The Pablus Ukulele- *COMPLETE*

The voice of our generation, Pablus, has requested that I fashion him a custom ukulele.
Of course I was honored that he would ask and I promptly said yes!
So, last night the curly mango wood that I am going to use for the body finally arrived.
It looks stunning in person and I can't wait to start shaping it.
I am going to try and document the build here when I can so that Pablus can keep an eye on me! :wink:



Thanks for looking, and stay tuned!

Visit the The Leeward Lounge

[ Edited by: finkdaddy 2012-06-03 06:11 ]

Finkdaddy, you always make such beautiful ukes. It will be fun to watch you progress through this one.

Finkdaddy,

MadDog is right, your ukes are so nice, this one is going to be awesome. I own a Kala brand uke, that's Curly, spalted Mango from the Big Island, it's really sweet...

Thanks for starting a thread so it's easy to follow the progress on this.

Aloha,

Paul

Thanks guys! I am really looking forward to this build.

I finished ordering most of my materials last night,
much to the chagrin of my financial mangager (a.k.a. wife :roll: ).
So, starting in a few days I'll be posting updates regularly.
Don't be afraid to post comments or ask questions.
Except for you, Pablus. You keep a lid on it. :wink:

Visit the The Leeward Lounge

[ Edited by: finkdaddy 2012-01-26 10:33 ]

This is going to be good.

[ Edited by: tedtiki 2012-02-01 16:00 ]

Thanks Tedtiki!
The majority of my supplies arrived yesterday, so my nights just got a lot later and my weekends a lot busier. :)
Here is just a couple quick pics.
The first is the abalone shell that I will be using for a fretboard inlay, and the second is a set of curly koa Waverly tuners.
Thanks for looking!

~F

Just a couple of update pics in no particular order. :)

I thought it was going to be made of balsa?

Oh wait - I'm thinking about the Kon Tiki.

Looking good, man.
I can't wait to tear into it.

Here are some shots of where I am right now.
The first is just me holding up the top and the neck together to see where I'm at.
The second is the necks that I just finished up.
And the third is a tapa cloth design that I pieced together out of mahogany, maple, and ebony. It will be a veneer to go over the headstock.

Thanks for looking!

NO WAY!!! Marquetry Tapa - way cool! I'm a little confused by the 2nd picture - is this going to be some sort of rock star ukelele with 3 necks? :D

Lookin' good FinkDaddy!

Awesome!

On 2012-03-06 06:03, MadDogMike wrote:
NO WAY!!! Marquetry Tapa - way cool! I'm a little confused by the 2nd picture - is this going to be some sort of rock star ukelele with 3 necks? :D

Lookin' good FinkDaddy!

Haha! Thanks Mike!
No, I'm making 3 ukes at the same time and that was the only pic I had of the necks.
The tapa design took forever. I went through about a dozen hair-thin saw blades, but I only had to use one band aid, so I figure it was a success!

Oh my God that tapa design!!!! WOW!

Oh my God that tapa design!!!! WOW!

Oh my God that tapa design!!!! WOW!

*On 2012-03-06 06:03, MadDogMike wrote:*I'm a little confused by the 2nd picture - is this going to be some sort of rock star ukelele with 3 necks?

You mean like this?
You can find anything on the web!

Yeah! :lol:

Now I've got the sides bent and connected to the neck.

Rock on Finky, rock on my friend!

I'm keeping my eye on you Fink!

Here is just a few more pics.
The top pick is all three ukes that I'm making right now.
Pablus's is in the middle.

This is just after I cut in the side port.

And this is after I added his tapa headstock veneer.

Stay tuned and thanks for looking!
:D

I finally have the back attached and trimmed down.
I also coated the inside with a thin layer of shellac to help protect it from the Florida humidity.

Now I will sand everything, ad nauseum, to get out all of the lines and marks from the previous steps.
Then it's on to the fretboard.
Thanks again for watching!

That tapa veneer is SICK!

Wish I had a uke like that.

Oh yeah....

On 2012-03-31 10:44, pablus wrote:
That tapa veneer is SICK!

Wish I had a uke like that.

Oh yeah....

:lol:

I may still add some things yet, but I added some fret markers. I added them at 5, 7, 10, and 12 like a traditional uke, but instead of dots I used shapes from the tapa veneer to tie them into the whole design.

I LOVE IT!!!!

OMG FinkD!! Just found this thread....That is impressively awesome!
I may have to PM you this summer. The mana that's flowing through these are HUGE!

On 2012-04-24 08:36, surfintiki wrote:
OMG FinkD!! Just found this thread....That is impressively awesome!
I may have to PM you this summer. The mana that's flowing through these are HUGE!

Thank you!
I've been playing uke for a while now, and woodworking for longer than that, so I don't know why it never occured to me to put the two skills together and make them.
When I did, though, it came together like it was meant to be. Now it's all that I can do or think about. :wink:
Pablus is gonna shit musical, uke-shaped bricks when he sees how it looks with the first coat of oil on it. The figure is amazing!

Sure, Surfintiki, give me a pm, email, or a call and I'll get something to you.
Thanks for the kind words! :D

That sounds painful. How about if I just start playing a tune and jump for joy?
Looking forward to seeing "the preccciousss"

Just a little sneak peak at the mango wood with a bit of oil finish on it. Trust me folks, this pic does NOT do justice to the grain and figure of the wood. I'm going to really have to try hard and get some nice photos when this is all done.

Lookin' tasty so far.

I know this is simply a terrible photo, but I finally have the Pablus uke all put together.
I still have some work to do, however.
I need to bring down a couple of high frets, and I'm going to make another saddle to correct the intonation.
As soon as she is all ready for the golden-throated one, I will post some much better pics and maybe even a sound sample.
Thanks everyone!

That hole in the side, is that a beer holder? :lol:

Looks beautiful FinkDaddy, can't wait to hear it on Pablus' next album!

On 2012-05-08 14:47, MadDogMike wrote:
Looks beautiful FinkDaddy, can't wait to hear it on Pablus' next album!

Oh my. I hadn't thought of that. I just got goose-bumps!

OK, Pablus, everyone. I'm finally calling her complete.
Pablus, you have such a kind, old, and wise soul. I am both honored and humbled by your trust in me.
I only hope that this uke will measure up to your expectations. I am nervous as hell about turning her over to you.
I learned a lot on this build. Mostly about paying attention to details the first time, and about how to fix your mistakes! Is she perfect? Far from. But how does she sound? Very nice, I think. Are you scared to show it to Pablus? Yes, I think I might puke.

Anyway, without any further stalling, I present to you...

The Pablus Ukulele

Mahalo!

Congratulations, FinkDaddy and Pablus. That's beautiful work and a great thing to look at first thing in the morning.

I feel your nervousness FinkDaddy but it looks beautiful! The tapa headstock, the unique fret markers, the cool bridge shape, the beercan holder in the side :D The body grain shows very nicely. A musical instrument is a double challenge because it not only has to look right, it has to sound right too. I have now doubt it will sound as sweet as it looks and that Pablus will love it. Who knows, maybe you'll be the Antonio Stadivari of ukeleles?

Congratulations to both of you!

BEAUTIFUL!

Gorgeous wood. Everything looks beautiful.

Once I hear it, we'll decide on the first tune to be played on it, by me anyway. Then I'll name it. Then I'll buy it a bonnet and a stroller.

I thought about playing "Windward Side" just as a nice juxtaposition on "Leeward Lounge" but we'll see.
I'm thinking of songs about places on the leeward side of certain islands and contemplating.

Once again, I know you put far more into this than I even asked for and that's the kind of aloha I've come to expect from you and people like you.
People who care about what they do and do it well. Mahalo, friend.

Congratulations Pablus, it is beautiful. Hopefully one day I will hear you play this beauty in person.

wicked awesome!!! :D :D