Sanding sanding sanding...

Whew! The three on the left are almost done. Will bring out the scrapers to get a good shiny surface when all five are sanded.

Scarfed neck

Well you haven't seen me making one of these for a while - a neck with a stacked heel and a scarf joint. But this is for a very special uke. It will be of wenge, and I have to choose methods based on the available dimensions.

Weight will not be a concern on this one, let me tell you that. In fact, this will be the heaviest Argapa made.

Half the size, half the number

Pete Howlett posted a great pic of ten tenors the other day, this is my tribute. I won't even mention he'd done them in eight days...

Neck joint explained

Well here it is, I hope the scribblings are legible. See other posts labeled "Neck joint".

Kumalae, modified bridge

Here's a pic of the new, lower profile of the original bridge. No room for string holes on the end, so I'm drilling holes through.

Really should have measured the string spacing, shouldn't I..?

Neck joint

Neck joint number one of five, number two is also done but not in the picture. I make these by sanding the neck's end and heel area, constantly checking angle and alignment. I put Titebond glue on 90% of the area, and a drop of superglue at the top part near the soundboard.

Then I press them in my hands until the superglue sets, drill a hole from the inside with my angled drill, and screw the joint tight to press the Titebond.

Got it? I should make a post with some relevant picture. I might do that on the next one, tomorrow or tuesday night.

Kumalae repair, cont.

A sliver of matching koa is fitted in a groove I made when I removed the knot holes and string slots. This will get a string through bridge. Not because of Argapa standards, but to ensure a proper break angle for the strings.

Scariest assignment this far

My good friend and valued customer Robert Hultman bought this beautiful Kumalae recently. It appears unplayed. The action was super high both at the nut and at the bridge. The pic shows the going-ons at the bridge end, to lower the saddle part of it I need to shave off some of the surface behind it.

As Sledge Hammer says; trust me, I know what I'm doing.

Sort of...

Sanding, and a declaration of love

Among her many qualities, my beautiful wife has the patience to end those of all others. Despite us having to do yard work with the neighbours, she let me spend an hour sending this through the thickness sander.

Five sets, three of koa for the Good Cop / Bad Cop / Baron sopranos, mahogany for Rockonald's tenor, and the cedar/ crazy wood soprano I'm making for Grant.

I love my wife. Now I'll do yard work.

Wood stash organized

At last! I've cleaned out the junk and sorted everything by wood species instead of by what part of a uke it would become.

The plan is to joint and sand soundboards and sides and put them on the shelf, every time I need a top, I'll make two. And then in a distant future I can just reach for parts and assemble them to ukes.

Inshallah.

Linings finally done

Since the last post on this bunch, I've cut soundholes (routing free hand, to lazy to make the jig), shaped the curvature of the sides and installed all the kerfed linings on the back edge.

Next I will trim the soundboards and start attaching necks.

More cherry resawn...

... but what the hell is that in the back of the pic, by the window?