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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Location
    South Lake Tahoe, CA
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    4

    Default Steel Instrument School Project

    Hello everyone,

    I am an art student in South Lake Tahoe, CA. I am graduating this year, and am going to continue on and seek an education in instrument building. With this being my last year at this school, I've been trying to incorporate music into more of my work.

    In my metals class I was assigned to make a box out of steel and then do something with it. I want to make a ukulele (the box dimensions are about that size). I am not expecting it to sound amazing, this is a project to build something fun and interesting, and the entire thing (except for maybe some hardware if my instructor is okay with it) will be made of steel.

    Anyone have any experience with something in this realm? Technical challenges, thoughts, ideas? I'm just trying to research the idea a bit before I get started.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Sep 2008
    Location
    Queensland
    Posts
    445

    Default

    sounds interesting say what sort of skills and machines do you expect to use or have access to? is it going to be mostly sheet metal and hand tools? how much work have you done on lathes and mills?

    take some inspiration from this guy Frank Ford his stuff is amazing! the stuff i have read of him is that he is a skilled guitar maker and has really gone to town with his metal work recently making all sorts of tools and parts for guitars and banjos
    happy turning

    Patrick

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Location
    South Lake Tahoe, CA
    Posts
    4

    Default

    We have a pretty good shop. Its got acetylene, mig, tig, arc welders. We have all kinds of presses, bandsaws, etc. Not sure about lathes and mills, but there is a whole other section of the shop I haven't been in. I don't have too much skill, this is my first opportunity to work with this kind of stuff.

    Thank you for the link it is an awesome resource!

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    belgrave
    Age
    61
    Posts
    231

    Default

    Well, they make steel guitars so I don't see why a steel uke would be a complete failure. Sounds like an interesting project.
    anne-maria.
    T
    ea Lady

    (White with none)
    Follow my little workshop/gallery on facebook. things of clay and wood.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Aug 2008
    Location
    Charlestown NSW
    Age
    65
    Posts
    1,669

    Default

    Hey Nord
    You do realise that if you have any sort of aptitude for metal working, you will probably be afflicted with it for the rest of your life, don't you?
    There is no cure.
    Good to see a young person showing an interest. We will expect progress pics of your instrument progress.
    regards
    bollie7

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Sep 2008
    Location
    Queensland
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    445

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by bollie7 View Post
    Hey Nord
    You do realise that if you have any sort of aptitude for metal working, you will probably be afflicted with it for the rest of your life, don't you?
    There is no cure.
    Good to see a young person showing an interest. We will expect progress pics of your instrument progress.
    regards
    bollie7
    thats a good point right now you can save yourself from life long financial strain and social awkwardness by forgetting all about manual arts and you must never EVER learn what lathes, mills, shapers and grinders do......

    lol once you learn what you can do and things you can make it gets addictive just a word of warning form a suffering addict
    happy turning

    Patrick

  7. #7
    Join Date
    May 2010
    Location
    Lower Lakes SA
    Age
    58
    Posts
    2,607

    Default

    Nord, are there constraints on how the box is to be constructed? What thickness material? And how much you can then modify it? Like, could you add different materials, say a timber neck?

    Edit: I just read your post again. So disregard the last question.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    May 2010
    Location
    Lower Lakes SA
    Age
    58
    Posts
    2,607

    Default

    Nord, I'm trying to imagine how you could make a neck, tuning head and fretboard out of steel.

    I don't think carving it from solid is viable. The weight and cost would be prohibitive, even if you had the machining skills and equipment.

    You could make a pattern and fold it out of sheet steel, with riveted or soldered joints. That's a big challenge for a novice, and could take a lot of time. Maybe some 'sheeties' can advise you better on this.

    You could fabricate one, maybe from rectangular tube, and weld on some brackets for tuning pegs. Solder wire on for frets. That could work. If you only weld the minimum necessary, you may avoid distortion problems.

    On the other hand, if you're allowed to bolt on a neck from an existing instrument, it becomes much easier.

    There's still the issue of attaching the neck to the body. If the body is flimsy you may need some bracing to take the strain of the strings.

    How you join things depends on what methods you have available and feel comfortable with. But you will have to think carefully about the order of assembly. Hope this ramble is some help.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    belgrave
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    61
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    Go all out men! It doesn't really have to LOOK like a uke. I have a recollection of a metal violin that Larie Anderson used in a concert I saw. I thought it have a neck made out of zig zag bits like roof trusses. But I can't find the image in a google search. Found this though. A pretty rad violin that nearly isn't there. I know it doesn't have a box. Which was the project's point. But anyway. Think laterally that's all I'm saying.

    Google Image Result for http://news.thinkns.com/wp-content/uploads/img1992-300x199.jpg

    anne-maria.
    T
    ea Lady

    (White with none)
    Follow my little workshop/gallery on facebook. things of clay and wood.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Dec 2008
    Location
    Sydney
    Age
    51
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    84

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    Hi Nord,

    When I lived in Adelaide I got to see one of this guy's guitars:
    Donmo Resonator Guitars

    They're called resonator guitars. As you can see on the site, he makes them out of brass or galvanized steel.
    If you look on the site he also makes Mandolins. You could make the ukulele equivalent.

    The resonator is a spun aluminium cone that is attached to a bridge. The neck is wood. Maybe you can get these parts online from a site like http://www.stewmac.com then just work on the sheet metal body.

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Location
    South Lake Tahoe, CA
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    4

    Default

    Wow, there are a lot of good ideas and resources here. Thanks for all the feedback!

    I finished the cube part of my project earlier today. I have to treat it as a found object, so the shape of the instrument will be somewhat abstract (possibly a diamond shape, depending on what I can do, I'm going to be asking a lot of questions tonight). It was made out of steel sheets that are pretty thin, but strong (one student was throwing his box off of bridges for his project, and it held up really well!) I can do whatever I want with the project, and I can use foreign objects, though the teacher wants to see as much metal fabrication as possible.

    As for hardware I picked up some old broken basses and a guitar for almost nothing. There are all kinds of little things I might be able to use from them.

    I'll definitely be looking into the resonator guitars and mandolins. The spun aluminum cone sounds like a very cool idea.

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Aug 2007
    Location
    Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
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    292

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Edster View Post
    Hi Nord,

    When I lived in Adelaide I got to see one of this guy's guitars:
    Donmo Resonator Guitars
    I looked at his site and he has 3 ukuleles on his for sale page.

    Pete

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Jul 2006
    Location
    Athelstone, SA 5076
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    4,255

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by QC Inspector View Post
    I looked at his site and he has 3 ukuleles on his for sale page.

    Pete
    i'd get one but as I have no idea on how to play it, ill pass....
    Prices dont seem too bad if they actuall sound OK.....

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Dec 2008
    Location
    Sydney
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    84

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Nord View Post
    Wow, there are a lot of good ideas and resources here. Thanks for all the feedback!

    I finished the cube part of my project earlier today. I have to treat it as a found object, so the shape of the instrument will be somewhat abstract (possibly a diamond shape, depending on what I can do, I'm going to be asking a lot of questions tonight). It was made out of steel sheets that are pretty thin, but strong (one student was throwing his box off of bridges for his project, and it held up really well!) I can do whatever I want with the project, and I can use foreign objects, though the teacher wants to see as much metal fabrication as possible.

    As for hardware I picked up some old broken basses and a guitar for almost nothing. There are all kinds of little things I might be able to use from them.

    I'll definitely be looking into the resonator guitars and mandolins. The spun aluminum cone sounds like a very cool idea.
    Sounds like you're 90% of the way there. Could you show us some photos of your finished product when you're done?

    If you are doing well with the steel sheet, perhaps instead of a spun cone you could try making a bowl shape out of sheet.


    Eskimo,

    If you want to check out a guitar, Don used to play a bit at the 3D radio Folk show every Monday night. 48 Nelson St Stepney. It's just out on the front yard and you just stroll up and check out a free folk concert as well.

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Location
    South Lake Tahoe, CA
    Posts
    4

    Default

    I'll start posting pictures soon. I have a lot of different projects going on right now and am bit scattered.

    I've been reading into resonators a bit and feel that it might be the best way to go. It looks like I can just use a tin can.

    [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRkxyEtd5Yc]YouTube - Tin Can Reso Ukulele![/ame]

    Looks pretty cool, and fairly easy to do. What I'm curious about is if the can would have to go all the way through the body, or just a bit of it. Also, because of the diamond shape of the body I'm making, I'm wondering if the bridge can be offset. I'll have a lot more can options if the bridge doesn't have to be directly in the center of the can.

    Other than that I need to figure out how to make the frets. My teacher suggested tacking on welding rods. Fretwire is cheap though, but I don't know how difficult it would be to slot a metal fretboard.

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