Making A Boat Paddle Tenor Ukulele - Part 12 - The Parts Come Together

Well, it has been quite a while -  what a marathon - haha.
OK, here we go with the fitting of the back, the front and the neck.
The bridge will be added last to assure that it is square to the main axis of the instrument, as well as the precise distance from the nut for tuning.

The back is fitted first, and acts as a brace for the body while the other parts are glued in place.
The neck has to be fitted before the front (the soundboard).  This is because it is so much easier to trim and fit the neck tenon into its mortice, without the attendant problems of working around a covered in top.
There is enough space for clamps and it is simply easier to accomplish.

The soundboard (the top) also has to align with the upper surface of the neck as the fretboard will be glued over both of these.
So they must finish in the same plane.

I use a scrap of wood from the top as a guide to setting the height of the neck above the body - leaving space for the soundboard.

Once the neck and the front are securely glued in place, the fretboard will be added.
Here is a trial fit.

The position of the bridge determines where the re-inforcing will be glued on the back of the soundboard.

The re-inforcing strips are simply scrap pieces from the body construction which will be glued with the grain running at right angles to the grain of the soundboard.

Here they are in position prior to glue and clamp.


Laying Out the Fretboard
.............this will be the next task while the glued parts are drying.



The final tasks will include:

1. Final sanding
2. Lacquering and finishing
3. Fitting the headstock tuners
4. Stringing ...... and
5. Voila ............... playing