Per the cureuv.com thread going on nearby, here are some pictures of my recent efforts. This is my first ukulele, a tenor, based loosely on a partial Hana Lima plan I inherited plus some gen from around the 'net. I found it a real pleasure to build and I'm sure I will build more now. Construction-wise it's really just a mini guitar. Pretty much every operation used to make a full-size steel string acoustic guitar was used to make this instrument.
Specs:
- Back/sides/top/headplate/back-of-headplate are all curly koa (came from Anamura on eBay)
- Curly honduras mahogany neck with carbon fiber rod reinforcement
- BRW fingerboard and bridge
- Zipflex purfling and rosette (Thanks Kevin, I love that stuff!!)
- Domed fret ends
- Gotoh uke tuners
- 13 frets to the body (seemed to put the bridge right in the middle where it should be IMO!)
- UVcure.com (SPDI) polyester finish
[img]http://www.cambrianguitars.com/images/uv/tenoruke/ch4/CIMG3822s.jpg[/img}
I used some Transtint water-based dye (golden amber IIRC) soaked into the bare curly koa to get the grain to pop a bit more. It looks really "3D" and has wonderful chatoyance.
The instrument sounds pretty nice - good tone right after it was strung up. The strings are still stretching, so it's a pain to play right now. In a couple of days I'll try to record something.
Cheers,
Dave F.
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