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Permalink Reply by Jim Morris on January 24, 2015 at 5:27am

Hey Tristan, I've made several of them but don't have any vids showing the process. Here's CBN member Hilo Greg's video. Some real good pictures after he sings.

http://youtu.be/PBAWk_h5vu8

Searching youtube or CBN pages will yield more.

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Permalink Reply by Tristan Monette on January 24, 2015 at 10:31am

Thank you!

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Permalink Reply by David L. on January 24, 2015 at 8:23am

This website

https://circuitsandstrings.wordpress.com/2013/01/13/altoids-ukulele/ 

has various videos and partway down is a link called "altoids ukulele plans" which if clicked on gives detailed photos and plans of how to make one.

Along the top toolbar on the above page are links to other plans too. 

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Permalink Reply by Tristan Monette on January 24, 2015 at 10:30am

Thanks!

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Permalink Reply by Tristan Monette on January 26, 2015 at 12:02pm

Hey, and what kind of wood dye do I use for my ukulele?

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Permalink Reply by Tristan Monette on January 26, 2015 at 12:04pm

You know for the fret board and arm (since I its a cookie tin ukulele)!

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Permalink Reply by Tom T on January 26, 2015 at 12:12pm

The choices for wood finish would be endless. You could use any shade of stain that you like (or that looks good with your tin). Then you could apply a top finish of poly, varnish, lacquer, etc. You could just sand the wood smooth and apply Tung oil. You could also stay with a primitive instrument approach and leave the wood unfinished altogether. All of the above option are correct. It's just a matter of taste. No need to over complicate the finish. Focus on the sound quality.

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Permalink Reply by Tom T on January 26, 2015 at 2:28pm

All great ideas....

The vinegar/steel wool trick works well for creating an aged wood look. It works best when a strong tea mixture is first applied and allowed to dry. Here is a link to the process. Aging Wood

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Permalink Reply by Tom T on January 27, 2015 at 1:10am

Thanks for the tip. I'll have to give it a try. Used the other method a lot in the past.

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Permalink Reply by Hilo Greg on January 27, 2015 at 6:40am

Hello Tristan, I like to use linseed oil. It gives the wood a deeper, yet still natural color, and it also makes the wood feel better to your hand. (Just be sure to use a little bit at a time and rinse out the rag afterwards and dispose of properly. Oily rags can spontaneously combust).

As Jim mentioned, I have a cookie tin ukulele video on my profile page, feel free to watch it and ask me anything. Exact plans are hard to come by since people here tend to use found objects in their projects.

The only real rule (IMHO) is to pick a scale length (the distance between the nut and the bridge), and then buy strings that are suitable for that scale length (i.e. tenor ukulele=18", so you'd need tenor ukulele strings).

Then, make sure your frets are it the right places. I use this web site to print out a template on paper, then tape the template to the neck and scratch in the fret lines with an x-acto knife. (Then I remove the paper and make the cuts with a saw and whamo, bang in the frets.

http://www.ekips.org/tools/guitar/fretfind2d/

Most of all, have fun and good luck!    

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