Little
Mac Concert Ukulele
Built for Jeff Combs
The Kepasa Little Mac is a concert size ukulele that
is pushing the parameters towards being a small tenor. The
size volume is the same as my standard concert, but the
lower bout is increased to almost 8 1/2" and the waist
comes in at 5 7/8". The overall length is 10 1/4"
which is shorter than my standard concert by about half
of an inch, but the modified body length allows the bridge
to be in the sweetest spot of the body, and still allows
a concert fingerboard scale of 15" to be used.
|
|
 We're
looking at just the top view of the rims, clamped in shape.
The face is just a plywood jig that maintains the shape
while it's being built. The kerfed lining is glued on
and is waiting for the soundboard to be installed. The
maple soundboard is gorgeous but is not shown here yet,
as it is bare wood and is very white and reflective at
this time.
|
 Here's
a side view of the bent rims. The water mark on the inside
is from heat-pressing and will be sanded out. |
 From
the last of the "private stash" of cocobolo rosewood,
we see the blank fingerboard and bridge. The bridge is already
slotted for the saddle and the fingerboard will be slotted
for frets soon. |
 The
soundboard is braced, the bridgeplate is glued on, and the
reinforcement around the soundhole is glued in. |
 A
few minutes later, most of the bracewood is shaved off.
More will still be planed and sanded through the tapping
process. Sculpting the braces changes the tone of the top
and lightens the weight of the finished ukulele. Notice
that in the previous photo, the soundhole reinforcement
looks pretty thick. Once it's glued in place, and the binding
ring is put in, most of the excess thickness is scraped
and sanded down to practically nothing. The ring remains
slightly thick at the very edge of the soundhole only. |
 This
angle shows the shape of the braces a little better. Most
of the length is scraped down to almost flat, but it still
has structural value. The peaks offer more support in the
area in front of the bridge. A small amount of bridge deflection
is desirable. |
 The
fingerboard in slotted and ready to glue on to the neck.
(Actually, they are already glued together. Taking a photo
at this time would just look like a bunch of clamps having
a meeting...) The fingerboard still looks a little rough
in this photo but was smooth and clean shortly after this
photo. |
 The
rims are just sitting on top of the soundboard in this picture.
I think it's a shame that we don't get to see this view
after the ukulele is completed! |
 Now
the top is glued to the rims and clamped and taped. The
top is still oversize and the shape will be trimmed to the
rims after the glue has set. I wiped a little Naptha on
the maple to temporarily darken it, to give a better view
of the grain. It'll show better when we start getting some
color on it. Nice view of the t-shell soundhole ring. The
wood you see inside the soundhole is just the workboard.
Lots of sidetrimming and shaping and kerfing and sanding
to do before the back is nailed...er, I mean... glued...
on. |
 Full
frontal view. The little hole under the fingerboard area
was for indexing the top on the rims while the glue was
setting. It'll be covered by the fingerboard. |
 Here's
the inside of the maple back after the braces were carved.
|
 Still
in rough carve mode, but the neck is starting to take shape. |
 Fingerboard
is on the neck and the width is almost fully shaped, maybe
another 1/8" of shaving to go to zone in on the exact
dimensions. |
 The
binding is shaved flush to the body. The body is sanded
to 220 grit. For this photo, I wiped Naptha on one corner
of the ukulele to illustrate what the mahogany and binding
will look like after lacquering. The maple will be darkened
in color before lacquering, but you can see how much just
one wipe of Naptha deepens the maple color. And doesn't
it just pop that lovely grain? |
 Before
the sanding sealer and lacquer were applied, the body was
sanded even finer to 400 grit. Some feel that this is unnecessary,
but it only takes a few minutes to go from 220 to 320 to
400. You can feel the difference in your hands. The body
now has about four thin coats of lacquer tinted with an
amber tone. I think we're looking like the Naptha example
above at this point. There will be a few more coats of lacquer,
then it will be sanded smooth, sit for 24 hours, and then
a few more coats of clear lacquer. Then we're on hold for
two weeks with the body. |
 Just
another closeup at a different angle. |
 The
maple headplate is glued to the headstock and needs to be
trimmed to size. At this point the final shape of the headstock
will emerge. Is that still in my hands? You can see the
zero nut and the gap for the nut here as well. |
 At
some point of each build, I have to let go and say "It's
done". And so it is. |
 The
back is stunning with the full compliment of vertical and
horizontal maple striping. |
 A
little closer look of the front. Maple is not often used
as an instrument top, but it actually works. Doesn't look
bad, either. |
 There
were several "firsts" for me in this build. The
maple top and back coupled with mahogany sides, the zero
fret, the Pegheds, and of course the shape. There was (and
still is) a quick rough proto of this model before I began
the official build, but the proto didn't have all the same
appointments.
Here are four short sound samples of the Kepasa Little Mac
concert ukulele.
Little
Mac 1
Little
Mac 2
Little
Mac 3
Little
Mac 4
Guess that's it for now. Until next time...
Thanks Jeff! |
