TKL003 Completed Body, Neck, and Headstock

The body of the TKL003 Tenor Kasha Ukulele has now been bound with solid “Tiger” Myrtle timber bindings with contrasting black/white/black stripes. The soundboard and back of the ukulele have had black/white purflings installed. While this binding/purfling combination not only looks great, the solid Myrtle bindings also help to provide additional strength and protection from dings to the corners of the ukulele body. The finishing touch to the body was the addition of a Macassar Ebony heel cap, which will match the ukulele’s fretboard and bridge.

Tiger Myrtle sides, binding, and tail strip

Indication of the colour of sides and tail strip with finish applied

Following the completion of the body binding, the fretboard was cut, slotted, fretted and installed. The fretboard for this ukulele is a beautiful piece of Macassar Ebony, one of the highest quality timbers available for fretboards. The surface of MAKAIO Ukulele fretboards are sanded to a 12” radius curve and have mother of pearl marker dots inlayed, to increase the playability of the ukulele. The radiused fretbard surface allows chords to be fretted with less pressure from the fingers compared to a flat fretboard surface.

The final steps completed to date for the TKL003 Tenor Kasha Ukulele have been to cut and shape the headstock, and to shape the ukulele neck. One of the most important features of hand making a ukulele is the ability to shape the instrument neck by continually shaving away timber until the profile is just right. This allows the neck to take a shape that feels right in the hand. As with all design features of the long neck MAKAIO Ukuleles, the neck has been shaped to allow fast and smooth movement of the fretting hand over the entire neck length.