline
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I have not seen these, but here are mostly assembled Ohana's that you get to finish yourself and add the final touches:
https://mimsukes.com/pages/search-results?q=kit

Read the text for what is and isn't done on these in advance.

Mim's Ukes has a fine reputation.
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  #3  
Old 11-06-2020, 09:09 PM
Mattface Mattface is offline
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These Soundsmith ones look like the nicest I've seen so far
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Old 11-06-2020, 09:41 PM
Willie_D Willie_D is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dhalbert View Post
I have not seen these, but here are mostly assembled Ohana's that you get to finish yourself and add the final touches:
https://mimsukes.com/pages/search-results?q=kit

Read the text for what is and isn't done on these in advance.

Mim's Ukes has a fine reputation.
I haven't seen those, but Mim is a straight shooter and a friend of mine.
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  #5  
Old 11-07-2020, 07:54 AM
Mandobart Mandobart is offline
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I've never bought one of their kits, but Stew-Mac is a great source for luthiers supply and tools. I've bought a lot from them over the years. Quality and service are top notch.

Of course the price of a Stew-Mac kit is more than you'd pay for a budget brand instrument or kit.
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Old 11-07-2020, 11:17 AM
Mattface Mattface is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mandobart View Post
I've never bought one of their kits, but Stew-Mac is a great source for luthiers supply and tools. I've bought a lot from them over the years. Quality and service are top notch.

Of course the price of a Stew-Mac kit is more than you'd pay for a budget brand instrument or kit.
I'm sure the Stew-Mac kits are great, but they are a good deal more involved than I want to get for this project. Looking for an easy weekend build, and a couple weeks to do the finish. So the kits where you glue on the neck fretboard and bridge are about my speed. Just painting a fully assembled uke is also not quite what I'm looking for.
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  #7  
Old 11-26-2020, 07:40 AM
Mattface Mattface is offline
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Update: I wound up going with a cigarbox guitar kit instead. It's way more hands-on than most of the Uke kits, especially those that are mostly just installing the tuning machines and painting, but only involves basic tools and woodworking skills unlike the Stewmac Uke kits which I believe would be beyond the skills of most kids even with dad's help.
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