Thread: Wood for school ukuleles

Have you seen this uke build?

Originally Posted by Aerohydro

Here's a bit of a tricky question for the experts out there.

I am a Technology teacher working in a public high school in western NSW. I have a rather bright Year 9 Design and Technology class, and I'm thinking about projects for next year. So far they have done hydraulic machines, technical drawing and jewellery making.

A couple of my Year 12s this year built electric guitars, and as a result I've done lots of reading regarding luthiery in general. If I can sort out the practicalities, I'd like to make a batch of ukuleles with the Year 10s next year. We have a new and well equipped workshop, but the consumables budget is pretty slim. Availability of suitable wood at acceptable cost will be the limiting factor.

So, what are some acceptable timbers that could be used? Keep in mind these instruments will be made by and for teenagers, who have low standards. I will take all necessary measures to ensure the construction quality is of a reasonable standard through teaching and use of lots of jigs.

Starting with the easiest, I'm thinking the fretboard could be Jarrah, tallow or other moderately dense eucalypt.

What about Hoop Pine for the soundboard with a lighter eucalpyt (tas. oak, flooded gum) for back and sides?

How essential is quarter sawn timber for such a small instrument?

Thanks,
Leon.

Hi Leon,
Plain blackwood for backs sides and soundboard works well, and go for fully quarter sawn.

Thanks for the responses. I had not seen that blog, some very good detail there.

Regarding the blackwood: By plain I assume you mean straight grain? This is a definite option but price may be the killer. I intend to resaw all of the timber myself, and we have a thicknessing drum sander. I am sure it will take me a while to get the bandsaw tuned to the point where I can resaw efficiently though. Is a 20mm 3tpi generic blade likely to be suitable for this sort of work?

Leon.

At the risk of raising the ire of the wood pron vendors on the forum...

Most timbers will make a working instrument, particularly a Uke where the string stresses are low. The expense comes when you want to produce a work of art (visually or acoustically) and go for exotic timbers local or imported. Bunnies has Tas Oak which will make very acceptable bodies and necks. Merbau can also be used but does need to stablilize after cutting into thin boards. I dont know what else is available in your location but I'd give Pinus Radiata a go. There is also a fabulous timber called Cypress Pine. Getting the clear stuff is a challenge. If there is a local timber mill who knows what they will have?

Tops are a slightly different matter. A timber that is too heavy will be difficult to get any real volume from, try Western Red Cedar although its very easy to damage so it may not be a great choice. There have been great Mandolins made with Pinus Radiata tops (think Peter Coombes) but Hoop Pine should be very acceptable as well.

Think floorboards for fretboards. Ive used Jarrah fenceposts as well. Try neck blocks from construction grade pine without the knots. Remember also that many of these instruments will be painted so why waste money on ultra loverly timber..

Most timbers will make a Uke. The stresses are not great and it is yr 10 students. I know what they are like, my second is in the middle of that "phase"

I'm still thinking about this project, it's beginning to look feasible. Fret wire, strings and tuning machines can be had cheaply on ebay, and I'm sure I can scrounge something suitable for nut and saddle material. I'm currently working on sourcing timber locally and getting the school bandsaw set up for resawing.

A question for the experts: Is making soprano ukuleles a profoundly terrible idea? The only reasons I have assumed this size is because I have the plans, materials costs will be lower and there is the 'cute' factor for teenager appeal. If building a larger size would give more reliable results though, I might go that way.

Also, am I right in assuming a fairly small size of fret wire would work best? Like this: 6 Feet of Narrow/Lower Frets/Fret Wire for Mandolin, Ukelele &More! 10-12-01 | eBay

That fretwire should work fine Aero, As for nut and saddle material what about some hardwood? Once again its a Uke for Yr 10's, there wont be enormous performance pressures.

As for the style, I am not expert but I would expect the soprano uke challenge would be sufficient for most Yr 10's. You wont be limited to the traditional thin waisted design BTW, what about a flying V shape (no bending) or a pineapple shape (no complex curve)?

Hi Leon,
For something a bit different
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTggcYjoVEw"]Hand Carved Tahitian Ukulele.wmv - YouTube[/ame]
I have seen some made of old oregon floor joists so cost would be well down and a lot easier to build. I am half way into a prototype and have got it to where I fitted fishing line strings and tuned it just to see if it is worth going on. Has more of a banjo ring to it than a uke sound. Plenty of on line info on building out there. A blank can be glued up from smaller pieces to use available timber. I have no plan for mine but took the measurments from a regular uke as to frets, nut and bridge placement. Some are plain but decoration will be part of the apeal.
Regards
John

Thanks for the input.

I asked about the tenor vs soprano issue as I was thinking that the smaller size might get a bit fiddly. Now that I am more familiar with the construction processes I don't think it will be an issue, and being able to use smaller timber will be a big advantage.

That carved instrument is pretty amazing, I wonder how it sounds.

Regarding the possibilities for body shape, this is not something I had given a great deal of thought to. After finding some suitable plans for a traditional soprano, I have started down the path of making forms, templates etc. I may consider letting the students choose their own shape, but the project has enough opportunity for personalisation even with a set body shape.

I've run into difficulties with purchasing hardware, working in a public school I must use Australian suppliers. Australian Luthiers Supplies has various fretwire, but I have been unable to find tuners for a reasonable price here, despite the fact that they are all over ebay for peanuts. I'll probably just buy them myself.

I'm looking at #147 fretwire which is 1.02mm high and 2.03 wide. This is one size up from the smallest, but I thought it would be a bit easier to handle when fretting - less likely to twist and better ability to correct an imperfect fretboard by dressing the frets. Will this be too fat for a little soprano?

Leon.

Fretwire can be filed into whatever profile you want Aero. Its pretty soft stuff as long as its nickel silver and not stainless Brass rod has also worked historically.

For tuners have you considered violin pegs? They require a bit of fine tuning to get them to work well but there is plenty of precedence.

Other vendors to consider, Guitar woods dot com dot au, Guitar parts dot com dot au, Ace Guitar parts dot com dot au or even Billy Hyde. Bear in mind that all of these bits are imported and then marked up as none of them are made here. I have a soapbox about that but I'll let it go for now.

I spoke to the bloke from Australian Luthiers Supplies today, who recommended the narrowest fretwire. I'm strongly considering purchasing the electric bending iron they sell. This gear is stupidly expensive for what it is, but it is probably worth it to have a tool which just works. When dealing with school kids and practical projects, I always try to remove as many variables as possible without compromising the learning opportunity.

On wood, I've pretty much decided to get some dry hoop pine and tas. oak locally, and scrounge up whatever interesting scraps I can find. I have a bit of some sort of wattle, and I know acacias are fairly well accepted for instrument making. Also I have a stack of old western red cedar drawing boards which are a bit past it for technical drawing purposes. These might make good soundboards.

I've kept out of this thread because I no longer am involved with paulownia. However it is an ideal timber for sound boards, has similar qualities to WRC but lighter. I stocked planks that were up to 300 mm wide and about 10/12 mm thick. These could easily be thicknessed/sanded down to what you wanted. Check the INTERNET for suppliers. Geoff (0411676854) from the Gold Coast took over my business and should be able to help.

Whitewood

Micheal Connor sells timber specifically for ukelele builds. He is known on here as localele.

Originally Posted by Aerohydro

. I'm strongly considering purchasing the electric bending iron they sell.

Dont bother with a bending iron for a soprano uke, make yourself an external mold, or pm me for more details.

An external mould will allow you to simply soak the wood and then clamp into shape against the mould.This will guarantee conformity of shape.

You can realistically make the uke out of any type of wood even plywood will work.

Steve

I'm part-way through making an external mould from laminated plywood. I can see soaking and bending working, but does the timber hold its shape as well as with heat bending?