Ukulele - Part 3: Linings

Same as it ever was...

If you look at the photo above you may ask yourself, "How did he get here?"

"Let me explain... No, there is too much. Let me sum up."

If you look at the photo below you will notice that the sides of this ukulele are pretty thin.  The same goes for the sides of a guitar as well.  There's not much there to glue a top or bottom to - the way to fix this is to add linings.  Linings add a bit of rigidity to the sides and more surface for the guitar 'faces' (the back and top) to sit on.  In a guitar, these linings are much more ornate but in a Uke they can be pretty basic - especially in a mass produced kit like this one.

Take a little off the top.

Before you can add the lining, though, you have to level the sides.  I used a carpenter's level wrapped in sandpaper to make sure the sides were even and that the heal-cap and the end-cap were flush to the sides (that's the lighter bits of wood in the photo below).

Kinda like a round peg in a square hole.

This kit came with thin plywood linings - and I do mean thin! This was two-ply with the grain going in opposite directions.  However, even though this is plywood - it's still wood.  As you can see up in the top left-hand corner where the lining snapped instead of bent.  This shouldn't be a problem but it was a bummer.  Triply so - as it happened three times.

Something pithy

So, what you do is:  Glue the lining to the top edge of the sides.  Make sure it isn't proud (i.e. it doesn't stick up higher than the side) as you'll have to sand it flush.  What's with all the tape and clothespins?

The clothespins are clamps.  If you look closely - I added elastic bands to each clothespin to increase the clamping force (another handy-dandy tip from StewMac).  The clothespins help keep the lining in place while the glue cures and puts the necessary pressure on everything to get a good glue joint.

The tape is to catch all the excess glue that squeezes out when you clamp everything together.
As you can see in the photo below - I removed the tape after I set up all the clothespins.

Norwegian Ridgeback

Norwegian Fullback

The goal is to get these linings to curve with the shape of the sides but to also be flush with the top of the sides so you don't have to do much sanding (stop and think about that sentence).

With an acoustic guitar, the linings are "kerfed."
Kinda sounds like something a frat-boy would say, "Oh man, I went out last night and got so kerfed!"
But in truth - it's just wood strips with partial cuts to make the strips flexible.

Once the glue has dried, you remove the clothespins, flip the body, and repeat on the other side.

The difference between the rigidity of the sides with vs. without the linings was remarkable.
I have to impress upon you that the linings were thin - no more than 1 to 2 millimeters but once glued in - they gave the side a fantastic amount of strength and structure.

I am Mighty!

As I mentioned - the linings broke a few times.  Mostly - one ply of the plywood would snap and the other would remain intact.  But on the one below - that sucker split the whole way.  And I'm sure in some infinitesimal sense it matters.  Everything adds/subtracts to the sound of the instrument - but we're making Ukuleles here - not sending Landers to Mars.
I'm sure it'll be fine.

Just don't look too close.

Now that I've spent all this time being careful and precise about gluing these puppies in - I have to be doubly careful about cutting them out...

I'm gonna make my mark.  Just you wait!

In order for the top (and back) of the ukulele to fit correctly onto the sides, you have to cut a little notch for the braces to fit in.  I'll be honest - I was aggressive with my brace shaping - so I didn't NEED all of these notches.  But it's a good practice to get into - because when working on a guitar top - you really do need those notches.

Narf!

Mostly, I just used a 1/4 inch chisel to cut out the lining while leaving the sides intact.  StewMac suggest using an Exacto knife but my chisel was reasonably sharp (but not sharp enough to slice through the mahogany sides while removing the linings).

Up next:  Putting it all together.  Also known as closing the box...