New to Uke!! - Cigar Box Nation2024-03-28T15:05:10Zhttps://www.cigarboxnation.com/forum/topics/new-to-uke?groupUrl=cigarboxukulele&commentId=2592684%3AComment%3A2520711&x=1&feed=yes&xn_auth=noGlad they worked for you. On…tag:www.cigarboxnation.com,2016-02-18:2592684:Comment:25207112016-02-18T04:55:10.970ZHabanera Halhttps://www.cigarboxnation.com/profile/HalSpalter
<p>Glad they worked for you. Once you build a bolt-on neck with this method, you'll never go back!</p>
<p>Glad they worked for you. Once you build a bolt-on neck with this method, you'll never go back!</p> Hal,
I bought a couple of tho…tag:www.cigarboxnation.com,2016-02-17:2592684:Comment:25203812016-02-17T23:18:42.752Zgary sheldonhttps://www.cigarboxnation.com/profile/0d3jt6c98794o
<p>Hal,</p>
<p>I bought a couple of those knock down bolts this AM, and tried a joint on scrap wood. It seems like the hot setup. Just drill 2 holes fairly accurately and Bob's you uncle.</p>
<p>Thanks for that tip.</p>
<p>Oh, I have a question/comment. I find that if I put in 2 or 3 degrees of neck drop, by the time I string 'er up and tune up, I have zero neck drop. I am going to try doubling the neck drop I want and see if that works.</p>
<p></p>
<p>Hal,</p>
<p>I bought a couple of those knock down bolts this AM, and tried a joint on scrap wood. It seems like the hot setup. Just drill 2 holes fairly accurately and Bob's you uncle.</p>
<p>Thanks for that tip.</p>
<p>Oh, I have a question/comment. I find that if I put in 2 or 3 degrees of neck drop, by the time I string 'er up and tune up, I have zero neck drop. I am going to try doubling the neck drop I want and see if that works.</p>
<p></p> I would agree that Taylor's m…tag:www.cigarboxnation.com,2016-02-17:2592684:Comment:25203272016-02-17T15:36:36.396ZHabanera Halhttps://www.cigarboxnation.com/profile/HalSpalter
<p>I would agree that Taylor's method produces a strong joint BUT it's much more complicated than what we've been discussing for simple cigar box guitars/ukes. It involves two horizontal inserts and one vertical insert (through the neck extension) along with a very precise mortise into the guitar body, along with laser cut adjustment shims. …</p>
<p>I would agree that Taylor's method produces a strong joint BUT it's much more complicated than what we've been discussing for simple cigar box guitars/ukes. It involves two horizontal inserts and one vertical insert (through the neck extension) along with a very precise mortise into the guitar body, along with laser cut adjustment shims. <a href="http://www.frets.com/FretsPages/Luthier/Data/Guitar/Taylor/99NeckJoint/99joint.html" target="_blank">http://www.frets.com/FretsPages/Luthier/Data/Guitar/Taylor/99NeckJoint/99joint.html</a></p>
<p>And Kigar, you're absolutely correct that nylon 4 stringed ukes are not as stressed as a steel 6 string. In reality, almost any attachment method will work (short of bubblegum). I just tend to overbuild my gits.</p> I looked more into this and I…tag:www.cigarboxnation.com,2016-02-17:2592684:Comment:25201362016-02-17T02:21:13.121ZKigarhttps://www.cigarboxnation.com/profile/Kigar
<p>I looked more into this and I agree Hal's way is stronger. But look up Taylor neck mounting - they use threaded inserts on a six string. Not saying it is ok just because they do it but it eases my mind a bit. My feeling for a uke is that it is not that stressed. The neck is short and the strings fairly light, unless you wail on it or backpack with it I feel it would be ok if your neck is good hardwood and the screw thread is fairly deep, pilot holes correct, the neck fits nice and square…</p>
<p>I looked more into this and I agree Hal's way is stronger. But look up Taylor neck mounting - they use threaded inserts on a six string. Not saying it is ok just because they do it but it eases my mind a bit. My feeling for a uke is that it is not that stressed. The neck is short and the strings fairly light, unless you wail on it or backpack with it I feel it would be ok if your neck is good hardwood and the screw thread is fairly deep, pilot holes correct, the neck fits nice and square and so on (I am prepared to eat those words however!). Use the best method you can achieve and build em!</p> This is a great thread. I ha…tag:www.cigarboxnation.com,2016-02-16:2592684:Comment:25191472016-02-16T06:31:30.092Zgary sheldonhttps://www.cigarboxnation.com/profile/0d3jt6c98794o
<p>This is a great thread. I have been struggling with uke neck joints for a couple of years now. I have been using hanger screws, but Hal's post has me worried. I haven't had any failures yet, but I have always been skeptical about threading into end grain. I like the knock down bolt idea. I have used them with Ikea furniture and have seen them in the hardware store.</p>
<p>I think I'll give that a try on the next one I build. Thanks, Hal. </p>
<p>This is a great thread. I have been struggling with uke neck joints for a couple of years now. I have been using hanger screws, but Hal's post has me worried. I haven't had any failures yet, but I have always been skeptical about threading into end grain. I like the knock down bolt idea. I have used them with Ikea furniture and have seen them in the hardware store.</p>
<p>I think I'll give that a try on the next one I build. Thanks, Hal. </p> Not familiar with Ash and Ald…tag:www.cigarboxnation.com,2016-02-15:2592684:Comment:25189112016-02-15T18:08:28.402ZHabanera Halhttps://www.cigarboxnation.com/profile/HalSpalter
<p>Not familiar with Ash and Alder from Home Depot or Lowes. Mine only carry Poplar (ugh), Red Oak (too open grained IMHO), and something they call White Wood (too soft). Maybe that's what they're calling "Alder" now. I usually get my fretboard stock from Rockler, Craftwoods, or a couple of Houston-area millworks where I can get different varieties of Rosewood, Ebony, Wenge, Bubinga, and other exotics. They're more fun. </p>
<p>BTW - The almost-finished neck in the picture (4 tuners on one…</p>
<p>Not familiar with Ash and Alder from Home Depot or Lowes. Mine only carry Poplar (ugh), Red Oak (too open grained IMHO), and something they call White Wood (too soft). Maybe that's what they're calling "Alder" now. I usually get my fretboard stock from Rockler, Craftwoods, or a couple of Houston-area millworks where I can get different varieties of Rosewood, Ebony, Wenge, Bubinga, and other exotics. They're more fun. </p>
<p>BTW - The almost-finished neck in the picture (4 tuners on one side) was made from Cherry with Birdseye Maple veneer on the front and back of the headstock. The other blanks were done in hard Maple.</p> Nice work, hal.
...now i'm tr…tag:www.cigarboxnation.com,2016-02-15:2592684:Comment:25184522016-02-15T04:02:22.027Zrusty casehttps://www.cigarboxnation.com/profile/rustycase
<p>Nice work, hal.</p>
<p>...now i'm trying to figger your jigs for making those nice cuts...</p>
<p>will the bigbox ash and alder be hard enough for fretboard stock?</p>
<p>tnx</p>
<p>rc</p>
<p>for the op, i think a steel bolt would be pretty harsh on nylon strings.</p>
<p>maybe a piece of a plastic coat hanger for the nut? or cut it from a beef rib bone ??</p>
<p>a small scrap of hardwood molding should be fine for a bridge, nut a hard piece atop it could make the tone brighter ??</p>
<p>get…</p>
<p>Nice work, hal.</p>
<p>...now i'm trying to figger your jigs for making those nice cuts...</p>
<p>will the bigbox ash and alder be hard enough for fretboard stock?</p>
<p>tnx</p>
<p>rc</p>
<p>for the op, i think a steel bolt would be pretty harsh on nylon strings.</p>
<p>maybe a piece of a plastic coat hanger for the nut? or cut it from a beef rib bone ??</p>
<p>a small scrap of hardwood molding should be fine for a bridge, nut a hard piece atop it could make the tone brighter ??</p>
<p>get a 2nd opinion. :-) rc</p> I've built two cigar box ukes…tag:www.cigarboxnation.com,2016-02-08:2592684:Comment:25132552016-02-08T16:06:21.894ZLane Martinhttps://www.cigarboxnation.com/profile/LaneMartin
<p>I've built two cigar box ukes...one neck-through (tenor), one bolt-on (soprano). Both have sound holes on each side of the neck (see the photos on my page here.) Sounds great like that.<br></br><br></br>I've used bone and hardwood for nuts/bridges. If I can find a nylon bolt at the hardware store, I'm going to try that on my next build just to see how it sounds. I use fretfind2D to lay out frets on the fingerboard and it prints string spacing based on the neck width I feed in to the…</p>
<p>I've built two cigar box ukes...one neck-through (tenor), one bolt-on (soprano). Both have sound holes on each side of the neck (see the photos on my page here.) Sounds great like that.<br/><br/>I've used bone and hardwood for nuts/bridges. If I can find a nylon bolt at the hardware store, I'm going to try that on my next build just to see how it sounds. I use fretfind2D to lay out frets on the fingerboard and it prints string spacing based on the neck width I feed in to the calculator.<br/><br/>Enjoy.</p> Some of this may repeat earli…tag:www.cigarboxnation.com,2016-02-08:2592684:Comment:25129632016-02-08T10:48:08.179ZJim Dickisonhttps://www.cigarboxnation.com/profile/JimDickison
<p>Some of this may repeat earlier answers. (And some may contradict other replies... No disrespect intended... just my experience!)</p>
<p>Scale lengths for Ukes (roughly... not etched in stone!):</p>
<p>13" Soprano</p>
<p>15" Concert</p>
<p>17" Tenor</p>
<p>19" Baritone</p>
<p>Personally, I like Concerts and Tenors.</p>
<p>Standard Tuning for Soprano-Concert-Tenor (From the TOP string to the BOTTOM) is:</p>
<p>g C E A</p>
<p>"Top" and "Bottom" here refer to the physical locations of the…</p>
<p>Some of this may repeat earlier answers. (And some may contradict other replies... No disrespect intended... just my experience!)</p>
<p>Scale lengths for Ukes (roughly... not etched in stone!):</p>
<p>13" Soprano</p>
<p>15" Concert</p>
<p>17" Tenor</p>
<p>19" Baritone</p>
<p>Personally, I like Concerts and Tenors.</p>
<p>Standard Tuning for Soprano-Concert-Tenor (From the TOP string to the BOTTOM) is:</p>
<p>g C E A</p>
<p>"Top" and "Bottom" here refer to the physical locations of the strings when playing.</p>
<p>Good way to remember Uke tuning: Goats Can Eat Anything</p>
<p>It is typically re-entrant tuning. That is, the top "g" string is an octave up (it is actually higher in pitch than the C and E strings.) That is part of what gives the "Ukulele" sound. (It's also why the first "g" is sometimes written in lower-case.)</p>
<p>Baritone uke tuning is different. It is typically D G B E (same as highest 4 strings on a guitar). Baritone uke tuning is usually not re-entrant.</p>
<p>Uke clubs are a blast! Personally, I have found no snobbery whatsoever in the Ukulele community! Cigar Box (or any other construction you can think of) is welcome with open arms! I sometimes bring my homemade electric Telecaster uke to meetings and outings with my uke club (the Kansas City Ukesters - <a href="http://kcuke.com" target="_blank">http://kcuke.com</a> if anybody is interested).</p>
<p>Just about any construction method you can use for a CBG can also be used on a Cigar Box Uke.</p>
<p>Have fun and welcome! I'm sure you will fall in love with the Uke!</p> You CAN just screw into the n…tag:www.cigarboxnation.com,2016-02-08:2592684:Comment:25129532016-02-08T07:02:20.637ZHabanera Halhttps://www.cigarboxnation.com/profile/HalSpalter
<p>You CAN just screw into the neck from inside the box, but I personally would not attach a neck that way. Wood screws into end grain of a neck are doomed to fail. That's why I reccomend the knock-down bolt over the hanger bolt.</p>
<p></p>
<p>You CAN just screw into the neck from inside the box, but I personally would not attach a neck that way. Wood screws into end grain of a neck are doomed to fail. That's why I reccomend the knock-down bolt over the hanger bolt.</p>
<p></p>