Madeira
Soprano Ukulele
Being Built for Mandy Lewis
This soprano ukulele is being built in the style of
the Dias or Santos ukulele of the late 1800s. Smaller than
today's standard soprano ukulele, it measures with less
than a 3 1/2" waist and only 2" deep at the tail.
This ukulele is being built with koa sides and back and
a spruce top. It will have rope binding on the top, back,
and on the inside of the soundhole. The fretboard will have
a strip which I believe is called a "Chevron"
design. (I'll have to check on what this is exactly called...) |
|
 Here
are the top and back plates. They are both braced and
waiting to be carved and tuned. On the top, you can see
the soundhole reinforcement, bridgeplate and braces. The
back will also have a center reinforcement strip, just
a very thin piece of spruce.
|
 The
sides are bent and will stay in this body mold until the
soundboard is attached. The mold will keep the ukulele in
the right shape. The kerfed lining has been glued to the
top of the rim. The heel block and tailblock are shaped
and have been glued in.
|
|
 The
fingerboard is ebony and will have two of the strips shown
inlayed into the fingerboard.
|
 Here's
what the rope binding looks like when it's still being made.
This started out as a piece about 3" x 4" and
about 5/8" of an inch thick. It's made of alternating
ebony and maple strips glued together. The very top edge
is the part that will show on the ukulele top, and when
it is glued to the ukulele, the edges will then be sanded
to create the looks of the "rope". |
 These
strips will have a very thin sheet of ebony glued onto the
wide side, and then they will each be sawn into very narrow
pieces, the same size as any type of binding material. The
thin ebony sheet will provide contrast next to the spruce
top of the ukulele so that the maple color shows off well
next to the light color of the spruce. |
 This
picture shows the rough neck blank after the scarf joint
for the headstock has been cut and glued. The fingerboard
is just sitting on top of the neck now. The decorative strip
has been glued into the ebony, after which the fingerboard
will be sanded more and the fret slots will be re-cut, The
neck is Spanish cedar, which is my favorite neck material.
It is very lightweight yet very strong.
|
 And
here's a closer look at the center strip. This really adds
a very special look to the fingerboard! It is also very
easy to do. Now the rope binding is a different story...I
have learned that making wooden rope binding takes a lot
more time than I predicted! But I have had excellent guidance
from Dave Means, who is always very generous with his experience
and information.
|
 The
rope binding is installed in the soundhole, and it worked
out quite well. Soon, there will be rope binding all the
way around the front and back of the ukulele. |
 One
more picture of underneath the soundboard before the ukulele
is glued together and closed up. Here we see the rope binding
in the soundhole, carved braces and bridgeplate. Also the
builder's signature in pencil on the inside of the uke. |
 The
sides are still in the body mold as the soundboard is glued
to the rims. About 40 large rubber bands are clamping the
soundboard down as the glue sets. |
 I
always like looking at the inside of the ukulele! It's a
view you never get to see again. |
 The
spruce top will have a slightly deeper color tone after
it's lacquered, not so white as it is now. |
 Side
and back, the way it looks before the binding channels are
cut for the rope binding. |
 There's
lots of figuring in this koa, and it will really be fabulous
after the lacquer is applied. |
 This
is the new Kepasa label, and the first label to have the
new oval shape. This small soprano model is being called
"The Madeira", named after the city in Portugal
that Dias and Santos travelled from when they sailed to
Hawaii. |
 The
body is finished and needs to sit for a couple of weeks
for the lacquer to cure. I'll be working more on the neck
while the body is sitting. |
 I
think that the rope binding and koa are gorgeous together!
|
 The
neck will need to sit for about a week to cure the lacquer. |
 Here
is the side angle of the neck, showing the shape of the
heel and neck. Lots of reflection on the shiny lacquer. |
 I've
discovered a better picture of the Dias headstock, and I
realize now that it should have a round bulb at the end.
It's not too late for me to change that. |
 OK,
it's been a while. The nut still needs to be trimmed and
shaped in this photo. I've re-shaped the headstock to look
more like Dave's Dias copy. I've also used the same tuning
peg configuration with the offset G and A. Notice that due
to the narriow headstock, the G and A strings wind in the
opposite direction as usual, just like the one Dave builds. |
 I
took these photos outside for natural sunlight. There's
a bit of reflection on the top.
The saddle also is waiting to be shaped, this is not a final
picture. |
 Full
frontal. Very pretty! |
 Full
rear. Just as pretty! |
| Here's
a 2 minute audio
sample of this ukulele! |
{content2}
