Project Ukulele

[Dynamic Mike]

At this rate I'll be making a truss rod cover rather than playing it.

Andy

An inverted white 'U' with a pheasantwood veneer?

By the way, do you normally have a logo on your handbuilt instruments?

[Sarah Gouldesbrough]

Please do!

[dwebb]

I won't argue about the damned silly instrument bit, but I did think that the tuning was effectively the top four strings of a guitar capoed at the 5th fret?

[yelemusic]

I won't argue about the damned silly instrument bit, but I did think that the tuning was effectively the top four strings of a guitar capoed at the 5th fret?

Yep, that's right. Which leaves us with G C E A. So you can play all your guitar chords on the Uke (minus the bottom two strings), only their names change. A D-Chord becomes a G-Chord, your average Cmaj (or Am7) turns into Fmaj (or Dm7) and so on.

Takes a little getting used to, but otherwise as a guitarist you shouldn't have any problems playing the Uke.

@Zen
I wouldn't mind having a go on this gorgeous Uke of yours Send it over, I'll do that recording for you

Unfortunately I'm not in the UK

I'd love to compare it to my commercial made Ukes (which aren't too shabby either). But then again, maybe not, I might end up GASing for a new Uke by the man himself

[zenguitar]

I know guys, but it's the four silly strings on a guitar, not the sensible EADG strings

And besides, I decided to go for the traditional re-entrant tuning of gCEA with the octave G. Once I get the hang of different chord voicings beyond the first position it'll be fine, but for now some progressions have weak roots and contrary bass movement. Although the first thing I started learning was in B flat which could well be the worst key for those problems

So far, no headstock logo. I might come up with one one day, although I like to use the headstock for inlay sometimes.

And I think I have some ebony veneer lying around for the truss rod cover. But tradition dictates that I wait a few months minimum before making one.

Andy

[Kev Adams]

Thanks Kev.

Nothing magical or mystical about the polishing mixture. I just read the instructions that came with the Rottenstone I bought from Luthiers Mercantile and used those as a starting point.

As I mentioned much earlier in the thread, these are the first instruments I've finished with shellac so I am learning as I go.

The instructions basically pointed to using the Rottenstone with a mineral oil as a lubricant and applied with felt pads. There was also a recipe for a polish based on methanol that scared me (as that would soften the shellac) but was more directed at restoring old finishes.

So I searched online, and found some more articles. Read through them, and then bit the bullet and came up with something that made sense to me. I took some Rottenstone, added a drop of washing up liquid as an antistatic/antisurficant and then added White Spirit (mineral oil) until it was the consistency of pancake batter.

So, basically, I relied on existing knowledge and experience, did some reading, and came at it from 1st principles. It worked well, and there was nothing in the mix that could have done any harm.

Andy

Thanks for that. It was the soap that intrigued me- I was picturing a bar of lifebuoy! D'oh!

I've got a big jar of polishing powder and one of a polishing talc, which is finer. I've never thought of pre-mixing the powder though. I put some in a small dish, put some polishing oil on my cloth and then pick up some powder with that. it obviously goes to a paste staright away as you apply it.
I do have a proprietary mixed polishing liquid called Super-nicko which is water based. Probably pretty similar to your mixture except for the water. I suspect that ther is something like soap in it too. The powder in that separates out when left for any time, but it reconstitutes easily enough.
If I use the talc for a final final go I put it on neat.

I have several cleaning concoctions too, gleaned from reading around. The simplest which I really like, and some times use with a bit of polishing powder, is eucalyptus oil and olive oil 50/50. Smells great! Not sure whether experts would approve of the organic as opposed to mineral oils though.

[Folderol]

I was about to offer to take the dear little thing off your hands, so helping you avoid the frustration of trying to play it with it's 'silly' tuning, only it dawned on me that I wouldn't know how to play it at all.

[Folderol]

I hear no uke

[Frisonic]

I was about to offer to take the dear little thing off your hands

What I think is that if Andy doesn't bond with the fruit of his blood, sweat and tears over the next few months we should all chip in so it can be gifted to a suitable trust... which between us we ought to be able to identify. Someone equipped to use it within a well conceived and executed educational project. And in my wildest imagination it should spend time at somewhere like Tate St Ives, where it can be seen and played, along with the entire Project Ukulele thread and interpretive media about the educational project. Just a thought. But only if Andy decides he just ain't going to get into the uke thing for himself.

Project Ukulele has been a wonderful success and deserves to remain an inspiration in perpetuity.

[zenguitar]

Yes, YES!! I Know!!! I've been slacking, started learning a few chords, even a song or two, then other things cropped up and it sat on the shelf staring at me accusingly. Even jumping off it's precarious perch balanced on my old 12-string mandolin (partially dismantled, awaiting a neck reset) and landing on my pillar drill, managing to chip the shellac discretely in the process

Then there was the wedding of the decade to attend (it made the back page of The Sunday Independent no less!!), and ordering a load of parts for some of my Arduino based projects....

But yes, I MUST get around to making a recording soon. Just bear in mind that I am largely (but not entirely) dysfunctional AND I live in Devon.

Andy

[Frisonic]

Bond away with it Andy, in your own time mate

[Frisonic]

Mighty Uke allert!!!

For those living in the UK with access to Sky Arts One: Tomorrow evening, Sunday 4th August at eight in the evening they are screening the excellent film 'the mighty uke'. Followers of this thread will most likely find it as enjoyable as inspirational.

Cheers,

Francis

[zenguitar]

Cheers Francis

For one moment I thought you would be hinting for me to get off my fat ass and get a recording of it. And I was about to reply that I have been putting a great effort into eating and drinking too much, so as to make my ass sufficiently fat to get off

Andy

[Frisonic]

I wasn't chiding you at all Andy! Although I did think you might enjoy the prog. Watch it if you can. Just the thing to help down a vat of chips and a bucket of scrumpy

[zenguitar]

Andy

[SoundsRMagical]

Our drummer just bought an electric uke!?!?! Looks like we'll be doing 'Over the Rainbow' anyhow...uh boy!

[Wonks]

So did this Uke ever get finished? And recorded?

[zenguitar]

Finished yes, recorded not yet.

Although I still need to source a replacement back for the 2nd uke.

Andy

[Folderol]

Now, if you'd come to the meet, you could have brought it with you.
If you had brought it with you, you could have played along with CC
If we'd known that was a possibility there would definitely have been a suitable portable recorder there.

... and all for the want of a horse shoe nail!

[Wonks]

That Uke took so long that it is now a vintage instrument even though it's new!

[zenguitar]

I keep on meaning to learn how to play it...

But I've settled comfortably into being largely but not entirely dysfunctional. It passes the days.

Andy

[Wonks]

[octavedoctor]

So, the afternoon started fine, added another drop of water to the glue in the jar as it had all been absorbed. Then we fired up the gas stove and brought the water close to boiling point.

That's when I put the jar of glue into the water.



Remembering first to remove the lid. You don't want it exploding when you heat it!! And when you finish, make sure to leave the lid off/loose until it cools. You don't want it imploding, or seizing the lid on with the vacuum. Here's a closer look, see how it's gone all liquid.



However, before getting on with the glueing I needed to take some precautions. So I put a sheet of greaseproof paper over the baseboard, and then glued some more greaseproof paper to the top boards I made.



And then left them all to dry.

But eventually I had to bite the bullet and start glueing. And I'm afraid there was no time to take pics as I went. I had one clean break and 4 splits to get glued. However, the method is straightforward enough... use small paintbrush and dip into the liquid glue, paint glue along split/wood to be joined. I applied glue from both sides, and worked the wood a little to draw as much as possible into the repair.

Then it was straight into the jig for clamping. And the clamping pressure comes from the loops of string you can see.





The secret is to tighten the loops like a Spanish Windlass. It's a very old woodworker's technique that can apply a LOT of pressure with remarkable control. I use a variation of the technique to glue broken headstocks and the only real problem is that it is incredibly easy to put too much pressure on the joint.

The wooden blocks are there to make sure that there is plenty of downward pressure to ensure that the back remains flat, as well as the cauls applying the sideways pressure to clamp the glue joints tight.

And now I am just waiting. Hide glue dries initially by gelling, and then by evaporation. With the baseboard and top plates, it will definitely need to be left for close to 24 hours to dry properly. And open, or rubbed, hide glue joints can dry fully in a few hours.

So, fingers crossed. Of the 5 joints required, 4 looked fine. But one was visibly gapping, although less than 1/2th a mm, and I couldn't tell how well it would close without giving it a go.

I'll have no idea whether or not I've been able to save the back until I remove it from the clamping jig tomorrow...



Andy

Nice work Andy.

The Spanish Windlass is my favourite tool ever because it's so firkin simple.

I've just used it to fix a nasty cross grain break in a chinese Guild (with the afore mentioned Aliphatic resin glue). Damn thing had snapped like a carrot. Not even a shear line break to put a clamp on.

Video on my Facebook page...

Eltham

[zenguitar]

Cheers Eltham

Andy

[ManFromGlass]

Yes brilliant use of Spanish windlass. I've only used them to straighten the railing on a deck. Great idea for delicate work.
Super Andy!

[awjoe]

I keep on meaning to learn how to play it...

But I've settled comfortably into being largely but not entirely dysfunctional. It passes the days.

Andy

Here's an example of an Internet response to a years-old post. I used to play nothing but guitar, classical at first, then I switched to a Tele. Finger picking and strumming accompaniment, no lead work. Somebody gave me a ukelele as a joke. It's my main instrument now. I still play guitar, but I've shifted back to nylon string because of the similarity in string feel to the uke. Lesson: be careful about learning to play it. It may turn out to be a new way to pass the days in a largely but not completely dysfunctional fashion.

[caotuan]

Great stuff, but you do realise you're going to be asked to leave the luthier's magic circle after posting explicit details like this

[tea for two]

I'm only over a decade late and that's early for me lol.

Bass Ukulele is the Bees knees, the Dog's........, the Mutt's....

I had a widdle on a Bass Ukulele in Duke of Uke just off Bricklane in London.
https://www.dukeofuke.co.uk/ukulele/bass-ukulele/

I had to not so politely tell myself I'm nowhere near a decent enuff player to do it justice.

[Sam Spoons]

Bass Uke is great but intonation is more tricky than on a longer scale instrument.

[Guest]

Is it easier to learn to play ukulele than a guitar?