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  1. #16
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    Dec 2007
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    Gold Coast
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    Well, I had a look through my diminishing wood stock. I had a massive shed clean out nine months ago and not much there. Found a small piece of Alaskan yellow cedar, not much, but enough to make a cigar box Ukulele.

    I will take some photos tomorrow to show my slow progress. Being my first and not having all the tools a fair bit of thinking will be needed. I will just use it as a learning curve and hopefully move on from there.

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  3. #17
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    Feb 2007
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    blue mountains
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    You can make that cedar stretch to a couple of ukes if you just use it for the sound board. The back and sides can be most anything. It's the sound board that matters. You are on the right track building the box yourself as it should sound better than most cigar boxes will. Funny thing I have found is when asked to make a CBG I explain this to people but most still want the real cigar box look. To some looking cool is better than sounding cool.
    Regards
    John

  4. #18
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    Dec 2007
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    Gold Coast
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    Thanks John.

    That was something I wondered if you could get away with. Another thing I would like to know is if I just use the Alaskan yellow cedar for the soundboard does it matter if the sides are thicker.

    By being thicker it would make it easier to make a box with a thinner soundboard. I am pleased with all the help I am getting with this. Just like the old days.

    Pete

  5. #19
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
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    blue mountains
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    My latest crop of boxes I made the sides about 6mm. for a concert size and a tad over for larger sizes. Thick enough so you don't need any reinforcing or kerfed binding. Plenty meat to glue the back and soundboard to. General theory is to keep everything as light as possable for good sound but this seems to work ok for box ones. The top needs to be 3mm or less. I have had good results with western red cedar tops but if you have trouble getting down to that thickness then thin good quality ply will also work and be easier. I asked at Mr ply for some offcuts and came out with about half a sheet at a very reasonable price. The other great thing about cigar box instruments is you can do it any way you like and nobody is going to say it should be this way like they would if you produced a home made conventional design instrument.
    This baritone uke went to a musician who plays a lot of pub gigs so the ply makes it more durable than the cedar. Cedar scratches and marks easily.
    Regards
    John
    Attached Images Attached Images

  6. #20
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    Dec 2007
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    Gold Coast
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    They say a picture says a thousand words. They create a thousand questions for me. Thank you. I have had a big break from woodworking and now am gradually getting my head around things I had forgotten.

    Looking at one photo it looks like your block planes are breeding. I have seen many types of clamps but had to have another look at yours. Best I really take my time here because I am quickly getting my head around what is involved.

    One question I have is, when does a Concert turn into a Tenor and then into a Baritone. I know they are tuned GCEA until you get to the Baritone, but is the length of the neck the major reason apart from the tunings.

    Also, is their an accepted relationship between length of neck and the body of the box. That is enough questions for tonight.

    Pete

  7. #21
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    blue mountains
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    The uke sizes go by scale length. That is the distance from the nut to the bridge. Soprano is about 13'', concert 15'', tenor 17'' and baritone 19 or 20ish. Full size guitar is about 25''. The fret spacing HAS to be calculated for the scale length or the thing just will not play. If you are using a bought fretted neck or fret board then your scale is set by those frets. You measure from nut to 12th fret then the same again to the bridge position. 12th fret is always the middle of the scale length. There are on line fret calculators if you are going to fret the thing yourself. For uke builds I use ready fretted rosewood boards from china at less than $10 each as it saves a lot of work. For baritone size and up then I have to make my own.
    As to general layout its good to have the bridge about 1/3 the way from the tail of the box and the neck joining the box at about 17th fret so you can reach to the 19th at least. So the box length is also kind of dictated by scale length. That said the average uke player seldom plays above the 12th fret and some sopranos only have 12 frets. You can lay out the general arrangement to scale on paper showing bridge, nut and neck join then play around to get an idea of box size.
    Regards
    John





    https://www.stewmac.com/FretCalculator.html

  8. #22
    Join Date
    Jun 2015
    Location
    Sydney
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    Star,
    When I first started on building ukes, I bought a book and plans from Hana Lima’Ia in Hawaii. As a first try I decided to build a pineapple concert to their plans, but I chose to make the whole thing out of radiata - didn’t want to risk good timber. The result plays surprisingly well, so it was a good learning experience.
    Others here have suggested good sources of timber and other stuff, but no-one has mentioned the guitar go-to people - Stewart-MacDonald (better known as Stew-Mac) in the US. My experiences with them has been good, reasonably quick delivery, etc. They keep a reasonable amount of stuff for ukes.

  9. #23
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    Feb 2007
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    blue mountains
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    Hi Chillytoes and welcome to the forum.
    I am aware of Stewmac but being in the US shipping costs tend to be a deal killer. They do however have some great online information on building and repairs. Well worth looking at for anyone thinking about building instruments.
    Regards
    John

  10. #24
    Join Date
    Feb 2015
    Location
    Strathalbyn South Australia
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    I agree with you on that John, there range too expensive to start with when first starting out too. The gear of eBay is plenty good enough at the moment, everything from piezos to tuning heads and most things in between.

  11. #25
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    Dec 2007
    Location
    Gold Coast
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    Thanks all for the advice. Unfortunately my brain has been overloaded and I am having difficulty keeping up with all this great information. It will take me some time to work through all this, so if I appear to not give appreciation, please understand.

  12. #26
    Join Date
    Sep 2002
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    Minbun, FNQ, Australia
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    Watching.
    Cliff.
    If you find a post of mine that is missing a pic that you'd like to see, let me know & I'll see if I can find a copy.

  13. #27
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    Dec 2007
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    Gold Coast
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    While I do not know what I am doing, I bit the bullet and did my little bit to keep the China economy going. E Bay and Ali Baba express got a few orders this weekend.
    So now, I have bought in to this Ukulele building. Let's hope it is easier and better then my Ukulele playing.

  14. #28
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    Feb 2015
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    Strathalbyn South Australia
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    Good for you! I think if you take it slow and plan it out in small steps you will be fine. Don’t get too worried about stuffing up.

  15. #29
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    Found another offcut that I thought went into the firebox. It was a small piece of Highly figured , fiddleback, Murray River Red Gum. It is 22mm thick and just wide and long enough for a Cigar Box Ukulele. According to Bill Plant's book it is just the size he has plans for in his book for a small Soprano but to me, it is just that little bit too small for me.

    It looks about perfect for a " Fluke " but really. as cute as they look, they are way too small for me. The piece was given to me by Stan C. the Man from the Mullumbimbi area many years ago and I was wondering what to do with it.

    Looks like, by default, I am going to have a few Cigar Box Utes providing I do not stuff the soundboards up. I think I will try for 3 slices off it and have 3 potential soundboards and try to find something a bit more common for the sides and bottom.

    I had a heap suitable for that but, Alas, as she wept.

    Pete

  16. #30
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    Feb 2015
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    Strathalbyn South Australia
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    Pete, usually the soundboard is a softwood not hardwood, this is so it vibrates and moves a lot. You could use the hardwood for the back or sides, which are generally hardwood anyway. Do you have any Silky Oak? I used it on my acoustic build and it sounds great.


    Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

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