Frets and bridge

Yesterday morning I put shellac on the fretboard, but then we went to the cottage to do a bit of gardening. So I couldn’t crack on until tonight. I cut the frets to length and shape the ends before installing them, since I can’t really get to the when they’re in place. The drawback of an island style uke with no separate fretboard. 

The big challenge is to get the ends to line up. The treble side turned out fine this time. 



Then I measured for the bridge. Usually I have a length of roughly shaped bridge stock for these ukes but I couldn’t find it. So where could one find a suitable piece of cherry in this mess?



In the scrap bin of course. Remember these guys? The cut-offs from the neck blank, I get two of them every time. 



I planed the sides parallel then started on the cross section profile. 



Trying it out for length and position. 



And on it went. Three f-hole clamps an a piece of guitar string to stop it from sliding around. 



While it was drying I drilled the holes for the tuners. Tomorrow I’ll start applying the shellac, that means progress will slow down a bit. But fear not! I found that traveller on the bench, in fact it is visible in the background of several pics. 

Onwards and upwards

I managed to keep going. Last night I took the back braces down with a plane and the curved sanding dish, then I strapped the uke down on the solera and glued the back on. 

I use a caul to distribute the pressure and thin wooden slats to apply the right amount of force, and I left it over night. 



Then the 1 3/4” chisel shaves the edge down. I used a knife for some parts but the chisel is very versatile. Holding it like this gives me great control. 



To get at the glue and to even out any facets from the chisel, I use my multi-radius sanding block. Didn’t bother with the elaborate clamp for the sandpaper though, just reached for some tape. 



Tonight I started on the fret slots. The jig is held in place by the styrene rods that’ll become the fret markers. 



And I saw the slots with my Stewmac saw. 



From rods to markers, then. Just a shave with a Berg chisel. 



Before the frets go in it’s good practice to hit the slots with a triangular file. The fretwire will seat better and go in more easily. Just a couple of strokes in each slot. 



The last slot from sawing won’t house a fret, it’s the front edge of the nut shelf. The aforementioned Berg chisel plays ball, even cutting sideways through the grain it gives a perfect surface. 



Then I reached for the shellac. I always put a few coats on the fretboard before fretting and thought it was time. But it wasn’t - not everyone likes the smell so I can’t do that in the apartment before bedtime. Tomorrow morning it is. 

Rapid progress on the piccolo

Wednesday morning and we have moved on quite a lot. In the first pic I trim the overhanging top edge with a wide chisel, I never use a router for this. 

Moving on to the profile, I make the piccolos with a drastically curved back and take a shortcut getting there by hogging off the bulk with a Japanese saw. 



Then I refine the curve on a curved sanding dish with 40 grit paper. 



Kerfed lining strips in place, check for gaps and squeeze out with a mirror. 



And I work faster than I take the pics. Here the neck is aligned and bolted in place. 



And as it turns out, not that wonky at all!



This morning I prepared the back braces. The are wedge shaped in cross section and I make cuts in the kerfing to house them. 



And they were glued in place before I went to work. What’ll happen this evening? Will I fit the back?

A speedy piccolo build

I got some mojo shock yesterday and really wanted to knock out a piccolo. 

I planed down the rim piece to 1.5 mm, it took a while but I didn’t feel like whipping out the drum sander. Plus I feel I connect to the wood when I use a hand plane, this time my Record no.5. 

The piccolo have such small radii that the rim needs to be thinner to bend well. It went alright, and any wonkiness I just blame on the original wee uke I made the templates from was anything but symmetrical. 



Keeping to hand tools I cut out the top and back with a coping saw that I got from a flea market. 



Soundhole, cut with my half kilo brass rosette cutter. 



End block went in yesterday evening. This morning I glued in the kerfed lining strips in the rim before I went to work so it would cure while I was away.



Next pic, the rim glued to the top on the solera. 



On to the neck! I planed the fretboard and the peghead surfaces flat and true to each other. On of the tasks I sort of wish took a while longer, because I enjoy planing. 



Marking out with a centre find rule, a machinist’s square, a sliding bevel and a saddle square. 



Then the Pax rip saw makes short work of taking it down towards width. 



A sharp Mora knife with a scandigrind wedge grind will cut through almost any wood in almost any direction, one exception being wenge which is slightly harder than glass. 



And carving the profile, here with my ancient Miller Falls cigar spokeshave. When it’s properly set up it is a uniqe tool, doing what no other spokeshave could. 



If I stayed upp all night, or stayed home from work tomorrow, this thing would be almost done on Wednesday. But I have other stuff to deal with and will leave it like this, at least until tomorrow morning. 

Another traveller coming up

I had a nice piece of straight grained alder that’ll be a travel uke. You might have seen this before but here we go again: I start by laying out the position and outlines for the hole. 

Then I hog out the bulk of the wood with a drill bit that leaves a flat bottomed hole. The depth stop is set so there isn’t too much left to remove. 



Cleaning up the edges with a sharp chisel. 



And when the two-part template fits snugly in the cavity, I can mark out the contours of the instrument...



... and take it to the bandsaw. I’ll update when I whip out the router plane. 

Raw material

My friend and colleague Daniel asked me if I wanted an old shelf of solud walnut. Of course I said yes, and fanx. When it turned up it wasn’t walnut at all. It’s mahogany!

There are grooves, dovetails and stuff to work around but if I rip them carefully I will have mahogany for years to come. I’m super happy.