Tools:

• Hot glue gun 

• Right angle triangles and a long ruler

• Tailor measuring tape

• Box-cutter knife

• Scissors

• Sanding block

• Drill bits ¼ inch and 3/16 inch

• Stencil print outs 

 

Materials:

• Foambase board

• 2 chipboards

• Wooden board (fretboard) 42mm by 19mm. Length = 36cm 

• Bottom wooden part 42mm by 19mm. Length = 6cm

• 3 half pieces, 5.8cm long

• 3 nut wings ¼ inch

• 3 eye bolts ¼ inch

• Tenor ukulele strings

 

Ukulele body:

1. Take the ukulele body stencil provided and cut it out with a pair of scissors. Use it to trace a body on foambase. You will only need one cut-out for now. To make it easier, to trace the shape, have them cut out the shape and glue it onto the foambase. Then they can cut it out with scissors though box cutter knife is recommended for an easier cut.

Once cut, sand off the sides so they look a bit smoother (not too much)

 

*Part 2 is optional in case the teacher wants the students to do more of their own measuring and research. In this case, for the 3-string ukulele side of its body, the width should be 6cm while the length can be measured with a tailor measuring tape. It is recommended to cut the side parts that connect the top and bottom of the ukulele into smaller pieces so it is easier to bend. Use the stencil provided to decide how long the strip pieces should be. 

 

1. Print out the side body shapes and trace them on a chipboard. Cut the traced shapes and make sure you glue them in the order they are numbered in, starting from top right of the ukulele body with the sound hole facing you. 

REMEMBER that there is going to be a hole in the body (marked on the stencil) so make sure when gluing the strips of chipboard, a hole the size of 4.3cm is left. 

 

• First strip shape: 16 cm long

• Second strip shape: 20.6 cm long

• Third strip shape: 20 cm long

• Fourth strip shape: 17.5 cm long

 

1. Take the ukulele top body with glued strips around it and trace it again. This time, make sure the strips are the ones being traced as the bottom part of ukulele will have to be a bit thicker than the top so it can lie on top of the strips. 

2. Take the bottom part of the body and glue stencil parts numbers 5 and 9 in the same way that is shown on print-out C. Make sure that you use the stencils to trace and cut out the proper amount indicated on the print-out. 

3. Take the top part of the ukulele body and do the same thing with stencils number 5, 6, and 7 and 11. Also make sure to cut out number 8 from print out E and put it in the area where the bottom dotted shape is. 

4. Once all the small stencil parts are glued and put on the proper places, put together and glue the top and bottom together parts of the ukulele body.

5. Once the body is all done, you will take stencil number 10 from print-out E and cut 16 pieces which you will then glue on top of the ukulele body (refer to the video for how it should look). 

6. When all the pieces are glued together, you will take your fretboard which has been previously cut to 36cm in length and measure out where the holes will go. Refer to print-out F for measurements though you can experiment with the hole placement and see what works best for you. Make sure that you drill the holes with proper drill bits which are labelled on the print-out as well. 

7. You will also take your bottom wooden part which is 6 cm in length and will measure out the three 3 small holes that will be cut with a 3/16 drill bit. The holes should be about 1.1 cm apart and should be about 1.3cm away from the beam. 

8. Take the bottom wooden part and glue it inside the hole at the bottom of the ukulele body. Careful that the piece is glued up onto the top part of the ukulele, otherwise the strings won’t be able to tense properly (refer to the video for more information). 

9. Once the fretboard and the bottom wooden part are glued, you can screw in the eye bolts, making sure that the eye is at the bottom of the fret (refer to video). Have the ukulele strings set up by tying one end of the string to a little bolt and threading it through the small hole on the bottom wooden part. Draw the string across the bridge and into the small hole on top of the fret board where you will then tie it around the eyebolt. Make sure to check out the video for demonstration. 

10. Last step that remains is decorating your ukulele however you wish! Have fun! J

 

Please note, for many of these steps, the cutting should be done while the boards are tightly secured to avoid any injury with box cutter knives. An alternative to a box cutter is to look for Fiskars 152.4mm / 6"Amplify Scissors. 

The tutorial video was filmed during Covid19 and we did not have access to all the necessary equipment. Please visit our page on safety for further information. 

 

Material budget

(everything was bought in Australian hardware and stationary stores):

• Foam board – AUD$14.47 (Officeworks)

• Chipboard – AUD$4.79 (Officeworks)

• Tasmanian oak board 42x19mm 2.4m – AUD$12.05 (Bunnings)

• Tasmanian oak moulding scotia (half pieces used for the bridge) 20x20mm 2.4m – AUD$14.28

• 8 nuts wing diecast zenith (1/4 inch) – AUD$3.98 (Bunnings)

• Eye bolt zeniths (1/4 inch) – AUD$3.90 (Bunnings)

• Tenor ukulele strings set – AUD$13.99 

 

Note that if possible, these materials should be found in Reverse Garbage. Maker Movement strongly encourages recycling and reusing of old or used materials.