Musikhaus Kirstein 00036326 User manual

Assembly instructions for Classic Cantabile DIY Ukulele
ArtNr.: 00036326 So ranukulele / 00036327 Konzertukulele
Musikhaus Kirstein GmbH
Bernbeurener Strasse 11
D-86956 Schongau / Germany
Tel.: [phone]
www.kirstein.de
Part list: Before you start assembly, you should check if all parts are complete and have no damage.
Nr. Bezeichnung Anzahl Bemerkung
1 body 1 body is completely assembled
2 neck 1 craved and polished
3 fretboard 1 rosewood, frets included
bridge 1 rosewood, 2 screws
5 bridge inlay 1 plastic
6 nut (saddle) 1 plastic, notched
7 strings nylon strings
8 tuners (machine heads) 5 parts per tuner (top pod + spacer, axis, knob, screw)
Recommended tools and materials:
Materials: wood glue, super glue, some pieces of wood for fixing/protection while gluing , tape
Tools: 3 clamps (gummed), quick release, ruler, sanding paper (granulation: #120, #2 0, #360), sharp
knife, work table or solid base, pencil, screwdriver.

Assembling
This instruction is a guide for you to
complete your DIY Ukulele. But we also
recommend that you consult other
information for example watch ideo
tutorials in the internet. This will help you
to learn additional tips and tricks. You
can use your own ideas to complete the
DIY Ukulele if you want. The result and
the success of the assembly depend from
your workmanship. Therefore we cannot
guarantee for the quality and final result.
1. Grinding of neck and body
Neck and body are pre-sanded roughly at
the factory. If you grind, you have to
always move the sandpaper with the grain
of the wood. Make sure that you grind
never too much material from the neck
and body. At first you grind with the
sandpaper with granulation #120, than
use the sandpaper with granulation #2 0.
And as last step you have to use the
sandpaper with granulation #320. Grind
until the grooves in the wood have
disappeared.
Do not grind the edges too tightly. Wrap the sandpaper around a rectangular piece of wood or cork.
This will help you grinding the flat sides of the body smoothly. Important is the grinding of the
transition of the fretboard and neck after gluing. If this is done very properly playing on the ukulele
will be very comfortable.

Custom-fit processing!
The transition from the neck to body must be
prepared and adjusted very accurately. At first
grind properly the contact surface of the neck.
Than grind the body at the base of the neck
point. The base of the neck point at the body
is rounded because of the production process.
This is the reason why you have to grind the
surface completely plane. Check several times
during grinding whether the transition fits
perfectly.
2. Gluing the fretboard to the neck
Be sure, that the neck and the body are
properly grinded. Take the nut and place it on
the edge, where the headstock starts to go
down from the neck. Mark the nut position
with a pencil and make sure, that the nut is
placed in right angle to the direction of the
strings.
Apply wood glue to the lower side of the
fretboard and spread it equally all over the
lower side of the fretboard. Glue the fretboard
to the neck and fix the neck/fretboard on a
table board or fix the neck/fretboard with
various pieces of wood and clamps (see
picture).
For gluing please use several pieces of wood as protection for the neck and fretboard. Let the glue
dry completely (over night). When the glue has dried completely, you can grind the lateral transition
of fretboard / neck. This will make the neck/fretboard very smoothly and comfortable to play.
3. Connect the neck on the body
It is very important that the neck will be
properly attached to the body so that you
have good intonation and playing comfort.
Body and neck must be firmly and accurately
connected.
Check again, when the fretboard is glued to
the neck and improve, if it is necessary. Please
make following marks on neck and body to
prepare adjustment from neck to the body:
middle position of the nut (1) and end of the
fretboard (2), middle marks (3), ( ) and (5) on
the body. Draw a thin line with a pencil through the middle marks (3), ( ) and (5). Mark with the
pencil the area where body and lower part of the fretboard will be connected. Apply the glue on the
end of the neck and on marked area on the body. Press neck and body together, remove glue from
the edges (if you applied too much and some glue is coming out). Place the body on a table board
and fix the fretboard on the body with clamps.

Attention: Please be careful and do not
tighten the clamps too hard to prevent
damages on the body. Im ortant: Check the
alignment of the neck (fretboard). The
middle mark on the nut, the middle mark on
the end of the fretboard and the middle line
on the body must be in alignment. You can
additionally fix the neck on the body in
horizontal direction with a tape or rubber
rope.
4. Marking the correctly position for the bridge
The scale of the Ukulele is the length from the edge of the nut to the bridge. The 12th fret marks the
middle of the scale. Place a ruler to the left side of bottom edge of fretboard and measure the
distance from nut edge to 12th fret. Now use the same distance (which you measured from the edge
of the nut to the 12th fret and mark the point with a pencil on body. Make the same step on right
side. Now make a line with the pencil from left point (marked) to right point (marked). Place the
bridge on the line like shown in picture below. Please be sure, that the bridge is centered to left and
right point. Now you can mark the positon of the bridge on the body with the pencil. Apply super
glue on the marked area of the bridge. Attach the bridge and fix carefully with clamps (do not tighten
too much to avoid damages). Let the glue dry completely. Finally use the two screws to additionally
fix the bridge and cover the screws with the inlays.

5. Oil finish or paintwork
Materials for the finishing are not included. You can style your instrument individually. You need oil
or spray paint (available In DIY stores or art shops) – ask your dealer which paint or oil is
recommended to be used with wood. Painting offers the possibility to design your instrument
individually in color and finish. An oil gives a very natural look.
1) mask the fretboard and bridge with ta e
2) check that there is no glue on body or neck
3) aint work must be done outside
4) aint several thin layers to achieve good results
5) let the aint dry after each layer
6. Mounting the tuners
Set in the pod into the hole of the headstock of the
Ukulele (see picture). If the pod does not fit perfectly
you can use some super glue to fix it. Set in the axis of
the tuner and install the plastic spacer from the lower
side. Assemble the knob (head) and fix it with the
screw.
7. Assemble the nut and stringing of the Ukulele
Attach the nut with super glue to neck/fretboard. Let the
glue dry completely. The package includes a set of strings
for the Hawaiian tuning (G - C - E - A). Tie a knot at one end
of the strings (simple knot for the two thicker strings,
double knot for the two thinner strings) and insert the
strings into the grooves of the bridge.
•top position: G string (second thickest string)
•second position: C string (thickest string)
•third position: E string (second thinnest string)
•lowest position: A string (thinnest string)
Thread the loose ends of the four strings into the holes of the designated machine heads. Make sure
to attach each of the four strings with two to three turns securely to the tuning pins. First slightly
pre-tighten all strings and check the action as described in the following section.
9. Checking the action
At the first fret, the distance between string and fretboard should be approx. 0. mm, at the twelfth
fret approx. 1.2 mm. You can improve the action by adjusting the notches of nut and bridge (plastic
inlay) with a file. Attention: this work will need some experience, if you file the notch too deep the
action will be too low and the strings snare.

10. Tuning:
The package includes a set of strings for the Hawaiian tuning (G - C - E - A) C-tuning), where G is
tuned an octave higher, another common tuning is A - D - F # - H (D tuning). Best method for tuning
your ukulele is using an ukulele clip tuner.
Below you will find a fingering chart for the C tuning