Official Luthiers Forum!

LMI is backordered on Koa ukelele sets... any idea where else I can get some?

Or is it advisable to take a guitar set and cut them down to ukelele size?

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Cat-gut strings are made from kitten guts, stretched out to near breaking point and then hardened with grue saliva. As a result these give a feeling of Pain and anguish whenever played, and often end up playing themselves backwards as part of satanic rituals.

Typhoon Guitars
http://www.typhoon-guitars.com

I've had good service from curlykoa(dot)com, volcano guitar works and Allied. I know there are a few others that come highly recomended as well.

I can usually get 2 back and side sets from 1 guitar set. If doing top back and sides in koa it's not really a bargain. Depending on grade, it's usually a better bet to get a couple uke sets rather than cut up a guitar set. Seems easier and 'cheaper' to get 12 and 20" of good wood than 20 and 32".

Steve

I stopped by to see Steve (steve@curlyckoa.com) and his "stash" a few months ago. He's got a lot of nice uke sets.

There are usually some nice sets on ebay.

I've bought from curlykoa.com and volcano. Both were great sets of wood and you can pick the set you want

Bruce Crepps at Notable Woods has really nice, really well seasoned koa. And he's a plesure to deal with!

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Pat

Bob Gleason at Pegasus has some really nice stuff as well.

http://www.bigislandkoa.com/sales.html

One more source.

Thanks

Do you guys really recommend buying billets and resawing them myself? It seems so much cheaper that way

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Cat-gut strings are made from kitten guts, stretched out to near breaking point and then hardened with grue saliva. As a result these give a feeling of Pain and anguish whenever played, and often end up playing themselves backwards as part of satanic rituals.

Typhoon Guitars
http://www.typhoon-guitars.com

I hope this does not seem self serving, because I do sell some wood, but buying koa billets is very risky. It is an extremely defect prone wood. Even in a 2" thick piece you often can not see ingrown bark, knots, and rot that are inside. Even assuming you have very good resaw capabilities, you re probably better off buying sets. Good luck with your projects.

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“ The meaning of life is to find your gift and the purpose of life is to give it away” Pablo Picasso