Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Jim Woods on May 6, 2014 at 7:49am

Excellent job Phil.

I am finishing up on a Padron baratone uke for a friend.  

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Permalink Reply by Richey Kay on May 6, 2014 at 8:16pm

This looks lovely Phil - I'm sure its giving you a lot of pleasure.

I can't see from the angle of he picture, but it looks like your 'bridge' is quite low - you might want to slip a scrap of wood under it to give you more clearance between the strings and the box.

Also - if you decided to make a fretted build, I'd recommend having the fretboard raised above the box lid, even if only slightly, to allow for more clearance and therefore a taller bridge (ad theoretically more volume).

Good job, you should be proud!

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Permalink Reply by robert jones on May 6, 2014 at 11:18pm

 A larger bolt would be a better option if the action needs adjusting.

A piece of added wood increases the possibility of introducing unwanted noise because of the two contact points as opposed to the one of a simple bolt to box.

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Permalink Reply by Marc Brode on May 7, 2014 at 3:48am

@robert... I'm guessing the bolt will be a floating bridge? Have you had any problems with the floating bridge moving out of position? Just curious.

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Permalink Reply by robert jones on May 7, 2014 at 6:26am

Correct.

Not really had any problems with floating bridges moving but when I get the bridge adjusted for the best intonation I always make a couple of small witness marks just in case.

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Permalink Reply by Phil Selberg on May 7, 2014 at 3:59am

Thank you and yes it is.  Thanks for the advice with the bridge.  I've been adjusting both that and the nut.  Its almost dialed in I think.  Im glad I left both of them free floating so I can adjust them.

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Permalink Reply by Phil Selberg on May 7, 2014 at 4:04am

Thank you.  My biggest pain was just cutting the box.  By that I mean I didn't want to ruin it.  Once I got over the fear I just really took my time, measure five times cut once.  I have a habit of speeding through projects only to find I screwed up big time.  

My box had a lot of dings and scratches even before I started.  I found a good coat or 2 of linseed oil really helped cover up the blemishes.

I found that the free plans on this site helped answer a lot of my questions and gave a great place to start so that helped me out a ton. 

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Permalink Reply by Phil Selberg on May 10, 2014 at 8:02am

Thank you.  Popular indeed, I already have a few friends offering to pay me to make one for them.  Guess I need to start collecting a few more boxes.

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Permalink Reply by Muddy Creek Guitars on May 11, 2014 at 6:40pm

This looks incredible!
My first playable build was a piece of banister, a soup can, bolts for the bridge and nut and eyebolts for tuners!

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Permalink Reply by Phil Selberg on May 13, 2014 at 6:26am

Thank you

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