c.1920 Kumalae Hawaiian-made Soprano Koa Ukulele

This is a customer's instrument that was in for repair. Like most Kumalaes, it's a lovely little thing and post-work, sounds fabulous. It's got that bright, bell-sounding, chipper tonality that stands right out in a mix. I love me them old Hawaiian ukes!

Work included seam repairs, crack cleating and repair, a bridge reglue, fret level/dress, and setup. I also installed a set of new pegs which (thankfully) fit without modification in the original shaft holes.

Oh, and can you even stand how great that flamed koa looks?

I sanded-down and then raised the original nut so I could re-slot it and use it again. After the finish on it darkens a bit in UV it'll match better, too. The original slotting was wayyyy too tight and off-center.

Mhh, I like those simple rosettes. Why add flashy stuff to wood that's so pretty, anyway?

These are the Golden Gate uke pegs and for $10, they're the best pegs you can find at anywhere near that price. They have a number of extra washers hidden inside their ferrules that makes them turn very, very smoothly. Fortunately, this uke originally had wooden friction pegs so the shaft holes were large enough to install these tuners on it.

Spanish heel and two-piece neck.

...and a nice endstrip! This had separated at the back and the sides, but my collection of curious violin clamps makes it easy enough to reglue areas like that without popping the back off.