I’ve written before about the weird and wonderful things that can be found on Makerbot’s famed online 3D model repository Thingiverse… and another unusual item has popped up. Have you ever played a banjo-ukulele? Well Neither have I, in fact I don’t remember ever seeing one before… But now, you can download and print one yourself from the comfort of your own home!
This banjo-ukulele model came about as a collaboration between maker Andreas Bastian and Geoff Wiley of the Jalopy Theatre in Brooklyn, New York. The project began as an iterative process from an existing file on Thingiverse.
Bastian had printed out a ukulele model, the Makerlele, after having decided to learn to play. Showing it to Geoff Wiley from the Jalopy Theatre lead to a greater discussion on instrument design and from there, they decided to work on a banjo-ukulele.
Geoff lent Bastian an old (non 3D-printed) instrument from which to take measurements which lead to weeks of revisions, discussions and testing.
The design to date is playable and holds it’s tone and pitch. It is still a work in progress though, and Thingiverse Maker netizens are encouraged to download explore and improve on the original.
The banjo-ukulele model is available to download from Thingiverse here.
Construction instructions are available on the same page.
You can also find the original Makerlele files here.
