Transcript Building The FIDELCO Ukelele

Building The FIDELCO Ukulele
Specifications: Solid Mahogany Soprano Ukulele, 13.5” Scale Rosewood Fingerboard
with Mother of Pearl Diamond Inlay, Black/Ivoroid/Black Rosette, Rosewood Bridge,
Reclaimed Corian Nut, Rosewood Headstock Veneer with Mother of Pearl Logo and
Shepherd Inlay,
The Top and Back
The entire uke is
constructed from
reclaimed mahogany from
a local plaque
manufacturer. At one
time, these plaques were
being cut up and sold for
firewood. One plaque will
yield three top and back
plates. The plaques are
ripped down the center
then resawn on a bandsaw
so that they can be
bookmatched. The edge is
planed and the halves are
glued together. After
drying, they are ran
through a thickness sander
which reduces them to
.080 of an inch. A much
better use than fuel to
roast a wiener.
The two pieces of wood are scrutinized to determine their best use. Ideally, the grain on the tops should run on the
quarter, meaning that the grain is perpendicular to the top, which adds stiffness to counter the tension from the
strings. Using a plexiglass template, the shape is traced onto the top and back paying special attention to match the
template centerline with the joint that runs down the center of the plate. Once traced, its back over to the bandsaw
where the plates are rough cut to shape.
The center of the soundhole is located on the top and then goes to the drill press where the channel for the
rosette and the hole itself is cut using a circle bit.
The soundhole isn’t cut completely out on the drill press but just deep enough that it can be finished with
a sharp knife. This reduces the risk of tearout around the soundhole. The channel for the rosette is
.050 of an inch deep but once installed, it will provide further reinforcement to the soundhole.
Once the channel is cut and the soundhole is cleaned up, it’s time to install the rosette. The rosette is made up
of a piece of ivoroid that is .050” thick surrounded with two pieces of black binding that are .020 inches thick.
The trick is to get all three pieces pressed into the channel at the same time. They strips are fitted and the ends
are trimmed then re-fitted and trimmed again and again and again until they are perfect. Sometimes it takes 15
minutes and other times an hour. Luckily, I only had to start over once on this one and it took about twenty
minutes.
Finally, the glue dries and the rosette can be scraped flush with the top.
The bracing
location is
mapped out on
both the top and
back plates. The
bracing provides
support as well as
a degree of mass
that affects the
final tone.
Instruments with
stiff, or heavy
braces, tend to
sound a bit thinner
and tinny whereas
a lighter setup will
give it a nice tonal
balance across the
strings. Too light
and the top will
sink.
Here is a close-up of the braces. They are carved using a chisel and finger plane so they resemble a pyramid
with a slightly rounded peak. They are then tapered on the ends. The kerfing and sides of the uke will be
notched so that they are tied directly into the sides of the instrument.
All the braces are installed plus the rosewood bridge plate that sits underneath the bridge and supports the shear
tension from the bridge, as well as helps spreads the vibrations of the top to the sound chamber. They will be set
aside while work on the body begins.
The Body
The sides are bent in a mold using a
silicone heat blanket. Before going into
the mold, the book matched sides are
taped together, wetted and wrapped in
foil.
The blanket heats the wet
sides which creates steam
and makes them pliable to
mold them to the shape in
the bending jig.
A heat blanket is put on top of the
sides then they are sandwiched
between two pieces of stainless
spring steel. Along with holding the
sides to the shape of the mold, the
steel also helps distribute an even
heat.
As the sides become pliable from the heat, the waist
is clamped down using the handle attached to the
large steel pipe at the top of the bending jig. Slowly,
each side is pulled down and hooked to a spring that
runs under the jig that will maintain tension on the
sides and hold them to the mold. The sides are heated
and cooled several times to “set” them to the final
shape.
So, here they are. As you can
see, they are perfectly matched
sets.
They will be trimmed to length then put into a mold where they
are glued, tapered, kerfed and the tops and backs attached to
create the sound box.
The sides are put into a female mold so that they will maintain their shape while further work is
done.
Traditionally, the ukulele has a tapered back. The sides at the
neck block is 1 13/16” then increases to 2 1/8” at the tail block.
The taper is achieved by angling
the body in the jig then cutting it
with a fine kerf saw.
There are two more things to do before gluing the top and back on to complete the sound box. First,
the neck block, which will be the point where the neck joins the body, and the tail block need to be
installed. They are sanded to match the rounded profile of the body, glue is applied and they are
clamped on the centerline.
Next, the kerfing, or lining, is installed around the edges of the sides. This provides support as well as
gives a larger surface area for which to glue the top and back plates. The kerfing is notched so that it
can follow the curves of the instrument. Below, the mold is sitting on a piece of sandpaper that is glued
to a smooth piece of marble. Before, and after, the kerfing is installed the sides are sanded level and
square by rubbing them over the paper while in the mold. Once all the kerfing is installed it will be
time to glue on the top and back plates.
Normally, I use spindle clamps when gluing up an instrument, but since a uke is so small I find this a much
easier and quicker method.
Once the glue is dried then the edges are
routed flush with the sides to prepare it for
binding.
This instrument will be “side” bound using
rosewood with a white/black/white accent strip.
Its called side binding because the accent
appears on the side of the instrument versus the
face.
First, a channel must be routed around the top
and back that is the width and depth of the
binding. When routing the binding channel, you
remove so much side material that you reveal
the kerfing.
Since the binding is wood, it is bent to
shape using the same method as the
sides. It is trimmed and glued into the
channel. Tape is used to “clamp” it into
place while the glue dries.
Since this was a special commission, I decided to incorporate the side binding effect in the tailpiece
strip. It took several attempts at this to get the miters matched up but I think it is well worth it.
Finally, we have a sound box and we can start
building the neck.
The Neck
First, two pieces of mahogany are glued together to make
the neck blank. The profile of the neck is drawn onto the
blank and cut out using the bandsaw. “Wings” are glued
onto either side of the headstock area to make it wider.
The centerline is drawn
on the blank on all sides
along with the tapered
fingerboard and the
headstock shape before
being cut to size on the
bandsaw. Once again,
reclaimed mahogany was
used to make this neck,
and the blank was large
enough for two necks and
a couple neck and tail
blocks.
Once the neck is roughed out then the heel,where the neck
meets the body, is drawn on the end of the blank then cut
using a handsaw. Finally, a “heel cap” made of rosewood is
glued on that will match the binding that runs around the
back edge of the body.
Carving a neck, especially a uke neck, is a pretty simple process but most first timers are terrified that
they are going to take off too much material. I like to draw a tapered line off the centerline the length of
the neck. At the heel, the line starts 3/8” from the centerline then tapers in to 1/4” just below where the
neck meets the headstock. The lines give me something to track my progress with and to make sure I’m
doing the same thing on both sides of the centerline.
I don’t use a fancy jig to hold it, but simply clamp it to a workbench where I’ll rough carve it using a
coarse rasp.
The neck is carved at a 45 degree angle to the first line. The
outside will be worked down within 1/4” of the fretboard
then I will start blending in the heel and headstock for a
smooth transition.
Next, I carve to the center line and try to leave a bit of a ridge
right down the center. I am used to carving necks for
mandolins, which generally have a rounded V shape when
finished, and I like to do the final shaping of that V with
sandpaper.
At this point, I am working from the outside to the center but
carving in line with the neck. I can feel, and barely see, the
last pass with the rasp and try to overlap each pass halfway
until I have the rounded shape I am looking for.
Once there, I will finish out the transition areas at the heel and
the headstock and then go over the entire neck with a finer
toothed file to smooth out the grooves from the rasp.
After about thirty minutes of carving and thirty minutes of sanding, we have a finished neck ready
for the fretboard to be glued on. This particular fretboard was made by a friend, and fellow luthier,
David Gill of Columbus, IN. I had run out of rosewood and asked if he had some I could use and
he was kind enough to cut, inlay and fret this board free of charge. Surprised is an understatement
when I showed up at his shop expecting to pickup a rough piece of lumber but got this instead. He
cuts the inlay pockets, along with the pearl diamonds, by hand so he is a better man than I as you
will see my solution once we get to the headstock inlay.
Most production ukes have a flat neck heel
and body shape to facilitate a quick and easy
neck join with little labor. Really, really high
end builders use a compound dovetail joint
which can literally take hours to cut and fit.
I like the look of the rounded body profile
that you get with the dovetail but use a
reliable and easier dowel system in joining
the neck.
Here, the body profile was traced onto a
piece of paper which was then glued to
the top of the neck(before the fingerboard
was glued on). Using a spindle sander,
the heel was sanded to fit the body
profile. A little more hand sanding will
make the neck so that it attaches with
about one degree of neck angle. When
the instrument is tuned to pitch, the string
tension will decrease the angle making
the neck almost parallel to the top.
Otherwise known as creating neck relief.
Here the headstock veneer, with mother of pearl
inlay, is being glued on using my parrot vice as a
clamp. The fretboard was glued on prior to this step.
Once the veneer dried, the tuner holes were drilled
and tapered for the bushings. You can catch a
glimpse of my name and the special logo I had cut
specifically for this project. It’s a really cool
looking inlay.
Here is a shot of the neck joint.
Corresponding holes are drilled in
the neck heel and the headblock of
the body. A 3/8” dowel completes
the joint. The dowel and the
mating surfaces will be glued. It
is a very simple, yet reliable joint
that has been used for decades.
A lot of people look at this and
say, “Wow, how in the world do
you clamp that together while it
dries.” Easy answer.
Rubberbands. Very large
rubberbands.
Nothing like two 40” rubberbands wrapped in every conceivable direction to get the job done. Once
stretched, these will provide as much, if not more, clamping pressure than most clamps. These are
also used to clamp fingerboards, binding and other odd shaped assemblies.
Fretting and Setup
The Completed Uke