Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Cigar Box Strings on April 11, 2012 at 3:25am

I like 1.25" at the nut and 1.5" at the 12th (ish) fret.

Permalink Reply by Order99 on April 2, 2012 at 4:06pm

 I use 1 and 1/2 as well for my clumsy, fat fingers-sadly, doesn't help my hideous lack of technique one bit..  :)                                                                                                                                        

 I agree that most ukuleles don't need much reinforcement, but I tried something different on a recent Uke I gave to friend for his birthday. He wanted the option to use banjo and guitar strings (he experiments) so I-

 1) cut a square hole for a neck-thru, but slotted the neck in only 1/4 inch

 2) Glued a thick heel block beneath the neck inside the box and attatched neck to heel with two brass screws, shimming the angle with brass washers                                                                                                                                        3) glue additional heel block to the inner bottom, and                                                                                                    4) screw and glue two 1/4 by 1 1/2 oak slats to join both blocks, making two thin but strong vertical 'neck-thrus'. This arrangement allowed me to still center the soundhole in the traditional fashion my friend wanted.                    

    For purists who don't want metal construction, this design would also work with furniture pegs and glue.                  

Permalink Reply by James O'Connor on April 10, 2012 at 10:44am

What about a neck taper?

Permalink Reply by herb Berwald WWW.CigarGuitar.com on April 10, 2012 at 12:55pm

This is the bolt in attachment.  Added wood to support bending...

 

a shot showing taper of the neck...about 1 and 7/16 inches to just over 2 inches at the bridge...

Permalink Reply by PhilUSAFRet on April 10, 2012 at 1:11pm

Nice pics, neat job.....thanks for sharing

Permalink Reply by Chuck Cobillas on April 10, 2012 at 1:41pm

Looks really good. I am currently building my first CBUke without throughneck design. I wasn't sure how much extra support it would need and I probably overdid it. I was worried as ths is my first 6 string Uke build and wanted to be sure i didn't distort the neck/box with the added tension.

I am currently on the road for work and don't have access to my photos but I will send some pics of my added support when  am back home this weekend.

 

Best regards,

Chuck

Permalink Reply by Cigar Box Strings on April 11, 2012 at 3:20am

I glue a doubler block to the inside of the box, put in a 1/4-20 threaded insert in the neck, then glue the joint and bolt the neck on thru the doubler and box. It may be overkill, but the join is rock solid.

Permalink Reply by Glenn Reither on April 17, 2012 at 4:56am

Here's my ascii version of what I did. I tried bolting onto the front of the box, with a very solid support block inside, and the neck moved over a few days. So I did it a different way and it has been solid and dandy. You glue a support block inside the box, snug to the sides front and bottom for max stick. Mine was 40mm wide. The height is whatever you need to be the same the height as the bottom of your heel extension. You make the heel part of the neck extended so it goes into the box 40mm. (You probably should add a screw to the underside of the heel up into the neck too. They tend to pull off.) Now you can run a bolt through the heel extension and the support block vertically. Do this as close as you can to the front edge of the box. If you need neck relief, shim the back of the block. Easy! Once you're happy with it and have the neck lined up right, add a screw or two so the neck can't move at all.

bottom of neck      heel   box edge

_______________            :  support         

                          |__*____:__*_____|_____bottom of box____

                       heel screw    bolt

That should make sense. Good luck!

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