Year: 2013

I've made some progress on the carved multi-uke hanger since the last time I posted. It's going pretty well so far. It's a nice relaxing activity, and one that I can do when I'd prefer to have a lot less noise and dust than working with the power tools. Still no idea when it will be finished, but there is still a lot to do.

A few days ago I finished the last of the trio of soprano ukuleles I've been building. This one has got a maple neck and cherry top, sides, and back. I'm getting better at getting the action right on the first try - it's pretty near perfect on this one, with no real tweaking necessary. Now it's just a question of what to do with it - as I've already got two other sopranos I have built (this makes three). But at least I've cleared this one off of my plate and can start the tenors I've been itching to build.

I've started on the carved multi-uke hanger I mentioned a little while back. I found a nice wide mahogany board, printed out my pattern and used spray adhesive to stick it down. Then I started carving the first flower and leaf. I've got a lot to learn, but this project seems totally doable. It will take a while, but it's sort of a relaxing activity. I'm in no rush to finish it, so I'm just going to chip away at it as the mood strikes.

I've been waiting for the lacquer to cure on the cherry soprano uke before I can finish it up. While I've been waiting, I started working on something I saw in a recent issue of Make magazine - a banjolele. It's a cross between a ukuelele and a banjo, as you might have guessed. It is essentially a ukulele with a metal resonator rather than a wooden body. It was super quick to build - only took a half-dozen hours on a weekend - and is pretty fun to play. I figure the whole thing cost me maybe $30, and it sounds surprisingly good too. There is no proper fretboard - the frets are just laid right into the neck itself (which is some leftover quartersawn cherry I had lying around). The resonator is just a pair of aluminum cake pans!