Ukulele Strap

For many years I've played the ukulele without a strap. I thought a light instrument didn't need a strap for support and the cool players didn't use them. Since then, I've seen straps used by Jake, Daniel Ho and Jason Arimoto. I figured if a strap keeps the ukulele in a stable position and helps me become a better player, why not? I decided to make make my own leather strap. I started with a 1/2"x60" leather strap, punched a hole and an 1" slit for the strap button. I researched strap buttons that may be appropriate for the ukulele. Most of the strap buttons were attached with a wood screw into the tail block of the ukulele. These buttons were designed for guitars. The wood screw seemed over-sized for the ukulele and an invitation to splitting the tail block. A "through" the tail block attachment using a machine screw and secured with  nut on the inside and a threaded strap button on the outside of the ukulele would be ideal. This will be a future research project. I finally decided on a tapered strap button that is attached by drilling a hole into the tail block and reaming it until it fit snugly. The tapered strap button distributes the force of the strap and becomes an integral part of the ukulele. I chose the inexpensive plastic Planet Wave strap button. Buttons made of bone, ebony, fossilized ivory and other materials are also available. The upper end of the strap is threaded behind the nut and secured with a small metal concho. The concho adjusts  the length of the strap to fit the player.