I don't think routers and children mix well ;). you don't need big wire for a little ukulele. The first step is to get your blank prepared to make the ukulele. since these have straight sides they're fairly easy since the frets are at a right angle to the edges of the fretboard, it also means all the frets are the same length so you don't need to keep track of which goes where. The scale is 1:1 and dimensions can be read directly off the plans. for the other the frets were placed directly onto the blank. I used our kitchen table, a small can from tomatoes, a large can from beans and an enamel camping mug. it's great for practicing in an apartment or in the silent wilderness. Reid Shigemura is raising funds for Pahulele - Unique Backpacker Travel Ukulele - Made in Hawaii on Kickstarter! if you have a separate fretboard you can also have a separete nut/bridge, for the integrated style they had to be recessed and you couldn't move the bridge to adjust the intonation. Pahulele - Unique Backpacker Travel Ukulele - Made in Hawaii. all you have to do is hold the ukulele up against something and it vibrates it! You can use just about anything as an amplifier for them though! glue your fretboard to the body if you have a separate one, put on the tuners, place the nut and bridge then string it up! tx again for a wonderful project that I'm very much looking forward to. It will feature a special color scheme and engraving on the top, back, or sides of the instrument. I included roughly what my tuners were, but this will really depend on the tuners you have. at a minimum you'll need a saw, chisel, drill and sandpaper. on Step 9. hello i m interest by your ukulele is it possible to get the 3D model you had done ? This will give you a straight edge to your slot, but you'll have to stop at right beginning and end points unless you add stops to your fence. you can go as crazy as you want with the tools. Step 3: Headstock. The Pahulele is a very unique ukulele. tie the strings to the body just like you would with a normal ukulele bridge. I forgot to put that in! Since we bought a piece of trim that was already 1.25" x 0.75" I just had to cut it to length, about 18.5". 1) Drill one hole in the center of the slot, slightly larger than your router bit of choice. Invite to the Pahulele Party and we will also add your name to the Featured Pahulele Supporters page along with a picture of you with your Pahulele (optional). we made 2 ukuleles. 21. we just drilled holes and put dowels in then cut them to size/ sanded them flush before putting the frets in. 1 year ago I had to stop it before the tuners and just round over the headstock area by hand. Invite to the Pahulele Party and we will also add your name to the Featured Pahulele Supporters page along with a picture of you with your Pahulele (optional). The Pahulele is a very unique ukulele. you will need to file the edges of the frets though so they're not sharp. you should be able to wiggle the bridge a bit to get the right intonation. I've had sing-alongs using it with two metal french fry bowls :). (sorry this is confusing, we were on a time crunch to make these and I didn't take any pictures of this process). we wanted to bring some ukulele's with us but didn't want them to take up too much space in our bags. The next step is to make the slot in the headstock for the tuners. Ok, so its Christmas 2013 and this project is a long time coming! it just makes it easier. ideally you can then level/dress them but it wasn't necessary for these ukes, so you might be lucky too ;). I made a little purpleheart "saddle" for the bridge to sit in to support it more.