Nina KalininaMar 8

I'm sick (again!), and so I'm reading old magazines as a comfy way to spend time. I have procured scans of 1961's magazines (that's 65 years ago!), and will share some interesting findings in this thread.

The Workbench magazine features a DIY ukulele on the cover, that sounds... incredible? I wonder if the instrument itself sounded good. We'll find out, I guess?

Show threadNina KalininaMar 8
"Workbench" features a catalogue of patterns for sale, from "unusually cute designs" to "electroplating baby shoes" and a gun RACK (edit: it was a gun rack!). I wonder if baby shoes must be in a "never worn" condition for this to work.
Show threadNina KalininaMar 8
After all, who wouldn't want a DIY transformer, right?
Show threadNina KalininaMar 8
We're back to the ukulele-making article! Now I know why I'd want to have a bandsaw in our local hackspace, huh.
Show threadNina KalininaMar 8

Aha, they're using pre-made fretboard. I imagine making a decent fretboard is probably one of the biggest challenges in making an instrument like this?

Surprised that strings and pegs were considered "difficult to obtain"

Show threadI’m 481 Phones

@nina_kali_nina Selling a fretboard in one piece is pretty clever. Fret wire is still pretty hard to get without specialty internet shops. Measuring fret distances is fiddly (no pun intended). Finger dots require cutting holes and plugs that fit tightly, or else the ability to drill a hole just the same diameter as whatever mother of pearl you could source…

They probably cut a LOT of corners, though. Better than the fingers lost if they told folks to whittle their own bridges!

Mar 8 at 12:36pmWeb