New ukes started

Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more. 

Or as we say more often: hiya. The itch is coming back and it can’t all be ticks can it now. I delved into the stash and emerged with mahogany and parts for a reso skeleton. 

Starting out by glueing up the skeleton and sawing out plates for the acoustic soprano. 

Bending did not go smoothly. This is ancient wood and it is brittle, I actually had to bend the soprano rim back to straight again and shave a bit more off with the drum sander. Now it’s a bit thin, maybe I’ll secure it with transverse cleats. I’ll give it a think. 

Last pic is of the reso, I glued the rim onto the skeleton. It is a one piece rim, both because I like that better and because it is much easier to glue since I can tighten it around the round part as I clamp the waist with my waist clamping clamp. 

Cheers! 

New project started

Is there anywhere a more patient man than S? He and I have been penpals for a couple of years now, since he first approached me enquiring about the chance of me building a soprano resonator for him. I then explained the circumstances under which I toiled, with all tools and jigs packed and stored in boxes in grandma’s attic. 

But now the new workshop is well under way to completion. I have spent a month constructing storage solutions for the tools, and today I dug into the remaining boxes of… stuff, and found the small pile of resonator skeletons. 

And I thought, why not start already. 

I even found the ready-made dowels that hold the halves together. What I didn’t find was the spacers I used to get the distance right, but they were easy to replace. 

And a neck block of the right height. I think I remember using a strip of plywood for those, but this will sound better for sure. 

Clamped up and drying. Fanx, S. You’re a champ.