Category Archives: ukulele

The Alluring Ukulele: A Design Adventure

2025
AL#155 p.22               
Pat Megowan                                                                                           

▪ A skilled woodworker takes a deep dive into the design and construction of the formerly humble uke. He looks for any horizon he can widen, any envelope he can push, to intensify the wonderfulness and sophistication of the dynamic and diminutive instrument. His aesthetic sense is free, but rooted in an educated appreciation for the classical guitar. Join him on this thoughtful journey to excellence. Mentions Jeffrey Elliott, Kimo Hussey, James Hill. Mentions sinker redwood, Oregon myrtle, ziricote, walnut, koa, white oak.

In Memoriam: Bob Gleason

2025
AL#155 p.69               
Chuck Moore                                                                                           

▪ Bob Gleason was a Guild member for forty-five consecutive years. He was a GAL Convention presenter and frequent attendee,and his Guild author credits go back four decades. He told us all that “Ukuleles Are For Real” long before we and the whole wide world were ready to believe it.

In Memoriam: Bob Gleason

2025
AL#155 p.69               
David Lawrence                                                                                           

▪ Bob Gleason was a Guild member for forty-five consecutive years. He was a GAL Convention presenter and frequent attendee,and his Guild author credits go back four decades. He told us all that “Ukuleles Are For Real” long before we and the whole wide world were ready to believe it.

In Memoriam: Bob Gleason

2025
AL#155 p.71               
Nathan Ching                                                                                           

▪ Bob Gleason was a Guild member for forty-five consecutive years. He was a GAL Convention presenter and frequent attendee,and his Guild author credits go back four decades. He told us all that “Ukuleles Are For Real” long before we and the whole wide world were ready to believe it.

In Memoriam: Bob Gleason

2025
AL#155 p.71               
Tom Braverman                                                                                           

▪ Bob Gleason was a Guild member for forty-five consecutive years. He was a GAL Convention presenter and frequent attendee,and his Guild author credits go back four decades. He told us all that “Ukuleles Are For Real” long before we and the whole wide world were ready to believe it.

In Memoriam: Bob Gleason

2025
AL#155 p.71               
Woodley White                                                                                           

▪ Bob Gleason was a Guild member for forty-five consecutive years. He was a GAL Convention presenter and frequent attendee,and his Guild author credits go back four decades. He told us all that “Ukuleles Are For Real” long before we and the whole wide world were ready to believe it.

Meet the Maker: C.F. Casey

2025
AL#154 p.38               
Newton Drysdale   C.F. Casey                                                                                       

▪ We finally find out how Casey, an early GAL member and frequent author, got into the lutherie game. Interviewer Drysdale is Fred’s earliest friend, having been with him every step of the way since conception. Mentions Bozo Podunivac, Manitoba Hal, Richard Thompson.

The Two-Day Ukulele: Inducting Novice Luthiers

2023
AL#150 p.44               
William-T. Crocca                                                                                           

▪ A group of mature woodworkers set themselves the challenge of designing and presenting a two-day class in which kids and families can build a StewMac uke kit. It involved setting up twenty workstations. The class was a success, and everyone went home with a strung uke “in the white.”

Press Your Ukuleles

2023
AL#149 p.42               
John Calkin                                                                                           

▪ One operation at a time, Calkin is showing us how to make ukes in a direct and effective way. It’s all done by one worker with simple tools in a small space. Here he shows us how to get the back onto the ribs quickly and accurately, with no cleanup needed.

Uke Neck Joint

2023
AL#149 p.56               
Karl Hoyt                                                                                           

▪ Hoyt found a way to make a simple and reliable bolt-on neck joint that is easy to assemble, not withstanding his large fingers.

Refurbishing a Manuel Nunes Rajao

2023
AL#148 p.22               
Karl Hoyt                                                                                           

▪ Hoyt stumbled upon a small and distressed old instrument that turned out to be made by a founding father of the authentic ukulele. Mentions Augusto Dias, Jose do Espirito Santo, Jim Tranquada.

Power Up Your Ukulele Dishes

2023
AL#148 p.54               
John Calkin                                                                                           

▪ Get serious about building ukes in spherically-radiused workboards. These dishes are easily built from lumberyard material and use a drill press for power.

Letter to the Editor: Mandolins in Heaven

2023
AL#148 p.7               
Steve Dickerson                                                                                           

▪ Some say we will play mandolins in heaven. Oh no? Go ahead; prove that we will not! Dickerson discusses this matter and reviews the evolution of his lutherie work.

Meet the Maker: Beau Hannam

2022
AL#147 p.8               
Brian Yarosh   Beau Hannam                                                                                       

▪ Beau Hannam came up in the productive and innovative shop of Australian luthier Gerard Gilet, then migrated to Colorado to found his own shop making guitars and ukuleles. He’s all over the Interwebs with his generous lutherie advice and his gorgeous instruments.

Universal Side Caul

2022
AL#146 p.58               
Beau Hannam                                                                                           

▪ These simple plywood squares with dowel halves glued to them can replace all the carefully shaped side cauls that thousands of luthiers have been using for decades. Sometimes one size really does fit all.

Reviews: Ukulele Making Course with Heidi Litke

2022
AL#146 p.60               
John Calkin                                                                                           

▪ Ukes are serious lutherie projects these days. Standards and expectations are high. The same is true for instructional videos. The reviewer is favorably impressed with the instruments, the instructors, and the presentation.

The Confidence Game — Overcoming the Fear

2022
AL#146 p.62               
Aaron Cash                                                                                           

▪ Lutherie is way cool. The guitars that people are making these days are mind-blowing. Standards of craftsmanship and creativity are sky high. And all that can be daunting to a sincere wanna-be. Here’s how to talk yourself into not talking yourself out of it.

A 2×4 Twofer

2022
AL#145 p.46               
C.F. Casey                                                                                           

▪ We sometimes hear of a luthier who enjoys the challenge of building an instrument from lumber-yard materials rather than from picked and approved tonewoods. but Casey goes one better when he makes two successful instruments from a single softwood two-by-four. And it had a knot in it, just for extra fun.

First Build: A Lumberyard Ukulele

2021
AL#143 p.56               
Steve Dickerson                                                                                           

▪ The author hit on an unusual program for building his first uke. He bought a kit, but then set aside the good wood for a later build. He went to the lumberyard to buy cheap wood, then proceeded with reduced anxiety. Makes sense when you think about it. The humble uke came out fine.

Ukulele Scale Intonation

2020
AL#141 p.34               
Peter Hurney                                                                                           

▪ Here’s a direct and accurate real-world method for calculating the exact position of a uke bridge. The jig does all the work and considers all the variables. No math required!

Review: McDonald’s The Ukulele: An Illustrated Workshop Manual and Weissenrieder and Greenbaum’s The Uke Book Illustrated

2020
AL#139 p.63               
Pat Megowan                                                                                           

▪ Our reviewer compares, contrasts, and waxes eloquent about The Ukulele: An Illustrated Workshop Manual by Graham McDonald and The Uke Book Illustrated by John Weissenrieder and Sarah Greenbaum. In addition to a lot of thoughful and practical analysis, he uses the metaphore of different ice-cream eating experiences to explain their complex relationship.

Questions: Good Advice for Beginning Uke Makers

2020
AL#139 p.69               
John Calkin                                                                                           

▪ Our resident straight-shooting curmudgeon says to start with super-simple kits, then move to good-quality kits, then just make ukes.

Meet the Makers: Jay Lichty and Corrie Woods

2019
AL#138 p.38               
Steve Denvir   Jay Lichty   Corrie Woods                                                                                   

▪ Jay Lichty was late to the lutherie game, having spent a lot of years in a real job building houses as a general contractor. But he’s deep into instrument making now, and finding success with an eclectic line of ukuleles and small guitars. Jay’s wife, Corrie Woods, is the marketing department, working with photography and online media to make the most of Jay’s work at the bench. Together, they are making it work. From their lecture at the 2017 GAL Convention.

Rope Binding

2019
AL#138 p.56               
Graham McDonald                                                                                           

▪ Rope binding uses contrasting wooden lozenges around the outer edge of a guitar, such that when they are rounded over, the binging seems to be twisted like a rope. The effect was popular in the early 20th century on ukuleles and Hawaiian guitars. The author takes us throught the process of slicing and dicing to produce the binding strips.

In the Footsteps of Mangore

2018
AL#133 p.6               
Federico Sheppard                                                                                           

▪ There are luthiers way up in the tributaries of the Amazon River. They have wood galore, and they are teaching large numbers of local kids to make their own instruments. But they are short on good sharp tools and modern information. Our intrepid adventurer Federico Sheppard sets out to address that lack by bring in donated tools and holding master classes. He was multi-tasking; on the same trip he researched and commemorated the 1931 visit of Agustin Barrios to the remarkable Teatro Amazonas, which you might recognize from the Werner Herzog movie Fitzcaraldo. And he got in some fishing.

The 2×4 Ukulele

2017
AL#129 p.12               
John Calkin                                                                                           

▪ Calkin says real lutherie can be fun, spontanious, quick, and cheap. He makes a uke from a lumber-yard 2×4 to drive home the point.

Contemporary Ukulele Making: Extended Soundport

2016
AL#125 p.4               
Jay Lichty                                                                                           

▪ Jay Lichty demonstrates the entire construction process of ukulele fiber sleeve soundports. From his 2014 GAL convention workshop.

Contemporary Ukulele Making: Adding a Beveled Cutaway

2016
AL#126 p.6               
Michael DaSilva                                                                                           

▪ DaSilva builds the uke body normally, then rips into it with a saw and a big honkin’ chisel. He fits a bent wood gore, then binds it, which is complicated by the changing angle. He demonstrated the whole process live at the 2014 GAL Convention.

Ukulele Building: Tradition and Trends

2015
AL#124 p.4               
Michael DaSilva   Bob Gleason   Jay Lichty   Woodley White                                                                               

▪ Four prolific uke makers take us into their shops to talk about how and why they build. From their 2014 GAL Convention panel discussion.

Contemporary Ukulele Making: How I Construct Ukulele Tops

2015
AL#122 p.60               
Bob Gleason                                                                                           

▪ Gleason is a subjective builder, everything is tactile, and he gets his signature sound regardless of bracing style. From his 2014 GAL convention workshop.

A Modern Uke Family: Thoughts About Small, Smaller, Smallest

2015
AL#123 p.34               
Craig Sullivan                                                                                           

▪ The organization New England Luthiers puts the challenge to its membership to each build a ukulele and share the finished instruments when complete.

GAL Instrument Plan #71: A Modern Uke Family

2015
AL#123 p.39               
Craig Sullivan                                                                                           

▪ This popular plan gives full-scale views of each of four sizes of ukuleles. Be sure to read the article “A Modern Uke Family” in AL#123.

Reviews: Short Reviews of a Few Interesting Books on the Ukulele and C.F. Martin

2015
AL#121 p.60               
John Calkin                                                                                           

▪ Calkin looks at several books on ukulele, guitar, and American history, and finds interesting connections.

Ukulele Neck Pocket Joints

2014
AL#120 p.54               
Jerry Hoffmann                                                                                           

▪ Hoffman’s ukes look like their necks have no heels. They do, he says, but the heels are just on the inside of the body. He gives us a detailed look at building two different styles.

Contemporary Ukulele Making: Neck Joining Methods

2015
AL#121 p.28               
Woodley White                                                                                           

▪ At the 2014 GAL Convention, each of the four makers on our ukulele panel took the opportunity to present short workshops in which they brought the attendees up close to some of their workbench techniques. Our coverge starts here with Woodley White, who showed six different neck joints for ukes; Spanish, dovetail, spline, domino, barrel-nut, and threaded-insert. He made one of each, and explains the differences.

Questions: Gibson Uke-2

2011
AL#106 p.64               
Paul Poliski                                                                                           

▪ Resetting the neck of a Gibson uke-2 with a short fingerboard extension with no frets over the body.

Modern Meets Traditional In the Olympic Uke

2011
AL#105 p.42               
Thomas Johnson   Ray Cowell                                                                                       

▪ Cowell salvages wooden interior trim from Titanic sister ship Olympic for uke making, assisted by luthier Thomas Johnson.

Letter to the Editor: Ray Cowell Ukes

2009
AL#99 p.3               read this article
Thomas Johnson                                                                                           

▪ Johnson’s letter introduces us to English uke maker Ray Cowell, who began his career by making instruments from wood retrieved from the ocean liner RMS Olympic, sister ship to the ill-fated Titanic.

Uke Making for Guitar Makers

2008
AL#96 p.50               
Bob Gleason                                                                                           

▪ A low key (not to mention fun) description of how uke making varies from guitar making. Gleason also describes some of the varieties Hawaiian wood he likes to work with, a slick method for removing lacquer from the bridge foot print, and some of the construction tricks he has come up with. Owning a shop in Hawaii must surely take the lutherie life to another level. With 15 photos.

Mechanical Compliance for Soundboard Optimization

2007
AL#90 p.8               read this article
David Hurd                                                                                           

▪ Hurd believes that the fastest way to great instruments is science, and it’s hard to argue with such a rational man. His jigs measure the deflection of top plates while under tension, and once he carves the top and braces to the numbers he wants he’s done. Period. Sort of makes intuition obsolete. This could also be math heavy if he didn’t offer an Internet spread sheet to ease the pain. With 7 photos and 7 figures/charts.

This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.

Reviews: The Ukulele by Denis Gilbert, and Ukulele Design and Construction by D. Henry Wickham

2006
AL#86 p.68               read this article
John Calkin                                                                                           

▪ The reviewer finds that neither of these books is that great but that Wickham’s is probably a better value than Gilbert’s.

Meet the Maker: Duane Heilman

2002
AL#71 p.24   BRB6 p.424            read this article
John Calkin   Duane Heilman                                                                                       

▪ Heilman builds quirky, imaginative ukes that he auctions on-line. He’s also made hundreds of exotic picks that he sells the same way. With 17 photos.

Martin Tenor Ukulele

1998
AL#56 p.32   BRB5 p.240            
Peter Hurney                                                                                           

▪ Uke builder Hurney offers a description and plans for the Martin Tenor, as well as outlines of the Martin Soprano and Concert models. The plans are available as GAL full-scale Plan #43. With front and back photos of 3 sizes of Martin ukes.

Meet the Maker: David “Kawika” Hurd

1998
AL#56 p.44   BRB5 p.285            
John Calkin   David Hurd                                                                                       

▪ David Hurd’s classical guitar drew accolades at the ’98 convention’s listening session, but he’s better known for his ukes and his info-jammed ukulele website. He’s also had the opportunity to build instruments from species of Hawaiian wood that most of us have never even heard of. Life is different in Hawaii. Still. With 3 photos.

Review: The Ukulele, A Visual History by Jim Beloff

1997
AL#51 p.49   BRB5 p.472            
John Calkin                                                                                           

▪ The reviewer enjoyed his time spent with this book, but decides its appeal will be to those who are already ukulele enthusiasts. If you aren’t one, it probably won’t make you one.

Working with Koa

1990
AL#24 p.38   BRB2 p.460            
Bob Gleason                                                                                           

▪ A Hawaiian guitar maker passes on some of his tricks for the successful use of an indigenous wood. With 4 photos of his sidebending procedure.

This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.

Roy Smeck: Wizard of the Strings

1987
AL#11 p.40   BRB1 p.436            read this article
James Garber   Roy Smeck                                                                                       

▪ This is an interview with the man who may have been the best known instrumentalist of his time, the Chet Atkins of vaudeville, if you will. The conversation is mostly about his instruments.

Premiata Liuteria

1986
AL#7 p.29   BRB1 p.256   ALA6 p.8         
Mario Maccaferri                                                                                           

▪ Maccaferri speaks about his life as a musician, luthier, and inventor. Mentions the Selmer company and Django Reinhardt.

This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.

Ukuleles Are For Real!

1985
AL#1 p.31               read this article
Bob Gleason                                                                                           

▪ Gleason admonishes luthiers to respect the ukulele as a legitimate instrument with its own challenges and rewards. Martin and Kamaka ukes are mentioned.