The completed Oud (Sound sample added)

Hi,

On 9/18/2010 I completed the oud and strung it.

Here are some photos, I will try and post a sound file soon. On that, what is the best way to record the oud, when I use my computer's microphone the sound comes out different.

It is very resonant and sounds well. But I would love to hear the opinion of other experienced people. If you are in LA and want to try it and give me your opinion please let me know.

Here are the pictures.




Disclaimer: I am not an oud maker and I don't want to be. I did this out of curiosity and will most likely be my first and only oud.

Here are some more pictures.

beautiful

Wow amazing work man.

Chapeau

Beautiful work, I would be impressed if this was your 10th oud . . . as your first, I am astounded.

You have some talent.

Astounding !

Mehran: If you are serious about it and determined go for it. Remember to be patient and persistent as there will be many times during the building process that you will question your sanity and the decision you made to build one.

As for tools here is a list of things I bought not all of which are necessary and I didn't buy them in one shot.
- Chisels (1/4,1/2,3/4,1") I bought a basic set from Harbor Freight for about $5
- Files (different kinds) didn't use them that much but can be useful, again from Harbor Freight for about $7.
- A wood rasp ($8) was useful for many things.
- Clamps (various F, C, and bar clamps) a must have (I bought mine from harbor freight on sale some for as little as $1)
- A square ($10)
- A vernier caliper ($15)
- Diamond needle file set ($8)
- A rotary tool (Black and Decker RTX) $25 for cutting circles and routing pockets, I made my own circle cutting jig (see some of my other threads for photos of that jig)
- Saws: Japanese Dozuki saw $30, a fret saw $15(needed only if you want to do certain inlays), a miter box and saw $13. you can get more saws and they will make your life easier.
- Bosch Colt hand held router ($75 don't ask me how I got I got it for this price, and yes it was brand new in box)
- A rabbeting bit set (with 1/8" depth, only needed if you want to inlay your peg box and your hand skills are as bad as mine )
- A hammer
- A straight edge ($3)
- French curve set ($10) used this to make the profile of the oud and the beard (Mihrab).
- Make your own bending iron, check the tutorials online, mine was made from an aluminum tube and an electric charcoal lighter. Definitely not a good bender. If I ever decide to make another oud, I would build a different one.
- A rival hot pot (as a hide glue pot) $13.
- A thermometer ($10) to monitor the glue temperature.
- Make your own custom miter box for the inlays.
- Glue brushes. For hide glue, and for wide areas, use a foam brush, its the best thing you can use. For small areas, just use a natural hair brush from an art store. I bought a cheap set of 20 brushes for about $5.
- hand planes: I bought a 14" Jack plane ( Footprint for $35). Make sure you tune it well, instructions can be found online. I also bought a small 3" trim plane for $8 from HomeDepot. This was very useful for trimming the braces and the edge tiles.
- A wood working vise ($30)
- A hand drill (may not be necessary)
- A peg reamer ($20) from a local violin shop, make your own peg shaper based on this reamer. You will get a perfect match between the pegs and the holes.
- Sand paper, various grits. I also bought a set of super fine micromesh sandpaper and used it to make my own sharpening jig on a piece of glass. With this setup I got my tools to be very sharp.
- Scrapers ($15)


These are the tools that I remember I used. If I remember more I will post them. Of course, I had the wood strips for the back cut at the wood supplier. Having access to a band saw will also make your life easier, especially if you decide to make a mould.

Brian: Thank you for your compliments, it must be beginners luck and I decided to retire at my peak It took a good amount of work and patience.

Spyros: You are very kind, I am grateful for these kind words.
I think the biggest part of making the oud was being patient and a lot of reading and planning. The information on this forum and on the net have been very helpful and have made my life much easier. I think that made up for my lack of wood working experience.

I am an engineer but I don't do any applied work, mainly theoretical work.

If you ever decide to come to LA let me know and I would be happy to show it to you and let you try it.

Ibrahim...

Hey Ibrahim...congratulations, this is absolutely beautiful
I always think about building an oud...seeing this is an a big encouragement. Even though I think when building the first oud people try to keep it simple because it's too difficult and complicated, you have changed this idea in my mind with your beautiful work...

Can't wait to hear it

Regards,
Ibrahim