And today I made a Ukulele

I’ve fancied a German made Risa stick travel ukulele for some time to just throw into the campervan when roaming around, but the £250 cost has always put me off, so I decided I could make one. A quick google and I found I wasn’t alone in my quest. Several websites had free plans and dimensions available using bits of scrap wood, odds and ends etc.

A stick travel uke is solid and doesn’t have an acoustic body, so it’s quiet. However they usually come with an electric pickup allowing it to be played through an amplifier turning you into a rock god. With visions of becoming the Eric Clapton of the Ukulele world I quickly printed off an accurate template and found a nice piece of Oak in my man shed ( I keep off cuts and oddments just in case I need them later and here I am needing it).

The solid Uke body was cut out using a selection of hand saws, electric jig saws and a Router.

 

This project was on a tight budget, so I started searching for bits and pieces that were required on the internet..

Four friction tuners came in for 99p from china, fret wire for £1.50. I could see my budget being eaten up at a rapid rate. Then the most expensive part was needed to complete the project and it never pays to scrimp on the quality of Uke strings. I parted with £9 for a set of good strings and in total spent £11.49.

In the future I shall fit a electric pickup ( costing a massive £6 ), but for now I’ll just enjoy the novelty of playing a uke I made myself.

My lucky Morrisons trolley token embedded in the main body with clear resin

 

I’ve decided to call her Dora the Explorer.