Maker: Unknown
Model: Unknown
Top: Solid wood
Back and Sides: Solid wood
Fret board and Bridge: Solid wood
Saddle and Nut: Solid wood

Brought around 1955, I would have been about 12. The first song I learnt on it was The Ash Grove.  The roundel on the headstock probably came from an Airfix model aircraft kit.

This is the ukulele which "they" omitted to re-string to left handed and I learnt to play upside down.

I do not play it now as I don’t want to risk damaging it. After all, it is the one that started it all.

Maker: Aiersi
Model: SU 041T
Top: Solid Spruce.
Back and Sides: Laminate Zebra wood.
Fret board and Bridge: Rosewood.
Saddle and Nut: Ox bone.

The spruce top really gives this little ukulele a loud sound. Overall it is nicely made and finished.The saddle was a bit high but as I had to re-string it to left handed it did not take long to sand it down a tad. Not a fan of Zerba wood, especially on such a small body.

Maker: Gretsch
Model:  G9100
Top: Laminate Mahogany
Back and Sides: Laminate Mahogany
Fret board and Bridge: Rosewood. (Bridge missing)
Saddle and Nut: Ox bone. (Saddle missing)

I like the Gretsch G series They are well made and have a nice chunky neck. I cannot get on with these modern thin necks. I used to own a Koa Pili Koko tenor (solid Acacia) it was a nice instrument but I could never get comfortable with the neck.

The paint tin lid resonator pictured here has been replaced by one spun from a tin lid. Much louder.

Maker: Gretsch
Model: G 9100-L
Top: Laminate Mahogany
Back and Sides: Laminate Mahogany
Fret board and Bridge: Rosewood.
Saddle and Nut: Plastic

A soprano body with a concert scale neck. This means you have slightly more finger room on the fretboard yet still have a small ukulele.

This was a $10 buy with a detached bridge. This is the second Gretsch of this G series I have had with a detached bridge. The bridge is very small with no wings and so the glue area is not large. Any skipping at the factory will apparently result in a detached bridge. This usually fractures the top along the neck edge of the bridge location as a side effect.

My solutuion here was to fit a larger bridge with wings to provide a much larger glue area while also supporting the compromised top.

Other this repair the ukulele is in fine order and plays well.

Maker: Caramel
Model: CS419
Top: Laminated Mahogany
Back and Sides: Laminated Mahogany
Fret board and Bridge: Solid wood
Saddle and Nut: ABS

This was an unexpected bonus.

I had originally bought a factory second version of this ukulele. The fault was that the bridge was crooked. I intended to strip off the neck etc. and electronics for other projects.

However the package went astray in the post after reaching Chicago and the infamous customs shed. Caramel to their credit agreed to replace the missing item. This was the result.  Apart from a slight chip on the fretboard up by the nut a perfectly good ukulele complete with built in tuner and pre-amp.

Caramel's factory seconds are always good value as the faults are usually cosmetic.

At the time of writing (July 2020) the original package is still missing!