Hana Lima 'Ia - day one

A terrific start was had by all in today's first day of our ukulele building course at Hana Lima 'ia!

Mike our teacher is not only a skilled instrument builder but he also has a passion and talent for teaching. 

The four of us, three guys, Aussie, German and Japanese, and myself, were treated to a well equipped wood shop generally and well organized uke building materials specifically. 

Mike started by giving us some demos to illustrate the principles of sound production in stringed instruments. 

He also discussed the qualities of ukulele strings and explained the ratio between their diameter, tension and pitch. To research this formula Mike has built his own tool. 

We got started by preparing our uke body template and sanding down the braces. 

Next we book matched then glued together the front and back pieces and placed them in jigs to keep pressure on the new joints. 

Turning our attention to the instrument necks, cutting and sanding was followed by gluing and clamping. 

Backs and sound boards were cut out on the band saw and we routered the groove for the rosette. 

Abalone was inlaid after which kicked back and had a late lunch. The end of a productive and totally exciting day!