Official Luthiers Forum!

Greetings OLFers,

I have finally completed uke #1, which is going to my friend Kristie who did the fingerboard inlays. The top bindings are ebony, but the back had to be fashioned out of black veneer after I had a dremel binding router meltdown. Next StewMac purchase is a Tru Channel binding jig....I'm not going through that again! I put in a K&K Internal twin pickup, but it is not giving me a signal (I couldn't try it until the uke was finished), so I need to try to trouble-shoot that.

Sounds pretty good. The concert size I have in process is much less heavily appointed so should be a breeze by comparison.

Thanks to all of you who have helped me with this process by answering questions with so much thoughtfulness....especially Todd, Hesh, Filippo, Hans and many others!

Beth

Great uke Beth.
Lots of stuff going on with this one and all nicely done.

I like it very much. I think ukes are sweet, and would love to build something similar one of these days. Bravo

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Aaron Craig

Looks great, Beth. Nice job!

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

That's a nice uke, Beth. What finish did you use?

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Ken Franklin
clumsy yet persistent
https://www.kenfranklinukulele.com

Beth:
That is a beauty!
You have done things on that one that I am still afraid to try.

How does it sound?

Bob

Congrats on making your first lap of the track
Love the shape, and that koa. Lots of nice detail work too, with the rosette and those bridge inlays.
How 'bout a closeup on the fingerboard? Are those flowers made of recon stone or something else?
I can't tell the difference on the back bindings in the picture. Nice save
And if you a) don't like noisy power tools, or b) don't want to spend all that money and space on the binding jig, you could try cutting them by hand with a gramil. I love it, and it would be even faster on a little uke.

Sound samples please

Nice!

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The name catgut is confusing. There are two explanations for the mix up.

Catgut is an abbreviation of the word cattle gut. Gut strings are made from sheep or goat intestines, in the past even from horse, mule or donkey intestines.

Otherwise it could be from the word kitgut or kitstring. Kit meant fiddle, not kitten.

Thanks all, for the kind words.
Ken - I used Tru-Oil. 2 coats per day for 4 days, then 0000 pad to level, then as many additional coats as you want to give the level of shine you want. I just noticed that I scuffed a couple spots while sanding the bridge and I like the oil because it's easy to repair.

Bob - she sounds good. I think about like my Lanakai, which I love the sound of. Do ukes "open up" as much as guitars do as they are played? Seems to me that might be happening a bit, but could just be wishful thinking.

Dennis here's a pic. I'll get back to you on the type of inlay in the flowers...have to ask my friend.

looks great. I love those inlays