Soprano Uke Build Process!

I just completed a ukulele for Adam from Nova Scotia. He wanted my Kumalae soprano shape with a 14inch scale and a wide beefy neck. I made it of all mahogany that I salvage from a furniture shop. The only other wood is a bubinga fretboard.

Here are a couple of pics of the wood for the sides and neck and the top and back braced:



Here are the sides clamped into the mold. I broke four sides making this uke, this old mahogany was pretty brittle.


And here is the neck rough shaped:


And the body glued up and the neck fretted. The fingerboard is pretty wide: 38mm at nut.




Here is the neck going on. Surprisingly, the rubber tubing makes a great clamp:



First coat of wipe on poly finish:


Laying out the bridge position:




And the finished product!



I like the longer scale and beefier neck. It makes the soprano feel bigger than it is while keeping that vintage sound. It has the best sustain of any soprano I have built. I feel like I got a good balance between a light top with a stiff back, sides and neck.

I hope adam likes it!