Peghed retrofit

I got to see Argapa #18 again, my first pineapple. The tuners were cranky (I blame the walnut headstock) so I put those nifty secretly geared Peghed tuners on it. I also set the nut up better, so now it damn near plays itself!

I still like the headstock design a lot. The straight Argapa take on traditional pineapple follies.

Markus

And here he is, keeping a straight face. Before the champagne was
opened.

Pineapple done

The shellac has dried and Markus is here to collect it!

Finishing

A few coats of shellac is on since yesterday, and I have some research
to do about how to continue.

It's beginning to look tasty though.

Full frontal

After hesitating a while I decided to reveal the "fancy inlaywork" on
the fretboard. What better way to mark the 3rd, 5th, 7th and 10th
fret? You have to count fast though to get it right.

Fretboard glued on pineapple

I am struggling hard not to remove the clamps, but I think they can
sit there while I'm at work. Then the glue will be clamped for 24 hours.

I'll buy some better shellac today, and then it's just bridge, nut and
tuners! The uke might be ready til the next installment of Robert
Hultman's Ukulelekabaré!

Pineapple continues

Yes it is time to finish Markus' pineapple. It's not that much left
actually. Just the back and the fretboard (on which Markus wants some
big ass inlay work...).

Back braces got installed today. Most builders glue them to the back,
but this way suits my manner of doing things.

Random progress

Well it certainly ain't boring, working on three or more ukes at a
time. As soon as some glue is setting on one, I can do stuff on
another. And it really helps to have different sorts on the bench -
the pineapple is very different from the rest, and the woods I use at
the moment are different too.

Alder carves extremely easy and won't splinter. Walnut sands easily
but is harder to carve; and cherry is somewhere in between. I'm really
curious about how alder takes the finish, I know the others will be
fine.

Sooo... a long weekend spent mostly in the shop has led to:
-Fretboard with bar frets on alder uke
-Sides cut and sanded on pineapple
-Bolt-on neck mounted on pineapple
-Neck mounted on fourth piccolo
-Early piccolos set up.

The frets on Andy's fretboard are the best I've done when it comes to
bar frets. It helps being a hobby builder and not having to depend on
ukes to pay the rent, bar frets wouldn't be an option if that was the
case.

Bolt on neck

Peer pressure has made me try bolting on the necks. I machined the
parts myself from steel and aluminium since the stuff I can buy is too
bulky.

It works great! And there's time to adjust before final mounting. I
also glue the joint, and I put the neck on before the back since I
want the back to cover the heel.

Recollections of a fab sunday

So, what happened yesterday? Mab's pineapple got braced, lined and got
its top glued; Andy's fretboard got planed and slotted; Robert's
piccolo got a bone nut and string holes; and another piccolo started
to take shape. I think that it is for Simon.

A mess that defies belief...

In it can be seen, barely and left to right:
- Fourth piccolo sides, with end block glued in.
- Thick piece of basswood bent to be sliced and used as solid linings.
- Alder sides for Andy's soprano, with blocks glued.
- Two almost ready piccolos. The one with the strings awaits final
sanding.
- Walnut sides for pineapple, blocks glued.
- Neck for pineapple, with maple stripe.
- Back and soundboard for pineapple, sanded to thickness in my sander.
- Alder neck with mahogany stripe.
- Soundboard and back of alder, sanded to thickness.
- Robert's piccolo with the back glued, ready for fret slotting with
the perspex jig.

I really ought to finish some of them.

Walnut top, bracing piccolo

The day continues, lots of work gets done. I am joining the second set
of top and back halves for Markus' pineapple and while the glue dries
I'm bracing Robert's piccolo. The neck isn't attached, it is only
lying there to make the uke look like a uke.

I even made a jigsaw puzzle with Johan on the bandsaw.

Sides bent

Now they're done, so this is an update almost directly after the
operation. I'll have to check the blog later to know how long it took,
I lost track of time completely.

Bending sides for pinapple...

...and a cherry piccolo when the iron is hot. There won't be real time
blogging this time, maybe a post afterwards (if I'm successful).

Mold cont.

Hopefully it isn't too big, some dodgy work with a sanding drum. Maybe
I'll line it with a thin layer of basswood but I have to measure a bit
and compare it with the neck. Maybe a 14th fret connection?

Mold

Found a block of wood left over from some project started about 20
years ago. Holes so that the blade can turn, it is a tad wide for the
radii I'm aiming for.

Pineapple shape

As you can tell by the table cloth, I'm at my parents'. And I'm trying
to decide the shape of the new uke. It's gonna be the same length as
my regular sopranos, but without the waist the soundboard will be a
whole lot bigger.

What will it sound like..?

Wood resawn for Andy and Markus

Finally got the alder (for Andy) and the wanut (for Markus) sorted. I
am really happy the way things turned out - the planks were even
better than I thought.

Now I sort of need a pineapple mold for Markus' ukulele... but I'll
fix the necks first I think. I already made a neck of walnut, but this
is darker and prettier so I'll just have to make a new one from the
same board.

Walnut for Andy and Markus!

Finally, got hold of some decent wood for you guys. Stay tuned.

Edit! I am a sad git, completely oblivious to the fact that Andy ordered an alder ukulele. Excuses have been made and Markus will get a huuuge pineapple from all that walnut.

A long day

This has been the best day since I don't know when. Apart from the
stuff already posted I put the neck onto the cherry sop, and also put
back braces and the back on.

In the background you can see the three-piece wenge back for Tenor no.
4, and somewhere there's also a laminated walnut/maple neck for
Markus' pineapple.

And in the holding form are four sides for the two mahogany sopranos,
for Robin and Thomas.