I pretty much only make progress on my ukulele on the weekends – and even then only for a short period in morning since it gets so hot so quickly.1 Unfortunately, last Sunday I didn’t get to it – and as a result spent the workweek daydreaming about what I’d do on Saturday morning.
Here’s what I planned to do:
- Filing and sanding. Of course.
- Increase the diameters for the holes for the tuners. After a few test fittings, I found the holes for the tuners were pretty snug. I wanted to widen these just a little to make them easier to insert, hoping they would end up flush against the ukulele body.
- Counter sink the string holes as Daniel did on his Deluxe Travel Ukulele.
- Cut the 3″ off the zinc plated round-rod.
I’m pleased with my progress so far – it’s not onerous, but it is slow. As with so many things, it’s the journey, not the destination.
- Cutting the round rod with the hacksaw went reasonably smoothly. Rather than going for a particular length, I aimed for a length that would go from either side of the body, with about a quarter inch to spare. I marked the spot with a sharpie, cut until I got mostly through, and bent the soft metal until it popped off. I used my full hacksaw instead of my smaller hacksaw and it went quickly. Then I filed down both ends so it wouldn’t be sharp. I don’t like any of the hardware store options and will be designing a 3D printed piece to hold it in place.
- Counter sinking the string holes and widening the tuner holes went easy enough. I really should have done these at the beginning, but it’s all a learning experience. I suppose I could have drilled out the turn around hole some, but the machines screws went in and came out fine already.
- The filing and sanding isn’t difficult, it’s just slow.
- In the photos below you’ll notice I used a soft pencil to draw in and around some of the saw and file gouge marks. I used my medium and fine files, then started with 100 grit, then 120 grit. I still some light gouge marks on the outside to remove, some unevenness to the neck to straighten out, and much of the interior of the body to file, shape and sand. I also made sure to follow Adam Savage’s advice and regularly swap out the sandpaper. There’s no point in rubbing this thing with sandless paper.2
- The interior really jumps out as the least attractive part right now.
- I gave the outside of the entire board a good sanding to smooth it out – except for the fretboard area. I’m loathe to sand this part and remove the markings for the frets. The fret and bridge positions are critical to getting the sound right and I don’t want to screw this up.
- I took turns filing and sanding to get the shape I wanted – then started using the pencil to highlight the areas needing attention, sanding, and then an old toothbrush to remove dust. I have a small supply of the kid’s old toothbrushes for these kinds of tasks. After they’re done with them, I’ll wash them and use my heavy duty clippers to cut them off about 1-2 inches below the bristles. I keep one with my drill bit set, so I can remove dust and debris from the bits before they go back in.
- Anyhow, by the time I was done with the neck, I was genuinely surprised how nice it felt to hold. It kinda feels like a ukulele.
What’s next? I’m glad you asked!
- Still more filing, pencil marks, sanding, brushing.
- Using my small thin round files on the string holes so they’re not so sharp.
- With particular attention paid to the inside of the body (where it’s pretty rough) and the head (which needs a lot of shaping).
- I’m genuinely undecided about the bottom of the ukulele – whether I want to keep it flat or round it off. It’s a lot of wood to remove by file, so I’d probably need to cut into it again if I decided I didn’t like it.
- Gluing the zero fret and frets.
- Measuring and printing a new turn around. I filed away enough of the interior that although the original turn around would work, it would look a lot better with a new one.
- Ordering the finish and wax. I’ll probably go with Daniel’s suggestion for Birchwood Casey gun stock finish and gun stock wax. They’re inexpensive, come in small bottles, and are easy to order off Amazon. I suspect a single bottle of each would be good enough for many more ukuleles than I’m likely to build.
- I like the idea of black hardware. I might still pick up some black oxide finish machine screws. Or, I might just await until I finish this ukulele and see how it sounds.
- Once the finish and wax come, it’s back to more sanding, finish, sand, finish, then wax. :)
Things I would do differently the next time around:
- I would definitely NOT use my awl to put such large holes into the wood. I would have not filed or sanded off as much in many areas if I hadn’t put some of the pock marks into the wood. I don’t know a great way to transfer the design to the wood – but I’m certain this is a problem that’s been solved in the last several thousand years by better minds.
- Throughout this entire process I keep thinking “Dang, this would be a lot easier / faster / better looking with a bench vise.” It would have been very helpful to have it for holding the plank while I cut with the coping saw, allowing me to keep the blade perpendicular to the wood, rather than at an angle as I held the plank with one hand and the saw pivoted slightly. It would have been helpful with the drilling, filing, cutting the round rod, and sanding.
- If I had a workshop or garage space I would immediately put in a work bench, bench vice, a used drill press, and a nearby station for my shop vac. I’d be tempted to add a used band saw too. I’ll add these to the wishlist for my next home.