Day #16

Aloha!

     Today is the big day that you finally get to finish the ukulele! It should now have the finish on and hopefully, it looks really good. Now for the final steps. The first thing that you need to do is install the tuners.
After you have bought a kind that suits you, insert them into the holes so that the label can be read. It is important that you install them correctly so they spin the strings the correct way. You can hand tighten the tuners and adjust to your liking. Then you will have to screw them in to the headstock. If you want, you can pre drill a hole for the little screws before screwing them in.

     Using torch tip cleaning files, make the holes in the nut for the strings to go through. Then from the front of the nut, measure 17 and 3/32" down the uke and mark where it ends. The end is where the front of the saddle will be. After you draw a center line, put a piece of masking tape that is bigger than the bridge down. Trace the outline of the bridge onto the tape so the nut will still line up with the point you made. Cut out that outline with a exacto knife and scrape off the finisher in that area you just cut out.

     Secure the bridge in place with double stick tape. Mark the locations of the two outside strings and drill 1/16" holes into the soundboard. Insert 3/4" brads into the holes and then apply a thin layer of glue onto the bridge and soundboard. After you put the bridge on the soundboard , clamp it down. After ten minutes, take out the brads and re clamp for twenty four hours.

     The height of the strings over the 12th fret will be 5/32". make a shim that is 5/32" for your straight edge to rest on. Using the straight edge, place one end at the bass string location on the saddle and the other end at the bass slot on the nut. The bottom of your straight edge will be the height of the saddle. Draw a line across the saddle where it will be trimmed. Sand off the excess material, but leave the line. Being careful, sand a light crown at the top of the saddle.

     To find the string holes for the bridge, divide the distance of the outside holes by three to find the equal spacing between the two other holes. All four of the holes should be 5/16" from the saddle. Drill the last two holes by hand with a 1/16" bit.

     Now feed the strings through the sound hole and into the bridge holes. Place a bead at one end of the string and tie in place with some overhand knots. Then, pull the strings so the bead sits under the bridge. The bass string goes on the lower left hand tuner from the right side and out the left side. The end of the string loops counterclockwise under the string and then back over. Wind the knob clockwise to tighten the string. Once all the strings have been put on, you are done with making your very own ukulele! Now the next step would be to learn how to play, but I think you can do that on your own time. Good luck!

(Word of the day: Hau' oli/Joy)

Mahalo!