Australian/New Zealand Luthiers Forum

Hi all

It has been a while between drinks, in fact over a year since I posted my first build. I managed to get into the shed and build these 3, one after the other. I made so many mistakes on each of them, I wouldn't be able to list them all, but came up with fixes. The mistakes will be obvious to you guys, but I don't care as I am still learning. They are all braced differently or are different in some way, but they all sound pretty much the same, which surprised me a bit. My first build made from native olive and spruce is the only one that sounds appreciably better, due to the spruce I think.

Number one is an all Blackwood with ebonised Silkyoak bindings, Qld maple neck and abalone rosette.
Number two is a Tiger Myrtle with Douglas Fir soundboard (I think), maple bindings, abalone purfling and Silkyoak neck.
Number three is Cocobolo with a blackwood soundboard, unknown bindings and rope purfling, Silkyoak neck.

All finished in tru-oil, all Tenors.

Time to move onto some guitars now, I have had Trevor and Gerards' book for over a year now, so time to put them to good use.

Cheers

Col

Very nice Col, looks as if you've used the last year very wisely. Wayne

Hi Col,

They all look good!
What is the fingerboard timber on the all blackwood one?

Thanks,
GregL.

Nice looking little ukes Col,
That tru oil finish is magnificent (pic 2 and 3) You must know something I don't in relation to the application of it.
Cheers Maurice

GregL wrote:Hi Col,

They all look good!
What is the fingerboard timber on the all blackwood one?

Thanks,
GregL.

I think it might be Wandoo, I bought it ages ago from TimS, and am not positive.

maurie wrote:Nice looking little ukes Col,
That tru oil finish is magnificent (pic 2 and 3) You must know something I don't in relation to the application of it.
Cheers Maurice

I put on lots of coats and rubbed it back in between with a scotchbrite, like other finishes. The last 2 coats were put on very thin, I just put a few drops on the surface and used a brush dipped in a little turps to spread it, didn't seem to leave brush marks.

Cheers Col

Great job, I love the contrast between the three.

Nice one Col. I mean three. Luv the Cocobolo

Great looking set of ukuleles. How does the fir top sound compare to the blackwood?

johnparchem wrote:Great looking set of ukuleles. How does the fir top sound compare to the blackwood?

Thanks - I was just playing them this morning and the fir definitely sounds better than the blackwood, it is louder and has more sustain.

Cheers

Col

Great work Col, these are some beautiful ukes!

Did you do the ebonising of those bindings? If so, which method did you apply?

charangohabsburg wrote:Great work Col, these are some beautiful ukes!

Did you do the ebonising of those bindings? If so, which method did you apply?

Thanks and I did ebonise them myself using the usual technique of steel wool and vinegar - they only took a few hours to go that colour.

Cheers

Col

Thanks Col. It's good to know which woods work well with this technique.