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In the midst of building my second soprano uke. Hand bent the sides continuous out of a beautiful piece of curly maple with the joint at he neck. Other than a thickener for the possible inclusion of a strap button, do I really need a tail-block? I may be naive but I really can't come up with a logical argument that says I absolutely need to have one. The soprano body is so small that leaving out the tail block would just make it that much lighter. I don't plan on installing a tail wedge because there is no tail joint. Feedback appreciated...

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Peter

If there is a reason to include one, I can't think of it. You mention the only reason I could come up with, strap button, but I wouldn't think anyone would put one on a soprano. Who knows though maybe they would.

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Bryan Bear PMoMC

Take care of your feet, and your feet will take care of you.

I find that, the smaller the instrument, the harder it is to hold. If you don't put an end strap button now, you might want to later, and for that you need an end block. Mine are only 1.5-1.75 inches wide and .5 inches deep. The weight is insignificant.

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Kevin Mason
Mason Guitars and Ukuleles on Facebook
http://masonguitars.net

There's no NEED to have one if you don't have a joint there. Especially in a soparano size. (For a guitar I'd recommend some reinforcement at the butt because that's where it gets bumped when you set it down.) I don't see many soprano players use a strap, but just cradle it while playing

I've built a couple of sopranos with a one piece side and didn't use a tail block. They're holding together fine.

However, I did double the lining where the top joins the tail for about two inches (I use 1.5 mm solid linings). My reasoning was that this is the point where the strings' efforts to peel up the top are strongest. Probably not necessary, especially if you use wider linings, but it gave me some comfort.

I use a small piece of baltic birch plywood as mentioned in the gore/gilet book. I also like to make a lot of different styles of butt end graft shapes. So no tail block would not work for me. I see nothing wrong with making a 1piece or laminate sides minus the rear block. or as others mentioned some lining