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After a long covid hiatus, I’ve returned to building several projects. This one is a uke entirely out of scrap wood I haven’t had the will to burn. The back is from lute stave cutoffs and sides are 2-ply figured maple veneer all in the shape of my 1918 Martin uke. Right now I’m trying to decide on a spruce or mahogany top. The neck is done coming from guitar neck cutoffs and has leftover carpathian elm veneer. Pegs are from my plum tree out front. I was able to get a nice uke set from the scrap from another project, a 00-12M guitar; that will be a matched guitar/uke pair. (I’m posting from my iPhone—if it doesn’t work right I’ll fix later.)

I LOVE it!

Thanks, Diane. I decided on using an old piece of spruce that is as white as the maple. Box should be done in a few days.

looks great

Nice back! That ought to finish up beautifully.

I'm thinking of building a concert-size uke also. It won't exactly be scrap wood, although it will be unconventional. A while ago we had a big white pine blow down in the back yard. I cut off a billet and split out a quartered wedge about 3' long. think I can get a couple of ~5" wide vertical-grain boards out of it. I know white pine isn't known for being a great top wood, although it has been used occasionally. The motivation here is to use something that grew in our yard, and for a uke it ought to work well enough.

Maine

Why not build the entire instrument out of the white pine billet? Got to be enough wood for a uke in there, including a neck

I have my doubts about a white pine neck. White pine is really soft, and not very strong. I'm also not sure how it would bend for the sides.

sweet love the back

I made a guitar entirely out of Alaskan Yellow Cedar - back top, side and neck - and it is fine 2 years down the line

Danl8, your plum tree uke intrigues me. We had a small volunteer cherry tree in our yard when we moved here, and left it because the yard was otherwise, except for two large Douglas-firs, quite barren. I figured out it was Wild Cherry from Europe, Prunus avium. It was sending shoots up all over the yard so when we had enough other plantings, including a birch near it, we took it out. I kept about five feet of the trunk, which had grown to perhaps eight to ten inches in diameter, thinking I might get a neck or two out of it, but maybe I can get some three- or four-piece backs as you did. It's been standing in the woodshed air drying for almost two years now. As MaineGeezer says, it's fun to use something from your own yard.