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It's not as easy as it looks! - my first build

Posted by Estone Villan on November 21, 2016 at 11:42am in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion

Ok so:

I ruined loads of necks getting to this point

Ruined loads of fretboards and realised i can't saw straight.

I don't have enough room above the first fret.

I have a bridge that's off set

My tuners are off set.

I have no fret markers.

I drilled the sound holes after i'd glued the box together so it's messy inside.

The ukulele is really quiet.

But guess what! I love it.

IMAG0638.jpg

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Replies

  • darryl kernaghan November 22, 2016 at 6:23am

    That looks ok for 1st time up, better than my 1st, and i've spent all my working life using hand and power tools, your study of the requirements to make a guitar was clearly better than mine, control of the tools will grow, tradecraft can only be semi taught, it must be learned

  • JL November 21, 2016 at 12:51pm

    She looks pretty.  You can always use a little dab of white-out for fret markers on the side where its important.  And if the nut is too close to the first fret, rabbiting the fingerboard side of it can cure that.

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    • Estone Villan > JL November 21, 2016 at 12:55pm
      With the nut : it's more that the headstock is too close to the nut so I've no room to play some chords comfortably.

      I like the tip-ex idea though. I could just drill side markers but my drilling is worse than my sawing.
      • JL > Estone Villan November 22, 2016 at 9:49am

        did you mean that the headstock actually extends under the nut toward the frets?  so you can't grip the neck?  if so, capo the first fret and re-tune....

        and for side dots, just paint them on...white-out, nail-polish, little stick-on-bedazzle-gems the teens use to glamor their cell phones, lots of no-drill options :-)

        • Estone Villan > JL November 22, 2016 at 10:09am
          I think that's what I mean. It's really tight up there because the headstock flares out at the nut rather than gradually after a couple of inches. The capo idea is a great shout thanks. I can play it but it's a bit uncomfortable. The neck is way too thick too but I'm not going to reshape it yet. I may sort the headstock and neck thickness out in the future. For the time being, I just want to play it warts and all. I'll be using a capo though
      • Regan > Estone Villan November 22, 2016 at 1:49am

        A tip with issues sawing: Always cut slightly oversize, say 1/8th inch, and sand to size if you have problems sawing. For drilling holes,, give the hole a hit with a hammer an nail first, then use the divot to guide the drill bit. Hope this helps!

  • Lane Martin November 21, 2016 at 12:17pm

    Looks good.

    • Estone Villan > Lane Martin November 21, 2016 at 12:20pm
      There's so many problems with it that it looks like I've thrown it together but I actually did try to make a quality instrument. I learned loads from it

      Hopefully u now have a better idea of how to build one.
  • Estone Villan November 21, 2016 at 12:17pm
    Doesn't look like I added the image correctly.
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