My workshop is situated on
Wind Dancer Farm, a 15 acre, 110 year old horse farm near Cincinnati, Ohio, surrounded by a beautiful hardwood forest.

My craftsmanship, quality, and designs are inspired by a lifetime association with music and stringed instruments. I play them and know what I like. My hope is that you like the same things I do.

Luthier and Owner

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What's New

Inventory Clearance Sale! New from Kala Ukulele! Acacia, Lacewood, and Travel Ukuleles

Sept. 23, 2008 - By request, I will now be adding a "Gray Squirrel" brand of fretted mountain dulcimers to my line of hand-made instruments. Look for some interesting designs and tone wood options.

Sept. 10, 2008 - J. W. Bosworth Custom Guitars is now an authorized Kala Brand Music Company Dealer in the Midwest and online! The Kala Ukulele catalog and our price list is available here. Online store coming soon!

My personal Kala KA-FMT and KA-KTE demo ukuleles: KA-FMT Tenor flamed/spalted maple with Sitka spruce top, rosewood fretboard and bridge. KA-FMT Back KA-KTE Hawai'ian koa cutaway tenor with Shadow active pickup and EQ. Maple bindings, rosewood fretboard and bridge. KA-KTE Back

Sapele/Englemann Spruce Tenor Ukulele Now Under Construction - August, 2008 (click picture for larger image):

This uke will have nicely ribboned sapele sides, back and neck, neck is hand-carved with a non-adjustable aluminum truss rod; cantilevered fretboard to increase top resonance; a hand-picked Englemann spruce top; custom designed spruce top bracing; hand-laid Australian Paua abalone rosette with bloodwood accents; ebony fretboard and hand-carved bridge; Paua abalone fretboard dots; ebony bridge pins with abalone dots; cocobolo headstock veneer; bone nut and saddle; cream bindings; bloodwood purfling; gold Gotoh geared tuners with amber knobs; hand-rubbed gloss lacquer finish, and many other features. The uke's design is based on an original plan by Hana Lima 'Ia of Honolulu, HI.

• Overall length: 27-1/8"
• Scale length: 17"
• Total frets: 18
• Frets to the body: 14

A Fishman, Shadow, or L. R. Baggs under-saddle pickup and active electronics/EQ will be an option.

Gluing neck scarf joint	Neck and sides being fitted	Neck joint fitting. This method of joining the neck to the body is called Spanish style. It ensures a very strong joint	Edge gluing bookmatched halves of the Englemann spruce top. The edges have been jointed and then sanded to perfectly join together with no visible seam
Spruce/sapele ukulele in building jig, overview	Building jig close-up	Englemann spruce soundboard cut to rough shape, ebony fretboard (left) with fret slots cut, and ebony bridge blank.	Close-up of 1/8" Australian Paua abalone rosette, rough-fitted in the cut channel surrounding the soundhole in the spruce top. The Paua is cut into ~1" curved pieces to create a 3" I. D. circle.
A similar ukulele is also under construction with lightly figured Oregon myrtle back and sides. Myrtle is much like maple in its tonal qualities. The back halves in this picture are actually the same color - the lighting makes one look darker than the other.

Recently Acquired Tone Wood - April, 2008 (click picture for larger image):

Jatoba (South American/ Brazilian Cherry)	Bubinga	Sapele Mahogany
Jatoba is an exceptionally hard and dense wood. It dulls steel tools rapidly. This wood will be used as a substitute for now scarce Koa since its grain and color is very similar. The hardness allows for a slightly more ringing tone than Koa. Jatoba is an exclusive to my instruments - not found elsewhere.	Bubinga has qualities very similar to both Rosewood and Mahogany. It is popularly used for backs and sides as well as necks and bridges. The figure in this piece is quite beautiful up close and the color is a rich, dark rose. Lexus uses this wood for interior trim in its high-end luxury cars.	Sapele, from Africa, is also frequently used for backs and sides as well as necks and bridges. It is an affordable substitute for Honduran mahogany. This piece has very distinctive grain and color. Cadillac uses this wood in their STS model. Note: These images are of the raw wood. No finish has been applied. Imagine what they will look like with a few coats of lacquer...

New Tools Added to Workshop - December, 2007 (click picture for larger image):

Grizzly 2HP 17" Band Saw	Grizzly 18" Open End Drum Sander

Note: This site, like the instruments I'm building, is under construction.
Come back frequently to see completed instruments for sale.

Copyright, 2008, J. W. Bosworth Custom Guitars