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Ouch! I just caled National to order a ukulele coverplate for my resonator uke project. They want $150...I had to pass.

It's always been my intention to fabricate my own, but my metalworking skills are limited to simple ductwork and galvanized steel. I've no knowledge of bell brass, stamping parts, etc. ...don't even know where to begin.

So..any nudges in the right direction? Can one be fashioned from another material and look and sound right. Is metal working something that a decent woodworker can dive into?

I've dug up a few sources. It's time to dust off the lathe.

Metal Spinning Tutorial

The Art of Metal Spinning

When I get around to tackling a resonator uke project I'll buy the cone ready-made, but I plan to make my own cover plate out of sheet brass or copper.
Basically I've come up with a couple of coverplate patterns that can be made using just a drill press to pierce the hole patterns in the plate. The next step would be to take a ball peen hammer and hammer an appropriate dome into the plate. This takes a little skill but it's pretty do-able with a little practice. After peening the dome into shape, it might be necessary to revisit the holes and touch them up. Look at the center of this copper charger to see what I mean about a hammered finish.
All that would remain would be to fabricate and solder on a bridge protector. Oh, and haul it down to the local plating shop to get it chrome or gold plated. Or you could probably get it powdercoated to most any color you'd want. A hammered finish, by the way, is not only decorative but also serves to stiffen the plate and harden the metal surface.

The hardest part would be accurately laying out the hole patterns before drilling.

I guess I've already started this project! I resawed some zooty flamed maple today that would look mighty nice as a reso uke. I'll drag my coverplate patterns out of the other computer and post them.

D..

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D..

I dug up another option...turned rosewood a la Michael Dunn.



What clean work!

Coverplates are too thick to spin (at least not without
machine help) and are typically stamped with a
multi-ton press. Expensive dies are also needed.

It's a tough situation, Nationals are too pricey (and
the sieve-hole pattern is 'off', that drives me nuts)
and the off-shore ones aren't as nice as I would like
with visible spot welds on the handguard etc.

In the Dobro world things are a little better with some
very nice covers available. These will work with both
single and tri-cone National set-ups.

Besides wood, fiberglass is a viable option if you
don't mind a painted finish.

Yeow! I like everything about that instrument, koa, rope binding, palm tree soundholes and all.

I've posted a couple of images showing one of the coverplate patterns I came up with. It's very similar to the rosewood coverplate. View 1 shows the basic design. View 2 shows the holes laid out for drilling. When it comes to the actual fabrication, I'll print the layout at full size, them glue it to the sheet of brass or copper. The same design could also be rendered in cold-rolled steel.

D..

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D..

Looks great Dennis!