Piccolos packed

Well they're done! An old bow case will get them to England. We're on the train as I write this.

I don't know what will happen to them, I might even keep one for myself.

Piccolos hung to dry

Who forgot to bring in the laundry?!

Between coats, I wet sanded them. It turned out really good (though they feel like plastic).

Salvaging the alder log

I tried to load a video of the event, but it didn't happen. So here's a still of us towing the log on a sub par cart. It is extremely heavy, so it was probably the last voyage of that cart.

Bridges carved

The bridges were carved last night, in the pic they're lying on top of the ukes. I glued them today but I'm behind in updating.

Alder

The kids and a couple of nephews help me rescue a fat log of alder that the local farmer felled. He wouldn't tell me why he'd done it, but was ok with me taking a part of it.

It cracked radially once we got through it, so it must have started to dry already. I'll put it on supports under the house for a few years.

Just need to get it back to the house, it's still where it stood.

Sunbathing, and house progress

The house in the background has been built in eight days. In the pic it looks quite shoddy, the windproof fabric is a bit drab in colour. And the tarp suffers from a strong wind.

I've kept busy but managed to sand the ukes today. Maybe I'll cut fret slots tonight, if I don't go to rescue that alder log I got from the local farmer.

I give tanning the cherry a shot. Don't know if it's gonna turn out good or perfect.

Tan lines!

I've heard that cherry darkens with age, but this happened in 60 minutes! The string I used to glue the backs can be seen, as if the wood was as sensitive as my pale carcass.

When they're sanded, I'm tempted to put them in the sun for a bit to darken.

And yes. They are the same size. It's only that the one on the left is cut to shape.

The primitive, lazy, intermittent builder

Back goes on.

Yes, I'm still in the robe. Robe - ukuleles, pants with tool pockets - guest house build.

House is coming along nicely, I should let it be seen in the bacground in my next post.

Summer exile

We're at the summer house, and I had to inform Grant that his soprano couldn't be finished under these circumstances. Some parts need to be done in the workshop.

I did bring three half completed piccolos though, they're so wonky and primitive that I could build them anywhere. Here I am shaping the heel on one of them, with a Hock violin knife. You can tell I'm concentrated - my toes are crossed.

Maybe I'll have time to finish one or two. I am building a guest house as well, it takes some time.