Ukulele Part 2: Jigs, Sides, braces

That's dangerous looking...

What you are looking at is a body mold.  Briefly - it is a plywood board with four angle brackets screwed to it.  I then attached two rectangular pieces of scrap wood to the ends and two curved pieces of scrap wood to the sides.  FYI - the curved bits are from a piece of extra banister that I had lying around from some house projects.  You could just use a bit of dowel and tape it to the angle bracket (stewmac suggests this method, in fact).

I wouldn't want to be in the middle of that.

As you can see from the paper taped to the center of this torture device - we'll be putting the Uke body in there at some point.  This jig is used for a few things.  It helps the sides keep their shape as you glue them together.  It also keeps everything contained when you glue in the linings (see Part 3).

Finally, it is used when we glue the top and back to the sides (see Part 4).  Knowing what I know now - I would have cut the scrap wood a little shorter than I did.  The Angle brackets are 2.5 inches.  I would cut the scrap wood to 2.5 inches as well (or maybe a bit shorter).  They all ended up being too long to use for gluing the top down - so I had to remove them when I got to that step.

Sigmund the sea monster

Again, I didn't take enough pictures - so what you don't see are the two sides before they were glued together.  The sides came pre-bent and fit nice and snug inside the mold.  I did have to cut the neck-block and the end-block to the same hight as the sides (they come about an inch too long).  But what you are seeing above is the clamping of the sides to the neck and end blocks.  When it's all dried and released from the mold it looks like this: 

Sure is shaped like a Ukulele!

Sometime in the near future, the top and back will be glued to this bad boy and we'll have a ukulele body.  For now, it will sit and wait while I finish up the bracing for said top and back.

Perfection is for amateurs

As I mentioned before - one of the braces on the back moved as I was gluing it down.  It should be fine (some acoustic guitars have bracing that goes across at an angle).  The point is to make the top and back strong - and right now - they are strong.  Too strong.  I'm going to shave those braces in the near future. Shaving them down should make the instrument more responsive - which should make the uke sound better.  We shall see!

Kind of looks like an Anime cyclops cat.

Same goes for the top.  Those braces are huge!  I'm going to make them a bit shorter and thinner.

Here's hoping that they are not too thin.  For the curious - here is Dana Bourgeois describing how and why you would want to do such a thing.  He explains it much better than me.

Soon...

Mini-Tele Part 2: Cultural Appropriation

Theft

Never let it be said that a DIY blog about building guitars can't be socially relevant.

Yeah, I can't believe I typed that sentence either...

So what are we looking at?  It's a neck plate, dummy.  No really, it's used for screwing the neck onto a guitar body. And speaking of screwing - it is also a bit of Welsh culture and Druid mythology that I'm taking without asking.  So, for all you Welsh Druids out there - I'm gonna steal your culture.  Look out!

What you are actually looking at is the Druid symbol of the Welsh word - Awen.  Awen means "inspiration" - usually of a poetic nature.  I guess the Druids liked the word and decided it needed a symbol to go with it.  And who are we to judge?

Great Expectations

I thought it would make an interesting image on a neck plate and back in 2015 planned for it to go on the first guitar I finished that year - hence the 2015-001.

(Editor's note - no guitars were finished in 2015).

It just so happened to be a gold neck plate - so it's perfect for this build.  Better late than never!

I like the cut of his jib

Speaking of necks - we're gonna need a place to put that thing.  I routed out the neck pocket on this body blank using the process I have used on the last couple of builds that I've worked on:  Trace the outline of the neck shape on a piece of particle-board (or plywood) and cut out that shape with a jigsaw.  Then use that shape as a tracing template for my router.  What you can't see in the above picture is that everything to the left of that last fret is the overhang.  The thickness of the whole neck minus the thickness of the overhang is how deep the neck pocket needs to be routed - so that the overhang sits flush to the body.

Flush

As is quite typical at this point - things fit pretty well.  The neck fits in the pocket nice and tight and the neck is straight and level.  It's only later - when I start monkeying with things - that I'll mess it up!

"Aren't you a little short for a StormTrooper?"

 As you can see - this is a short-scale thing we're building here.  A normal guitar has a scale length (the distance from the bridge to the nut) - or total string length of 24.75 to 25.5 inches.  This puppy will be about 20.5 inches.  Also, the width and depth of the neck are much smaller than a normal neck.  Hopefully, this will make it easier for little hands to hold it.

Diggin' Holes

In addition to the neck pocket, I also routed out the hole for the pickup.  I'm going to go with a Humbucker for this build for two reasons: I already have one left-over from another build and humbuckers are quieter than single-coil pickups (as in they don't hum as much - hence hum-bucker).
I already have a humbucker routing template so this went fairly quick.

Diggin' More Holes

 I also drilled the hole for the input jack (where the guitar cable plugs into the body). If you look at the center of the hole you'll see a little light.  That's the pickup cavity in the previous picture.
The below picture is a detail shot of this.  I chose to go really primitive with the electronics for this build as I didn't want to overwhelm my Son with switches and knobs and I didn't want to overwhelm myself with soldering headaches.

Holes inside holes.

When I'm done with this build it will have one pickup, one volume knob, and an input jack.  Low-tech but just enough to do some damage.

Two-fer!

Someone's in the kitchen with Dinah

There are odd bits of wood and string on my counter, glue and clamps next to the stove, the soldering iron is on the kitchen table, and the sandpaper is next to the fruit bowl.  What’s going on here?
I’ve moved the whole operation into the house for the winter!

So, perhaps I should back up a bit.

I’ve got the 'no workshop' blues…

For almost a year now my workshop has been in disarray.  I dismantled everything so that I could insulate the space (and be able to work year-round) and then ran out of money and time with the project.  So now I have a space that is mostly unusable for guitar building.  Especially now that there is snow on the ground.  But I still have guitars to build.  What to do?
I dub this kitchen counter, “Workbench.”

Now, what’s on the burners?

Something shiny this way comes

Earlier this year I asked my son what he wanted for his birthday.  He said, “A gold guitar!”
No, my son isn’t into Liberace (to all the Millennials – go ask your parents).  I think this is where Ninjago, Pokemon, and Yu-Gi-Oh comingle (to all the Boomers – go ask your kids).

Also, last Christmas, my wife bought me a ukulele kit from StewMac.  So, I have two irons in the fire (never mind the one that is patiently waiting on top of my fridge).

So, here we go:

1. Building a Mini-Tele
2. Building a Ukulele

Ukulele - Part 1

"No woodworking experience required."

Ukulele (pronounced "Ookulele" if you are from the 50th state) seems to be all the rage these days.
Think of this:  When I walked into my local Guitar Center last Christmas the first stringed instrument I saw was a Uke, not a guitar.

I'm not sure if  Zooey Deschanel or Eddie Vedder is to blame for making it popular again but it is.
I'm a fan of IZ Kamakawiwo'ole and I like anything made for making music - so I'm on board.

My lovely wife - knowing that I like building (and hoarding) guitars - thought this would be a fantastic Christmas gift.  And she was right.  I don't think I would have purchased a Uke on my own but build a Uke?  That sounds like fun (and I get a Uke at the end of it all).

StewMac (for those of you NOT playing the Luthier Home Game) is where all the guitar building things are sold.  They have the tools and the supplies to build pretty much anything with strings including build-it-yourself kits like the one above.

The caption on the picture above is a bit misleading.  No, you don't need much woodworking experience to build this kit.  But you do need a fair amount of woodworking tools.  StewMac sells what again?  Having said that -  I'm not even 1/3 of the way through this build and it's already one of my favorites.

Is it live or is it Memorex?

What you are looking at is what will become the inside of the guitar on the right and the brace template on the left.

The kit comes with all the parts you'll need already cut and sized.  You provide the glue and the clamps.  The kit also comes with detailed instructions, a template (see above) and most importantly "How-to" videos on their website.

Blast-Ended Skrewt?

This was a perfect project for me as I can build it at my kitchen counter without creating a big mess (Editor's note:  My definition of a "big mess" and my wife's definition don't seem to match).

I kid. She enjoyed watching me build this and even lent me some of her clamps.

Purple clothespins - Accept no substitutes.

In truth - you could possibly build this with just a couple of clamps and a bunch of clothespins (StewMac suggests this route) but since I have the clamps - I'm gonna use them.

In the above pics, I put some painters tape on the back of the guitar to catch the excess glue that squeezes out when you clamp on the braces.  Oh yeah!  The braces are to strengthen the back and top.  If they weren't there the guitar would implode the first time you string it up.

Sans tape

 About 5 minutes after I clamped the braces I removed the tape (don't wait until the glue is dried or the tape will become a permanent part of the instrument!).  It may be hard to see in the above pic but one of my braces moved a bit during the clamping process.  It shouldn't be a big deal (and you'll never see it) but watch for it if you try this at home.

Die Spitze

So, as much as I'm enjoying the "paint by numbers" aspect of building this Uke.  I can't leave it there.

Once all of the braces are dry I'm going to go back and shape (i.e. thin) them.  They are very thin braces but they are still a little too big for an instrument this small.  And the thinner braces should make the top sound a bit better.  Up next:  Building jigs and bending sides.

Mini-Tele - Part 1

Bigger isn't always better!

Like most people that have both children and guitars - I fight a battle.

I really want my son to be interested in music (and being interested in guitars would be A-Okay with me) but I also want my guitars to survive the experience.  I tried early on to demystify the instruments themselves by having him touch, hold, and play some of the more 'durable' items in my collection.  I figured the cheap and cheery Epiphone mandolin would be a better introduction than the near vintage PRS.  Fingers crossed - it seems to have worked.  He's interested in electrics and careful with the acoustics.  You can't ask for much more than that from a 7-year-old.

So, when my son asked me if I would make him a guitar - I had to pause.

Of course, I want to build him a guitar!  I've been waiting for this moment for over 7 years.  I can't wait until he's 16 and he can tell me exactly what pickups he wants in the thing.  But for now - he's 7 and may very well play it once and never touch it again.  So, how do I proceed...?

The thing about guitars for kids is that – you can’t just put a Les Paul in a 7-year-old’s hand and say, “Good Luck!”  It weighs more than he does and it’s almost as tall as he is.  Usually, guitar stores will sell ¾ sized instruments for kids taking up the 6-string but I did the math on that and it would still be pretty big on him. 

Judge me by my size, do you?

About 6 months prior to this post I saw a short scale neck for sale on GFS' factory blowout page.  It was less than $25 and a short enough scale (20.5 inches) that he might be able to play it.  So, I bought it and showed it to him.  He was excited.   I asked him what color he wanted it.  "Gold!" was his only answer.  ...like for all of it.  Gold body, gold hardware, gold headstock.

Don't stop believin', kid.  Gold it is.

So, here I am building a starter guitar for my son.  I'm going low budget on this one as it may end up being a wall hanger but let's see what kind of mess we can make, eh?

I thought you'd be... bigger...

I started with a Poplar body.  Mainly because I could get a slab of wood in the right size.  If I'm careful with the cuts - I might get four bodies out of this plank - and that'll work out to about $20 a body - not too shabby.  If for no other reason it'll be great for working on prototype body shapes - even if this is the only body that gets turned into a full guitar.  (Editor’s note:  if I do this again – I’ll use Basswood.  Poplar was fantastic to work with but it’s a bit too heavy for little guys).

I found a full-size image online for a Telecaster shape and shrunk it down in Photoshop.  I went with the Tele-style - again to keep it simple and to maybe finish the build before he goes to High School.  Tele's don't need a bunch of shaping like a Strat or a Les Paul.  And since I've already built one - it "should" be easier to build.

We'll see how that goes. (Narrator voice-over: it didn’t go how he planned).

Shrinkage

As you would expect if you've been reading this blog for more than 5 minutes.  There's tracing, cutting, and sanding in my immediate future.

Rough & Not-So-Ready

 As you can see from the full-sized template under it - the Mini-Tele body is probably 25% to 35% percent smaller than a normal telecaster body.  I forgot to note how much I reduced the original image file prior to printing it out.  I also made some free-hand changes to the design to better work with the slab of wood I had (read: I made a mistake with my math and had to fudge it a bit).

Ye Olde Schoole

 I also decided to build this guitar in the same way that I built my first one - with a jig-saw rather than a router.  There was no good reason for this - it just felt like a good idea.

"Say hello to my little friend!"

 To fix all those lovely rough edges I used a belt/disc sander.  Seriously, where was this thing when I did this the first time?  These are super-handy if you are a sloppy builder (like me).

There's a little bit of rock in there.

 And here's where I left off after day #1.  Sadly, I didn't record all the steps so the next posts may jump around a bit.