1925 Lyon & Healy "Camp Uke" Soprano Uke

I've worked on a lot of soprano Camp Ukes and they're inevitably popular with uke folks that come through the shop. They have a different feel and sound -- they're like handling a lightweight banjo-uke in body shape, have a drier/more percussive tone, and look absolutely great. Most of them are made of nyssa (black gum/tupelo) wood (as is this one) which makes them interesting as well.

This one has an 8000s serial number on the neck block which corresponds to a 1925 build. Work included resetting the neck and addition of an extra screw for reinforcement (this is easy as the neck is screwed to the body in the first place), a fret level/dress, some seam repairs, and cleats/repairs to three tiny hairline cracks on the top (the nyssa wood often gets hairlines). Still -- this is one of the cleanest Camp Ukes I've had in. It plays spot-on at 1/16" at the 12th fret and is strung with fluorocarbon strings.

Ebony nut...

...and cool mahogany "smile" bridge. It's full-height as adjusting the neck angle let me dial-in the action without needing to adjust it.

The original brass frets are in good order and received a very light level/dress. One advantage of this body shape is that there's so much fret access.

The back of this uke is turned out of a thick piece of nyssa like a banjo resonator. Isn't the grain lovely on it?

These L&H-patent friction pegs work just as well now as when they were made.

The top edge has black binding.

I replace the original bolt with drywall-style screws and then also add a bit of glue when reinstalling the neck. This is a surer fit than the original one-screw neck attachment (which yields a loose, twisted-over neck as the instrument ages).