Thornhill man's mission: make ukuleles
Walderman completed a four-year apprenticeship

Yorkregion.com
March 14, 2017
By Simone Joseph

Aaron Walderman has the perfect conversation opener for any party.

He builds ukuleles for fun.

For him, it is more than just a pursuit he can boast about at parties.

“There’s a great deal of art involved - a balance of colours, making sure it’s appealing but at the same time, making sure everything works right.”

He spoke about this passion for building instruments in the basement of his Thornhill home, where his workshop is located. Walderman sports rainbow-coloured suspenders, gesturing to his creations, stopping here and there to pick one up and talk about it.

This journey to being a luthier (one who makes stringed musical instruments) began when he was searching for a good guitar and couldn’t find one. He ran into a luthier who told him about a course at Ontario College of Art teaching how to build your own guitar in 10 weeks. He went on to a four-year apprenticeship and started building in 1983.

Since then, he estimates he has made 120 instruments.

The first 50 instruments were all part of his learning curve, according to the retired engineer. They are stored in a garbage bag in his garage.

These days, it takes three months for him to finish making an instrument.

He also used to make guitars but stopped after he made what he calls his “Mona Lisa” of guitars - his perfect guitar. He confesses he doesn’t think he can make another as good.

Making a good instrument is about being precise, he says.

“The top must be a certain thickness; the soundhole should be in the right location and the right size."

Selling instruments pays for the equipment he needs to make ukuleles.

“It pays for itself and then some,” he said.

People find him via word of mouth. Walderman is adamant that he doesn’t want to turn this pursuit into a business.

“Never,” he said. “As soon as it is a business, I have to do it. It’s a lot more fun doing it the way I want to do it.”

Aaron Walderman's ukuleles are on display at Thornhill's Bathurst Clark Resource Library until the end of March.