One bit of advice: it will take you just as long to build a uke as to build a guitar, so price it accordingly. All the steps are the same, just smaller. About the only thing you can save money on is materials because we all have wood in our piles that won't make guitars but will work fine for a uke.

Are you speaking from experience? Because it did not take me nearly as long to build the ukulele as it does to build a guitar. There is about a quarter of the sanding to do, less brace work, gluing, finishing, the neck is less than half the size of a guitar as well. I have spoken to a couple of other guys who have built ukes after building guitars and they felt the same way.
It takes me about 9 weeks working at night to get a guitar ready for lacquer. Took me about 3 to get the ukulele to the same point. Am I doing it wrong?

Just curious, what is the typical top and back radius, if any, for a uke??

Just to give Bryan some comfort on free-form design, here's a pair of 7 inch scale ukes I made recently:



I've never seen plans for such small beasts - these are just barely playable - but they are loud enough to cut through even when playing with others. Walnut bodies, cedar tops, oak necks and 1/8 rosewood violin tuners.

Here I am demonstrating to an over-impressed relative:



Apologies for the constipated expression, but these babies require some concentration to play!

Profchris, why do you say that building a soprano is the most difficult? I have only built concert and tenor sizes, but had assumed a soprano would be much less difficult due to the less complex bracing.

Tony,
Yes, speaking from experience. I made 2 tenors concurrently and while I thought they would just fall together, they took just as long as a guitar. I built them Spanish-style with no molds and Spanish heel. The next ones, if they happen, will be made with body mold and separate bolt-on neck, which will no doubt speed up the process. I did not want to take the time to make a body mold for these first two but probably should have in retrospect.

Two reasons. First because Pete Howlett says so, and he builds very serious ukes.

Second is my own much more limited experience. It's easy to build a mediocre soprano, which sounds thin and uninteresting (done that!). To make one that sings properly means building on the edge of structural collapse. The margin you're working with is really very small and the individual characteristics of the wood you are working with are the defining factor, so that each uke is different in terms of thicknessing and bracing from another made from apparently identical materials. On a larger instrument you have a wider margin of "good", so the target is easier to hit.

When you say to build to the edge of collapse, do you just mean the top, and it's braces? Do you use a bridge patch?

Top, sides, linings and braces. Blocks too. The neck can be as beefy as you want!

And yes, small bridge patch (see my first post on this thread).

Jim, if you're an experienced builder then go for it first time, but be prepared to reject the first one and have another try. I guess doing something which is as simple as possible might be good for a first try - no binding, maybe even frets direct in neck, in order to cut down the wasted time if it isn't to the standard you want. I've given away some of what I think are failures to friends and they are uncritically delighted with them.

By the way, I forgot to add that the finish plays an important part with sopranos - high gloss tends to be too much, unless you can achieve it in an ultra thin film.

I should end with a disclaimer, because I seem to be laying down the rules in this thread and I am really a very rank amateur. But I am a player and I see two quite different schools of uke owner - those form whom looks are paramount, and those who would happily play the sorriest looking dog if it sounded and played great. I'm in the second camp. If your customer is in the first then she/he might want something that looks just like your guitars and not be so bothered about its sound.If so you can build heavier. Worth finding out before you start!