MAKAIO Ukuleles: T005 Tenor UkuleleNeck Preparation

The neck for the T005 Tenor Ukulele will be made from Black Walnut to match the ukulele body. The neck blank from Hana Lima ‘Ia was already prepared to the correct thickness, and width, and came with pre-cut heel blocks. The first step in construction of the neck was to cut the scarf joint to form the neck/headstock connection. The scarf joint was cut and joined to produce a 12 degree break angle between the neck and headstock, which will provide the right string angle from the nut to the tuning slots, and ensure suitable downward string force over the nut. This break angle differs from the standard 15 degree angle used for ukuleles, as this ukulele will have a slotted “classical” style headstock. The top surface of the neck was slotted along its length, and a carbon fibre stiffening rod fitted to increase the stiffness and stability of the neck. The heel blocks were then glued to produce a stacked heel, following the plans for a Spanish style neck/body connection, with the neck joining to the body at the 12th fret.

Black Walnut neck blank

MAKAIO Ukuleles are constructed using a traditional Spanish style neck/body connection. With this neck design, the sides are fitted into pre-cut slots in the heel block, and the soundboard is recessed into the top of the heel block. This creates an extremely strong one-piece connection between the neck and body, which reduces loss of sound energy into the neck. By not using any mechanical fasteners to fix the neck to the body, the heel of MAKAIO Ukuleles is able to be made delicate and in proportion to the small body size, allowing access to more of the fretboard.

Once the neck scarf joint and heel blocks had been completed, the neck was tapered roughly oversize for the finished dimensions, and the heel carved to its final shape. The table of the heel blocks was then recessed to accept the soundboard so that when the body and neck are joined, the soundboard and upper neck surface are perfectly flush. The remainder of the heel blocks were cut down to reduce mass, while maintaining strength in the neck/body connection. The final step in preparation of the neck was to add ears to the side of the headstock, to provide increased width, and allow the headstock to later be cut to the unique MAKAIO slotted headstock shape.