Tenor Ukulele Kit

Finished the Uke a couple weeks ago - looks and sounds great! DVD and manual were very helpful, nice job guys.

The first thing you'll notice when you open the box is the first-class quality of all the parts. I took my time and followed the instruction booklet. It also helps to review on-line posts on youtube and other sources. You should have some basic woodworking skills and yes, you will need some woodworking tools. There are easier, cheaper kits for those without the skill set or the tools. I'd say this kit is not meant for a rank beginner. Though I'm sure newbies have built a nice ukulele from this kit. My finished ukulele looks terrific and sounds awesome. I'm very pleased with this product and am seriously thinking of getting another one to build because I enjoyed it so much the first time.

When we received our tenor ukulele kit,we were pleased with the quality of all the parts and with the instructional DVD that we ordered as well. We became increasingly discouraged by all the very expensive equipment that we have had to purchase to build our single ukulele.
We are now stuck on the "fret seating" step...it's not working at all. We have made sevaral phone calls to get help...luthiers want $300 to do it for us. It is only fair to inform buyers of the investment in tools they need to build your kits. And you may want to consider pre-seating frets in the kit.

This was my first musical instrument build. I didn't think I needed the DVD of instructions - my mistake, I needed to go on the internet to find ways of creating this instrument. After a few attempts this little uke came together, now I am enjoying learning to play!!

I love this little thing. I bought this to get some cheap practice before gluing together an archtop guitar I'm working on. I didn't really follow the instructions. Maybe better if I had. I built a mold to the shape of the drawing and used it rather than the suggested jig. Without the mold the side shapes would have been pretty far off. I used home made spool clamps rather than rubberbands. I used an edge trimmer router bit with roller guide to trim the top and back.

Most troublesome for me was fitting the neck. I was impatient and wanted to hear some results. Fit could have been a lot better, but in the end the ukulele plays well and sounds really pretty. I'm hooked and I got the education I wanted.

This kit was my first attempt to construct any musical instrument. I found it great for giving me some basics, the instructions and the DVD were of great value to me, both were easy to follow. Overall a great success and a very good kit.

After speaking with my brother (see previous review) I too decided to build my own Uke. I was impressed when my kit was delivered to my door within 2 working days from ordering, from the States this is unheard of. Well the kit is great and I am in the middle of a very steep learning curve but I love challenges, however, I also purchased the DVD, and what a help that has been, I couldn't have done it without it.

Installing the frets were a bit of a #@$%&*! , but overall, I am impressed with the quality of materials and I am looking forward to finishing, and playing my new Uke.

I had a great time building my tenor uke. The worst problem I had was with a trimmer when trimming the sides. Put a big hole in the bottom of the Uke. My stupid.
I finished the uke in Danish oil and bees wax and it looks, sounds and smells fantastic.
Am currently building a soprano uke and it is a little more fiddly than the tenor due to the size but at least it doesn't have a hole in its side. All in all a great way to learn about instrument building.

Aurian Review: The finished product is so much better than we expected...I love the sound and it is so much fun to play! It was also a great experience for my dad and I to work on it and I had a lot of fun through the entire process.

Dad Review: End results exceeded expectations. Here are a few items to keep an eye on:
- Download the pdf as the plan in the book is not to scale.
- Use a "straight" caul when gluing on the fret board as I used only rubber bands and ended up with a 1/64 bow toward the player at the headstock. Barely was able to file down the 2nd & 3rd frets to remove the buzz. I probably should have re-glued the fret board...
- Gluing on the neck straight is hard to do as there are no good datums to hold as the fret board over hang is curved after hammering in the frets. Might consider gluing on the neck to the body first, then the fret board to the neck.
-A dremel with sanding drum is good enough to sand back the top and bottom overhang.
- Used Tru-oil gunstock finish with no prior stain applied to the wood. Very easy and looks good.

I bought one of these to teach a nephew how to build an instrument, and decided I am going to buy one for myself. The quality of this kit is excellent, and if you add kerfed linings and binding, (see Mike Franks remarks below) you have a high end ukelele. Stewmac sells nothing but high quality products and you can depend on them to deliver every time.