Quote zenguitar:

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Andy

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Happy birthday Andy.

I have been following this thread for a while, waiting for the right moment to post.

Love what you are doing, love the pics.
So happy you are doing something you love.

Warmest regards to you.

M

thanks for this thread Zen - it would have made a good film.
Slightly jealous of your workspace - I live in a flat in inner London. Maybe one day...

I gather it was your birthday recently, hope it was a good one. I find they seem to come around a bit too quickly these days, scarily quickly.

Indeed there is a lot that's drool-worthy here

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It wasn't me!
(Well, actually, it probably was)

Many thanks guys,

I did have a good birthday thanks, although I am sure the Earth's orbit around the Sun has accelerated in recent years. That would explain the birthdays seeming to get closer together, and it would mean that I am not staying up too late at night, it's the days getting shorter

And I don't have as big a workspace as you might think Fletcher. I'm working in Mark's garage which is actually quite full. I have bench space about 4' wide and less than 2' deep, there is a Workmate there that I have used occasionally, the go bar deck was standing on that, but has migrated to sit on an old side table that is stored there. This really is something you could build on a kitchen table with a little planning. The go bar deck takes a bit of space, but it packs flat when not in use (and if you have enough space between the kitchen worktop and the wall cabinets you could use that instead of building a go bar deck, as long as the cabinets are securely fitted to the wall).

I'd love to move back to London if I could.. Perhaps I could write a book... 'Build a Ukulele on your Kitchen Table' !! I could include plans for Soprano, Concert, Tenor, and Baritone instruments, plans for all the jigs. A list of tools and materials. Step by step instructions. And detailed photographs of every stage. I'd need to build several instruments so I could illustrate the differences between using the most basic tool set, and using some of the more specialist tools....

OK... where did I put that lottery ticket?

Meanwhile, back in the real world, I did get more work done today. Feeling more than a little fragile when I woke up, I resorted to some buttered toast and coffee.. a Universal Cure-All. Then it was off to finish the front fan braces I started yesterday.

[image][/image]

Here they are clamped up in the go bar deck. But to get to that stage I had to finish notching the bottoms to sit over the bridge plate, plane a taper along the length, and then shape the ends so that they mated neatly with the cross brace. Then it was out with the glue.

Next, it was time to carve and sand the back braces. I just took a big chisel to them, first removing the excess to bring them down to the right height, then carving away the sides to leave a neat V shape. You can do this with a finger plane, but I haven't got one... yet!! You can buy them from luthier's suppliers, but someone has promised to pass on a couple they inherited at some point so I'll wait a while and keep on doing it the old fashioned way until then.

Once the bulk of the material was removed, it was time to get out the rough sandpaper and ten finish off with some fine paper to remove the sanding marks.

[image][/image]

A day off tomorrow, and then on monday I just need to give the finger braces a final shaping and sanding, trim the cross braces to fit inside the sides, notch the kerfings to accomodate the braces, and fit the top to the sides. That will be a big step towards the finished instrument, and I'll be able to finally adjust the heel of the neck so I can start making progress there.

Andy

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When the going gets weird, the Weird turn Pro.

Today was a good day for you picture fans.

I trimmed and shaped the fan braces. And then spent a while with a scalpel cutting the notches in the kerfing that accomodate the braces.

[image][/image]

It needs a little patience to ensure that the front sits neatly on the kerfing with the centre lines of the front and sides perfectly lined up. Because once it's glued, you can't change your mind.

And here are the pics of the front clamped up. I made a special effort to arrange the go bars in an artistic manner

[image][/image]

[image][/image]

I also did some work on the 12th fret inlay for the second uke. We'll see how that turns out on wednesday. Tomorrow I have to go to town, but before I leave I'll remove the uke from the mould and get a pic of the front glued on.

Andy

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When the going gets weird, the Weird turn Pro.

I had reason so spend a few hours in and around Exeter today. Had a bit of a look see to see if I could find signs of a Uke Factory.

I can report no obvious signs, so these guys must have an underground operation.

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Madman_Greg

Quote Madman_Greg:

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I had reason so spend a few hours in and around Exeter today. Had a bit of a look see to see if I could find signs of a Uke Factory.

I can report no obvious signs, so these guys must have an underground operation.

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LOL

That's because I'm near Plymouth.

Anyway...

No real work done today, had to go to Plymouth. But I did remove the uke from the clamps.

[image][/image]



Not quite as good as it looks, it slipped a bit under the clamping pressure and left a gap as the brace rode up in the notch. But easy enough to re-open a section and re-glue properly.

And here's the 2nd fretboard inlay.

[image][/image]

Not as neat as I'd like, but not bad for freehand routing around the pearl dot. The surround is copper powder set in super glue. Looks like it will polish up nicely. I'm going to think a little more about what I've learned from the process before I decide whether to keep it, or to replace it again. It might be worth drilling it out again!! The new option I'm considering is to fill a full circle with the copper powder/super-glue and then when it has set, drill out the bulk to inlay a new pearl dot. Maybe I'll make a test piece first to see how well it works.

Andy

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When the going gets weird, the Weird turn Pro.

This afternoon I prepared a test piece for the inlay. Drilled a hole in a piece of scrap MDF and filled it with copper powder and super-glue. I'll sand it flat tomorrow and see how well it drills to take a pearl dot.

But what you really wanted to know was what went wrong glueing the front, and what happened next.

[image][/image]

You can see how the front shifted and rode up on the front brace, leaving a nasty gap.

So I needed to open up the glue joint again. From the middle brace on that side, right around past the upper brace, over the heel block, and past the upper brace on the other side. And the way to do that is to heat an old table knife. You don't want a sharp knife. The idea is to use heat to break the glue join, not cut it, especially as a sharp knife risks doing a lot of damage if you try to force it.

[image][/image]

So here's the knife heating up on the bending iron. I could have used a gas torch to heat the knife. But it would be very easy to get it way too hot, so I reluctantly decided to be sensible.

Then it was a matter of slipping the hot blade into the gap and then patiently working it around until I had released enough. And it looked like this.

[image][/image]

[image][/image]

A closer examination revealed that I needed to make a fillet between the cutaway and the front, as that was the main cause of it moving when first glued. So I sanded a thin wedge from an off-cut from the front. The binding will cover all my sins here

Then it was time to get the clamps out. A piece of thick MDF as a baseboard, some cork and thin MDF for clamping cauls, and some more glue.

[image][/image]

I'm much happier now. Everything is properly lined up again.

Tomorrow, I glue the braces to the other front. I'm working on the headstock designs too. I've made a couple of drawings, but I am tempted to get out the laptop and finally learn how to use the open source CAD program I installed months ago. It might be worth the effort. I can print out very accurate drawings full size on paper and glue that to MDF to make templates for cutting the headstocks and accurately drilling for the machine heads. And besides, if I can work accurately in CAD I can get some very accurate templates machined in 1/4" acrylic for future projects. Which could make a real improvement in quality, consistency, and speed of production.

Andy

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When the going gets weird, the Weird turn Pro.

Fantastic Zen, what's great for the rest of us is it shows that even the great can make mistakes, and more importantly then show how to resolve the issue. There's always a belief that the craftsmen get it right every time, which is probably the number 1 reason why amateurs get put off trying. What happens when it goes wrong? But it seems to me that knowing how to fix a problem is probably more important than building it in the first place!!

If you can spend time with CAD plotting and creating templates, I reckon you'd have a captive audience here for Uke builing packs mate. Can you scan your paper/card templates in to plot?

Hewesy

Thanks Hewesy,

I think it's important to show things 'warts and all', things will go wrong from time to time. And when they do, they can usually be put right. In fact, I would go as far as saying that it's important that you do make mistakes. You learn far better that way. Fixing the problem teaches you a lot, and understanding why it went wrong teaches you more. And you remember what you have learned by experience.

I don't have a scanner, and don't usually have any need for one. My technical drawing skills are very good, but it's probably better to use those to get the best out of CAD than to scan in drawings.

Just need to learn how to use it!! Although I tend to learn well when I have a real world need, so I'm optimistic.

Andy

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When the going gets weird, the Weird turn Pro.

I agree Zen, and its great to see.

I have access to a couple of large format scanners if you need any help chap.

Look forward to seeing the next stage.

Hewesy

Quote Hewesy:

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I have access to a couple of large format scanners if you need any help chap.

Hewesy

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Ohh don't tempt me. I'll have to get a decent drawing board with accurate parallel motion, some new squares and stuff, and an ultrasound cleaner to service my technical pens. Would be far better to win the lottery and buy Autocad and a PC to run it on

Andy

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When the going gets weird, the Weird turn Pro.

Hi Zen

Still enjoying every stage of this build - cheers for sharing

I've got CAD and large format scanners printers + plotters.

I'm crazy busy at work for the next couple of months but if you've got reasonable 'sketches' I could probably get stuff drawn up and output sorted for end of september if its any help.

Many thanks Jumpey, that's a kind offer.

It's shouldn't be necessary, but you never know. If I am having an 'Ideal World' moment... What I want is a very affordable CAD program for basic 2D technical drawing that outputs Autocad files. A Virtual Drawing Board...

Meanwhile...

This afternoon I tried glueing the remaining 2 braces to the 2nd Uke front but it wasn't having it. I got one in fine, but the second exploded in a hail of flying go bars and took out the first. I replaced them both, and all seemed fine. But 10 minutes later the second exploded again. Discretion being the better part of valour, I left the 2nd in place and decided to glue the 3rd on monday. And as it's been such a pain (I even reshaped the braces just to be sure today) I've decided to use old fashioned clamps!! The other front and both backs were fine, but this front is just refusing to play fair.

However, I did manage to match the neck to body join on the 1st uke and mark the neck ready to drill for the neck inserts.

Andy

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When the going gets weird, the Weird turn Pro.

Back to work again this afternoon. And time to finish a bunch of smaller tasks.

First was glueing the final, reluctant, brace. No more exploding go bars.. it was easier (and safer!) to use some clamps.

[image][/image]

Then I glued the kerfings for the back of the 1st uke.

[image][/image]

Next, I worked on the heel block of the 2nd uke, ready to drill it for the neck bolts. And finally, I shaved down the back braces for the 2nd uke and made a start on shaping them.

Tomorrow, I need to remember to take along my brace drill so I can fit the neck fittings to the neck.

Andy

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When the going gets weird, the Weird turn Pro.

Another good day today.

I managed to shape the back braces for the second uke, then shaved and shaped the front braces for the same one.

I drilled the heel of the 1st neck ready to take the neck inserts.

And here's the 1st body with the back kerfings.

[image][/image]

Andy

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When the going gets weird, the Weird turn Pro.

The Curse of the Wandering Drill Bit

When I looked again at the holes I drilled top receive the neck bolt fittings, I wasn't satisfied. The first hole took a while to get started, and in the process went for a stroll and went in a few mm off line. I toyed with the idea of fitting the inserts anyway and then plugging and re-drilling the heel block in the body. But in the end, I couldn't face fixing it that way, it had to be done right. I had to plug the hole in the neck and re-drill properly.

So I grabbed a piece of scrap from the neck and with a big chisel rough shaped a big dowel. Then I chucked it up in the drill and turned it down to size with sandpaper. All was going well until I grabbed the mallet to 'tap' the dowel firmly into place. A couple of enthusiastic 'taps' later and I managed to shear the heel off the neck. OOPS

But it was a nice clean break. And instead of panicking I grabbed the glue and stuck it back together. The secret is to resist the temptation to experiment, just get some glue on it and apply clamps. The two parts usually fit together perfectly well but every time you chicken out and try test fitting the pieces together, you run the risk of doing more damage.

[image][/image]

As you can see, it went together nicely. And the glue line will be at least as invisible as the glue lines for the stacked heel because the grain is a perfect match. It will only take a few minutes to trim off the plug and mark out for re-drilling tomorrow.

Rather than dwelling on the problem, I made progress on the second front. I finished sanding and shaping the braces and then made the bridge patch and glued it up on the go-bar deck.

[image][/image]

Then I strolled up to the village to buy a lottery ticket. After that bad luck I reckon I am due for some good luck

Then it was back to work and time to trim the braces and notch the kerfing ready to fit the back to the first uke. Here it is with the back held in place with masking tape so I could mark out where the braces will meet the sides.

[image][/image]

Then I copied the marks over to the top of the kerfing, marked the areas to cut out, and got busy with a scalpel. I also marked the braces where they went over the sides, allowed a little extra for the width of the sides, and trimmed them back too.

I still need to profile the ends of the braces and make final adjustments to the kerfings, but once done I'll be able to fit the back just as soon as I've marked out the repaired neck heel and drilled it properly.

Andy

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When the going gets weird, the Weird turn Pro.

Off to work shortly... But before I go here's yesterdays work.

The repaired heel came out fine.

[image][/image]

You can't see the repaired break, and I've already drilled the new hole for the fittings.

Then I got the back close to final fitting, and glued the fan braces to the second front.

[image][/image]

The go bars are being far better behaved now

Andy

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When the going gets weird, the Weird turn Pro.

Another fun and productive day today.

I fine tuned the neck fittings until everything sat true. And I have pictures to prove it!!!

[image][/image]

[image][/image]

And once that was done I made the final adjustments and fitted the back. And suddenly the go bars are being very well behaved again.

[image][/image]

I did leave one of the neck bolts loosely in the hole to save time refitting it. It's the top one that is closest to the front bracing. I've done a few test fittings working through the sound hole and I could get both in, but the top one was quite fiddly so I thought I'd save some time later.

Next stages are to fit the top and bottom to the second uke, bind the first uke, and to finish shaping the 1st neck. So plenty to be getting on with.

Andy

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When the going gets weird, the Weird turn Pro.

Nice to see the development really coming on.

Why are there 'tabs' either side of the back, in the picture?

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It wasn't me!
(Well, actually, it probably was)

Old habit Folderol, it's how I was taught at Totnes many years ago. The idea is that you have somewhere to handle the front and back when you are working on them before assembling the box. It reduces greasy fingerprints and the like.

Definitely useful on a guitar, but to be honest it hasn't made much difference on the uke as it's small enough to handle carefully anyway.

Andy

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When the going gets weird, the Weird turn Pro.

A day of distractions today.

But before we attacked the kitchen worktop, I did manage to remove the go bars and trim the top flush.

[image][/image]

[image][/image]

And I must admit that we did spend some time just looking at the results. I'm very pleased with the results. And once it's all neatly bound it's going to look great. I've never been a great fan of green and blue, but that back stripe looks excellent so I've added it to my list of known 'good inlay/binding' for future reference.

Andy

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When the going gets weird, the Weird turn Pro.

Wow! It's really looking great! I can't wait to see it when you've bound the body!

It's such a pleasure to watch this taking shape. Thank you for taking the time to post all of your progress - I know how much of a pain it can be sometimes, but it really is appreciated.

What sort of binding have you in mind?

Dan

Looks beautiful.

Comment about the 'handles' is obvious when you know, isn't it?

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It wasn't me!
(Well, actually, it probably was)

Cheers guys.

If you look carefully at the pics showing the backs and fronts, you can see the handling tabs on them all Folderol

And as for the bindings Dan.. the cutaway Uke will have Curly Maple bindings with blue and green perflings. The non-cutaway Uke will have Bloodwood bindings with black and red perflings.

Back to work tomorrow

Andy

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When the going gets weird, the Weird turn Pro.

After problems getting correct authorisation codes, this morning I finally managed to get my CAD software installed. So all I need to do now is work out how to use it !! Once that's done I can finalise my headstock designs, print them out on paper. Stick the paper to MDF, and make the templates.

And I need to get that done soon because I made headway on carving the heel on the 1st neck today. I trimmed off the excess and got busy with the chisel.

[image][/image]

And after that, I made progress notching the kerfings on the second uke to fit the front.

Andy

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When the going gets weird, the Weird turn Pro.

I finished fitting the front to the second uke today, but in the process I managed to loosen a small section of kerfing. So I re-glued that which meant that I couldn't glue the front on.

Then I got on with carving the neck.

I took a few mm of the headstock thickness, got the shape at the heel and 1st fret close. But no pic, although I removed plenty of wood, it doesn't look that much different. But it is a lot closer to final shape and size.

Still trying to to learn the CAD software. But rapidly reaching the point where I have to get a result, or make some templates for the headstock the old fashioned way. It's straightforward to do by hand, but I wanted the opportunity to use the CAD software as I'm not very good at learning things in an abstract way. I learn best when I have a real world project, not make believe. I took my motorcycle test on a one week course. Even though I had a full car licence they very nearly refused to take me on the road to do my CBT test on the bike because I was SO BAD driving around the yard on painted roads. They took the chance and put me on the road, and I went from worst in the class, to best.

What I need is a local guitarist who is an experienced AutoCAD user. Then I could trade some basic training for a decent set-up or two.

Andy

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When the going gets weird, the Weird turn Pro.

Slowly getting my head round the CAD, but you don't want to know about that.

The good news is that today was another scary woodwork day. The second uke front was glued on this afternoon. That's always scary, with all those go bars and the thin wood. But you have seen that before.

So I got out the Dremel and the attachment for cutting binding channels. And after some test cuts and adjustments I set it loose on the first uke front and made some serious sawdust. And here it is after cutting but before tidying up the loose fibres.

[image][/image]

A few minutes with a new scalpel blade cleaned it up nicely, and then I made a final pass to make sure everything was nice and even.

I also took the chance to cut the channel for the end strip that covers where the two sides meet at the bottom. Double sided tape and a couple of 6" steel rules marked the edges. Then I used the scalpel to score along the rules and the baby hand router that I used for the rosette channels to cut a neat channel for the end strip.

[image][/image]

A nice clean job, and you can see how well the binding channel finished too. Next job is to cut the bindings and purflings and bend to shape ready for glueing.

Andy

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When the going gets weird, the Weird turn Pro.

I'm not sure how, but it looks like you've found another level Zen. The detail work is going to look wonderful.

Loving all the Dremel kit too, my other half has just bought a 3000 set (with the cool flexi tool for precision work) for her silver work and the catalogue of accessories is worse than StewMac! The workstation is a great investment.

Hewesy

Hi Zen,

Did you cut the binding channels freehand, or does the drill have any kind of a guide you can use. If not, I think this is maybe the bit were it starts to exceed my nerve/capability, I'd be petrified doing this after all the work that's gone before. It looks like serious brown trouser territory! Loving the post though, I'm thinking of making it my homepage...thanks.

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Not much in life worth running for. Or from.

Cheers Hewsey,

Don't worry about the Dremel catalogue, most of it is grinding and sanding stuff. What you really need are the custom accessories you get from StewMac and LMI

And you have to love the flex shaft... I have 2 standard Dremels, a cordless one, and 2 flexshafts now

Mike,

you are right. The more you do, the more damage you risk doing if you make a mistake. So yes, you do get nervous. But you have to remind yourself to trust your tools, your skills, your knowledge, and your experience. Use scrap to make practice cuts to get used to a new tool. And remember that the worst case scenario is that you have to buy more wood and start again, but with the benefit of more experience

the aluminium lump screwed onto the end of the Dremel is a guide. Part of an old set from StewMac. If you look closer at the pic you can see that the the 115 router bit sits inside an offset fence. One side of the fence cuts a wider channel than the other, and as there are two tools in the kit, each with different offsets, you get 4 different width cuts. The depth of the cut is set by how you mount the cutter in the Dremel.

It's a simple tool and very accurate, you just make a series of passes against the body and let the tool guide the cutter. The screw on collar does the work for you, and in principle it's just the same as the fancy binding tools that LMI and StewMac sell. Rather than pressing the body against a jig holding a laminate cutter, you press the jig to the body.

Regretably, StewMac have discontinued the set I own and replaced it with a single, adjustable, version. The new tool give you adjustable width channels instead of a choice of four widths, but it's more complex. And creative use of masking tape can let you get more than four different width cuts from the old tool.

Anyway, this afternoon I removed the 2nd body from the go bar deck and the front glued nicely. But there was a small section that hadn't glued, so I filled the gap with glue and left it clamped overnight.

Then it was back to the 1st body and the bindings.

I decided to run over the sides with some sandpaper and a sanding block. There were a few places where the sides had curved leaving the sides with some dips and crowns. And while I could have waited until final finishing, it was better to true them now, and then run the Dremel on another pass rather than risk the bindings varying in thickness.

Then I cut a channel on both sides of the square edge of the cutaway ready for maple trimming once the binding is finished.

And finally, I got out the bending iron to pre-curve the binding strips and purflings ready for glueing... Which reminds me, I need to take along my Sellotape tomorrow, it's ideal for taping the glued bindings in place...

So, now I've put the Sellotape next to the paracetamol ready to put into my bag in the morning, here's what they look like.


[image][/image]

The main thing was to pre-bend for the tight curves, not to make them an exact match. The maple on the treble side actually split, but nothing to worry about. Flame maple is always difficult to bend because the flame is actually where the grain breaks through to the edge. A little care and a piece of flat steel (a 6" ruler actually) held against the back of the split let me finish the bend. That's the hidden advantage of side bending machines... as well as giving very accurate and repeatable bends, a side bending machine holds the wood between two steel plates and really does reduce the risk of splits and cracks by combining tension and compression bending.

Andy

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When the going gets weird, the Weird turn Pro.

Quote zenguitar:

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And you have to love the flex shaft... I have 2 standard Dremels, a cordless one, and 2 flexshafts now

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Ah, but have you got the WorkStand? Now that is a very useful tool, bench drill, angle for drilling/sanding stand and the ability to use it as a Pendant Motor when using the Flextool.

Now if only I could actually get a go on it...

Hewesy

Quote Hewesy:

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Ah, but have you got the WorkStand? Now that is a very useful tool, bench drill, angle for drilling/sanding stand and the ability to use it as a Pendant Motor when using the Flextool.

Now if only I could actually get a go on it...

Hewesy

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I didn't bother with the Workstand. I've got a pillar drill and a bench disc and belt sander already. And I can usually put up a hook when I need one, I have one permanently fitted above my bench

And this afternoon, I got out the Sellotape and glued the binding and purflings on the first edge.

[image][/image]

Clean up tomorrow, and then I'll see if I can get the other edge done.

Andy

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When the going gets weird, the Weird turn Pro.

I tidied up the first binding, then made a test fitting of the bass side to trim to length.

[image][/image]

The it was time to get in close and trim the ends.

[image][/image]

[image][/image]

And then it was out with the wood glue and Sellotape again until it looked like this.

[image][/image]

More fun on Monday... enjoy the rest of the weekend

Andy

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When the going gets weird, the Weird turn Pro.

I was running errands this morning so I started a little late today. And I didn't have my camera with me...

But I routed the binding channels on the back, and curved the bindings and purflings ready to fit over the next couple of days.

Andy

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When the going gets weird, the Weird turn Pro.

So... here's the pics.

[image][/image]

[image][/image]

I then glued the bass side binding on the back.

And then I trimmed the sides of the second uke down to a rough taper.

[image][/image]

So things are progressing smoothly.

Andy

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When the going gets weird, the Weird turn Pro.

OOPS...

messed up the pics...

here's the missing one.

[image][/image]

Andy

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When the going gets weird, the Weird turn Pro.

Hi Zen

A trivial question that been bugging me since page 1 - what is the blue wood ?

Thanks

That's what I like to hear Jumpy... a question I can answer... once I've looked it up!

The blue veneers are from LMI, I just checked the website and it's pressure dyed maple veneer.

But I haven't just been checking the website today... I did this.

[image][/image]

Yes, that's the final edge of the 1st uke bound and the sides of the second uke trimmed and the kerfing glued on. I've got the end strip and cutaway corner binding to add on the 1st, and the back is already prepared to go onto the second once I've drilled for the neck fittings.

Andy

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When the going gets weird, the Weird turn Pro.

Woo

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It wasn't me!
(Well, actually, it probably was)