Assembled and sanded

Today I trimmed the excess from the top and back and, sitting in the sun, sanded the body through the grits up to 400. I guess this will be french polished too. My bottles of oil finish have gone strange, they're probably past their best before date.

I think french polish is a very good choice, its only drawback is the longer time it takes me to apply it.

Back glued on Bad Cop's soprano

A wee progress report from the shop. I also picked out a nice piece for the fretboard, which I've planed. Still planning the inlay - will it be the Tree of Life? Or a dot?

Done and delivered

Yesterday he finally got it, and I'll try to post a link of his review (if I like it, I haven't seen it yet).

Well here it is, I think his vid is a lot better than the ones I make:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-HSjWa7YVrM

Bridge glued on Robin's sop

Oops, almost got the fifth fret position marker in the pic there.

I chose an ebony bridge to show Robin how much I like him. But ebony is very hard to work with. So now, since I hate ebony, I also hate Robin.

Balance restored.

Bad Cop's uke

Sides are cut to height, linings glued, and the cedar neck is carved.

And Robin - only the bridge left on yours.

Thinning the headstock

Some very good builders just stick it in the drum sander to get it to the proper thickness.

But I would never deny myself this pleasure.

Scattered progress

In the vise is the cedar neck aimed for Bad Cop's koa uke. To the right the two piccolos hang, one is fretted and the other has gotten a few frets. Both have a few coats of shellac.

Then we have Robin's soprano, with a still secret fretboard inlay. A coat or two of shellac goes on every day.

On the extremely messy bench you should be able to glimpse the body of BC's uke, and on the workboard there's a maple soprano under way - but that's not all mine. I have a student who comes by to learn a bit about building.

But now a few days of rest. Or maybe I'll bring one or two when I leave the workshop.

Finishing Robin's soprano

Well a few hundred more coats and it'll be decent...

I'm doing a French polished shellac finish, the oil I have smells far worse. But it does take time. As you see, I'm doing it before the bridge goes on. I'll have to scrape away the finish in the area where the bridge goes but it's easier to get a good result without the muneca hitting the bridge all the time.

Sometimes I think French polishing is better on large, flat tabletops.

Bad Cop signature model, sides glued

Well I want something that looks cleaner, obviously. But this works well. Springy slats going across the sides and under the screw heads.