Ukulele build part 1

Ukulele #1 showing the top bracing

You might say I'm just slightly excited, or slightly obsessed, or maybe both. I have the opportunity to study with a luthier and build my own ukulele. I don't know when it was that I last updated my profile on Instagram but I said at that time that I dreamed of building ukuleles. Now here I am actually building one! I know this won't be the only one I'll build either. It's simply too much fun and to play an instrument I've actually made will give me an incredible feeling of satisfaction. 

     So how did I end up doing this right now? There are a couple of answers to that. One is that I'm not getting any younger and I think it's a good idea to shift my focus from doing things someday to doing things now. And, the opportunity presented itself, with a little help from a friend in SAWS. I had coffee with Andy  over the Christmas holidays and Andy told me friends of his had built ukuleles with Jake Peters and that the instruments had turned out beautifully. When I said I didn't think I had the skills to produce a beautiful instrument Andy's response went something like, “If you'll pardon me, that's bullshit.” I swallowed hard a few times and sent Jake a rather long email explaining who I was and what I wanted to do. At the end of the email I asked if he thought it would be possible for me to build a concert ukulele and told him I realized his schedule was quite full and that it might take some time before I could get in to build with him. Jake wrote me a three-word email “Yes!!! Phone me.” 

I called him. He was in Hawaii. He sells his ukuleles there - in Hawaii - the birthplace of the ukulele. We made arrangements to get in touch when he got back. He had an opening at the end of February. I had one of those 'oh my gosh, this is really happening, now what?' moments. 

     I wasn't sure what to expect the first time I went to Jake's. Jake showed me a number of the instruments he has built over the years including a soprano ukulele built from a tree that came down in his neighbour's yard in September. He was able to dry the wood in his oven. Already I liked the way this guy thinks. We talked about all kinds of things and the list of possibilities for building a uke was a bit overwhelming. Still, I already knew before I went to see him that I wanted a spruce top regardless of what woods the rest of the instrument was made from. I love the brightness of a spruce top and my favourite classical guitar has a spruce top.

     By the end of the first day I had the top plate and had decided that the back and sides would be of figured koa, a wood which is traditional to Hawaiian ukuleles and which is very difficult to get now. There are any number of ways to decorate a ukulele's sound hole and, for my first build I chose not to do a rosette, thinking it would be better to focus on the construction of the instrument.  I was intrigued, however, when Jake showed me how he had replaced the plastic grips on a set of tuners with wooden ones he had made himself. He even had some blanks already drilled and ready to go if I wanted to use them! 

     The time flew during that first visit and I came home with quite a list of things to do before the second meeting. Jake lent me one of the jigs he uses to curve and brace the top of his ukes. He also sent me home with a spool clamp to copy. Making the jig and 18 spool clamps wasn't without a fair bit of head-scratching but I got them done before I went back. I appreciate that Jake is not simply letting me borrow or use his jigs: he is helping equip me to someday make instruments on my own. 

     I also appreciate that Jake has come up with a number of simple and effective ways of doing things. I've been on the sites that sell tools to luthiers and the array of what's available is quite baffling. I'm not very far along in the build but I haven't seen a ton of specialized equipment in Jake's shop. He says in the years he has been building he has moved away from a lot of the commercial jigs because he has found simpler ways of getting things done. From what I've seen so far his processes are simple, cost-effective and elegant. 

The finished mountain dulcimer

     I've been at Jake's three times now and I have all the braces glued to the top. That's a little nervous-making since the top is the single biggest determiner of how the instrument will sound. When I tapped the top before putting it in the jig its sounded live and bright. If I can do it right it will have a beautiful sound. I've got my fingers crossed.      One of the things I'm most excited about is that I can go at my own pace.  I'm used to being the last person to finish a step and I often feel pushed to do things faster than I want. By meeting with Jake once a week, I can take my time and experiment with several different ways of doing something. I probably made three times the number of fan braces I needed for the top because I wanted to try various ways of shaping them and, ok, I'll be honest: not all of the experiments turned out. Having time to try things is a wonderful gift.

     The fun and excitement meter is pegged at the top end on this project. I get to learn a bunch of new stuff.  I get to work with a master luthier and see a master luthier work. I get to work with wood.  I get to actually build my own instrument. I can't wait to get into the shop in the mornings and plan small tasks for late evenings when I get home from rehearsals. I know that not everything will go smoothly but I think I'm prepared for that. After all, no project I've ever done has gone like clockwork and most turn out all right in the end. Even if things go seriously sideways it's possible to start again, knowing much more the second time. As I used to tell my students 'no experience is ever wasted.'

     Speaking of things going sideways, the dulcimer is done and it's a good thing it's primarily a 2X4 project. There is some difficulty with fret placement despite the fact that we checked and rechecked, marked and remarked where we thought the frets should go. At some point you have to stop marking and checking and make the cuts which I did as carefully as I could. As long as I simply strum the 4 strings everything is fine.  If I try to play a tune with the drone strings also sounding there are a few intonation issues. ;-) That means I'll need to build another dulcimer and do a better job of fret placement. I've already found some new information on how to determine where the frets should go so stay tuned. While you wait breathlessly for updates (ya right!) go visit Jake's site there's some pretty interesting material there.  As for me, I'm going to play in the shop some more!

https://www.jakepeters.ca/