Official Luthiers Forum!

I have been looking around this forum for about 3 days now and just wanted to introduce myself. My name is Cody and I am a 23 year old guitar enthusiast. I have been researching lutherie since I was about 16 and ,after 2 solid body kits, I finally got the nerve to begin a scratch build. Due to lack of funds, I thought it would be in my best interest to start with something small so my first build was a tenor uke. Having no tools and very little woodworking experience, I went out and purchased a rough cut piece of cherry and found a very generous and extremely talented furniture maker to help with the build. He taught me a lot and he also learned a lot in the process. I thought I was hooked before the build and now I KNOW I am. The uke isn't complete yet, but it is almost there. I have had a few questions answered on another forum (ukulele underground) and it seems that everyone on this forum is just as nice so I decided to join. I plan to do a few more ukes and then move on to guitars. It's just a hobby but I love it and plan to keep building even if I have to give them away to make room for more. I'm posting a pic just to share but any advice is more than welcome. I think the bridge might be a little big.

Thanks for all you guys do to help each other. It's nice to have little communities to get advice and support from wiser builders.

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"Measure once; curse twice."

Hey Cody

Looks nice so far....the bridge does look kinda big and heavy though. Is it too late to modify it?

Welcome , It looks good so far ! I love working with Cherry myself and have a few mandola's in process . It does look quite beefy on the bridge and fretboard . Keep up the good work , glad to have you here .

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Welcome. Cool looking uke! Godd job!

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Mike

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Thanks for all of the positive comments. No, it's not too late to modify. The bridge and fretboard have yet to be glued down. I wanted to wait until I finish it before I glue those. I used a guitar saddle and nut and since I've only played a uke twice at guitar center I wasn't sure how big to go. The plans don't specify a string spacing. I compared the bridge to the bridge on my silvertone acoustic and it's bigger than that one so I know it needs to be modified. If anyone could give me some demensions that'd be awesome. Even if I have to go with a typical square uke bridge I'm ok with that.

The cherry was a joy to work with. I only broke 2 sides in the bending process. I went with a 1 inch pipe clamp and a torch for the bending so I have some little humps to sand out but other than that, it was great. I loved the hand bending and the neck carving. Probably my 2 favorite parts of the build. Made me feel like a woodworker.

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"Measure once; curse twice."

Welcome Cody! Keep up the good work!