First up today I removed the tape from Ruth's bridge and started filing back the bone and purflings. And it was soon looking good.



But if you look VERY close, you'll see the bone starting to come away already. And that's not a problem, white PVA is far from the best glue for bone, but I didn't want to mess around too much. I was prepapred for the bone to come loose. So I went the extra mile and eased it off completely.



And all I needed to do was mix up some epoxy , apply it carefully, and slip it back into the vice to clamp it.



And after that, it was onwards and upwards with the second bridge. First of all marking and cutting the 'wings' on the edge.



Using the clamped straight edge as a guide for the razor saw is very similar to the technique for cutting the fret slots. And once the initial slots were cut it was time to grab the chisel. The ebony looks great, but a large part of that is because the grain is pretty wild. On one of the bridge wings the grain turns through almost 90 degrees and was breaking out. So I had to be very careful with the chisel, instead of working out from the middle I had to carefully work from the edges to the centre. But so far it's looking good.



Andy

--------------------
When the going gets weird, the Weird turn Pro.

Started the afternoon with a little housekeeping.

So out with the sharpening stones and the strop. And I have the chisels, block plane, and the little router plane all nice and sharp again.

The first bridge came out nicely after reglueing the bone strip. I scraped back what little glue had squeezed out and then settled down with the sandpaper and sanding blocks. First of all I tidied up the slot, working the sandpaper inside using some of the cork as backing. Then I made a start on curving the top of the wings. It's patient work, keeping everything neat and tidy. I could go at the ebony with the course files but I want to keep control of the corners where the wings meet the centre block. So patience was the order of the day.

And here it is how I left it this evening.



Not quite finished, but progressing nicely. More of the same tomorrow on both bridges. But I'm still deciding exactly how to finish the tie block on mine. I could just repeat the first design using bone and bloodwood/black/bloodwood purflings. But I am considering raiding my stock of silver, pearl, and paua shell instead, or as well... need to decide soon

Andy

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When the going gets weird, the Weird turn Pro.

After a night spent thinking about the options I decided to go the vanilla route with my bridge. I deliberatley chose the ebony with the visible grain, so why on earth hide it with inlay.

But back to the first bridge. And after some quality time with finer sandpaper, cork pads, and some wet and dry it's pretty much ready to fit.



Once it's fitted, the uke is French Polished, and I have cut the bridge slot and fitted the bridge, I'll give it a final polish with 000000 wire woolk and lemon oil, that always comes up nicely.

And then I made good progress cutting the channel in the second bridge. The grain was a little wild in places, but the freshly sharpened router plane helped. And using the razor saw rather than the scalpel to cut the edges wasn't as accurate as I hoped. But it was a lot quicker and it'll tidy up easily enough.



And tomorrow is a day off Back to work on Monday and already thinking about glueing both bridges.

Andy

--------------------
When the going gets weird, the Weird turn Pro.

And so, back to work this afternoon.

My bridge is a bit of a pig, the grain looks great but is way too wild to hack away at quickly. But I am a patient chap when I have tools to hand, and with care I managed to trim the wings lower and cut the slot deeper. To the point where it was appropriate to think about drilling some holes for the strings to go through.



And once everything was marked out, it was time to make some holes.







I think I'll be inlaying the back strip, sanding the bottom to shape, and final shaping it very soon. It is a lovely piece of wood

Andy

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When the going gets weird, the Weird turn Pro.

Nice work. In my (limited) experience the most 'difficult' woods usually give the best final results.

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

I do so hope you're right Folderol !!! LOL

So, more work on the wild ebony this afternoon. Time to shape the wings of the bridge, and it wasn't long before I gave up on sandpaper and grabbed my StewMac nut/saddle shaping files. And I have to admit that they are absolutely brilliant. So useful that I might have to get a second set for nuts and saddles and use the ones I have for general work. They are a little narrow, but they cut wonderfully. In fact, I like them so much I'm linking to them here.





And then I cut off another strip of bone and grabbed some offcuts of the black and bloodwood purflings ready to inlay. I marked up carefully with a scalpel. And this time I decided to try a different approach for cutting the ledge for the inlay. I carefully clamped a steel straight edge along the cutting line, and then I made cuts along the straight edge with the scalpel and used a freshly sharpened chisel to remove the waste. Then I switched the straight edge from the top to the side using the vice to clamp everything in place and worked in from the edge. And once it was close I carefully used the straight edge to guide the chisel to make a neat cut.



And very neat it is too. So why wait? Time to glue the inlay. And as I am expecting to have to reglue the bone again, I didn't bother glueing it, just glued the channel and the purflings and then placed the bone in place to clamp everything neatly in the vice.



So, as things stand, tomorrow is looking like a very short afternoon. Remove the bridge from the vice, ease the bone strip off carefully, mix some epoxy and then reglue and reclamp the bone

But there'll be plenty of time to get out the Go-Bar Deck of Doom (TM). And I might even work on an improvement or two

Andy

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When the going gets weird, the Weird turn Pro.

That is going to be one amazing looking bridge!

--------------------
Strictly project and just for fun

Quote Frisonic:

---

That is going to be one amazing looking bridge!

---

It better be after all this !!

And here it is, with the bone strip neatly 'eased' off. It's pleasantly surprising just how much glue was drawn between the bone and veneers just by cappilary action. Of course, that's what you would expect to happen, but it's re-assuring every time practice matches the theory



A tiny bit of 'housekeeping' with sandpaper on the bottom edge of the bone to keep things neat, a few minutes mixing up some epoxy, and VIOLA (to quote Del Boy)



Some real work tomorrow finishing it off.

Andy

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When the going gets weird, the Weird turn Pro.

The man said... 'Take it to the Bridge!' So I did

I took the bridge out of the vice and was very pleased.





And then it was out with the chisel and files first. And then the different grades of sandpaper. And then the wet & dry paper and white spirit...

some white spirit on a cloth to brighten things up.

And here it is. Just need to radius the base and it's ready to fit





And just because I want to... here's a pic of both bridges side by side. I am a happy bunny



Andy

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When the going gets weird, the Weird turn Pro.

They'll never get closer! As it's been 'Turkey Day' (happy Turkey Day to anyone that might mean anything to)... let us give thanks that these bridges shall shortly Hip Hop (as happy bunnies' ought) to their respective ukes, look well cool and sound like, well, however the player feels. They are going to be a part of those kind of ukes by the look of it.

(probably shouldn't have posted that... bit sozzeled and been cooking a bleedin' turkey all day...)

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Strictly project and just for fun

Nothing wrong with being sozzled

Although, I should hasten to add, once sozzled I don't allow myself anywhere near a tool, manual or powered.

This afternoon was a sandpaper afternoon. Time to get the base of the second bridge sanded to match the front. So I marked out roughly where the bridge will sit and taped some coarse sandpaper to the front.





And then it was a matter of patiently sanding back and forwards.



You can see there that at first all the action is in the middle of the bridge as that's the high point of the curve on the front. After a change of coarse sandpaper I eventually had the curve sanded across the full width of the bridge. So then I switched to a medium grade paper.



And after that, a finer grade. And once I was satisfied I hadn't missed anything, I tested the bridge for fit.





And it's ready for glueing

But that's a job for Monday. It would have taken too long to set up the Go-Bar deck this afternoon, there's a lot of fine tuning involved. I need to get a reasonable clamping pressure, but not so much pressure that it presses the front flat. And the Go-Bar deck is capable of applying a LOT of pressure so I need to take my time and be careful.

And if I glued on Saturday, I would have to go back on Sunday to check it out and remove the clamps. But Mark and his family need a weekend too, and access to the garage

So, two whole days off

Andy

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When the going gets weird, the Weird turn Pro.

And the Go-Bar Deck of Doom beckons once more.

Step one, clear the decks. Make space, get both ukes ready and put up the Go-Bar deck.

Step two, get out the AJ and set the top plate of the Go-Bar deck to the right height.

Step three, get the first uke in place and start preparing to locate the bridge.





I'm holding the piece of MDF in place very gently. I previously made a note of how far from the end of the fretboard the front edge of the bridge should sit. So it was just a matter of measuring carefully with a ruler and putting the reference edge in place.

Then it was time to score the bottom of the bridge with a scalpel to help the glue key nicely to the bridge.



After that, I put it back in place and used some cotton thread to make sure everything lined up neatly. I threaded the cotton through the tuner holes, over the two outside nut slots and through the outside holes in the bridge.

Then I applied the glue to the bridge and carefully placed it against the straight edge. A few moments eyeballing the cotton to make sure that both lines were nice and parallel to the fretboard, and then it was time to apply Go-Bars.



The secret was to make sure that each bar was applying a little pressure, but not so much that the front distorted and flattened out. I've said it before, but it's worth repeating... Go-Bars are capable of creating an enormous amount of pressure.





There was plenty of glue oozing out, but I cleaned it neatly with a cocktail stick and a damp piece of kitchen roll. And to be honest, while I'll still be nervous until I unclamp it tomorrow, it is looking good. And I'll be doing the same tomorrow with Ruth's uke.

Then it's just a matter of going over everything with some very fine sandpaper, French Polishing, and then cutting the saddle slots and fitting the tuners, stringing up, and intonating properly

Andy

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When the going gets weird, the Weird turn Pro.

So, I expect some of you are interested in seeing how the first uke turned out.

So here's a pic of it right after I took off the Go-Bars.



And without waiting, it was time to start on number two. This time scoring the bottom of the bridge first.



Then it was time to mark out the location, using the distance from the neck I measured and calculated before.



Then after that, it was just a matter of glueing and clamping with Go-Bars



And then cleaning away the excess glue that squeezed out.



All in all, a very good job. And looking forward to seeing it in the morning.

Andy

--------------------
When the going gets weird, the Weird turn Pro.

Very nice. Looks like you've got those go-bars tamed

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

Quote Folderol:

---

Very nice. Looks like you've got those go-bars tamed

---

Indeed, but only just. Would have been a bit easier if I had modified the deck first. The clamping pressure works both ways, pushing the top plate up as much as it pushes the clamping force down. Because I wanted to keep the clamping pressure low (to avoid flattening the tops of the ukes), the small deflection in the top plate was enough to cause some juggling to keep the Go-Bars in place without falling out.

But here are both ukes with bridges intact and securely glued in place.



Next up, I needed to ease the post holes for the tuners and bushings. The fit was just a fraction too tight as drilled.

So first I opened up the bushings using some sandpaper around a couple of Torx bits from the tool box.



And once all pushed in halfway without distorting the headstock veneers I wrapped some sandpaper around a long allen key to open up the post holes.



Next up, it was time to address the heel caps. So I trimmed some Pheasant Wood offcuts slightly oversized.



Then applied glue and clamps.



To be honest, I don't know how well these will work out. The heel caps weren't perfectly flat and it took a little pressure to curve the Pheasant Wood pieces. But if they don't work, I'll take them off, tidy the heels, and make some new caps

But from now it's going to get boring for a few weeks. I've got to go over both instruments with very fine sandpaper to get a good surface for finishing. Address a few gaps around the bindings. And then get started with the French Polishing.

I'll keep up to date with pics and descriptions, but a lot of it is repetitive and boring.

Essentially, I'll apply a base coat. Then for the backs, sides, and necks I'll be using pumice as a grain filler. Once that's done I'll be patiently building up a number of coats, leaving to harden for a few days, and then building up more coats. Once I have enough finish built up I'll be using Rottenstone to get the final polish. Then I'll fit the bushings and tuners, finish the nuts, fit the strings and mark out for the saddles. Then I'll cut the saddle slots, make and fit the saddles, and do the final set-ups.

Andy

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When the going gets weird, the Weird turn Pro.

Fantastic progress. Enjoy the final furlong!

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Strictly project and just for fun

The final furlong's are always the worst. Not because they are any harder, but because so much work is already invested.

However, today was a fine day for ukulelenauts



One heel cap shaped and one to go. The clamping worked just fine, so no need to remove either of the heel caps. Just patiently trim them back with a sharp chisel and then fine tune with a sandpaper on a block.

But confession time... after finishing trimming both heel blocks I put both ukes side by side to take a nice pic. But I was distracted and started on the next job before taking a pic.

One part of the front binding of Ruth's uke needed attention. There was a small but visible gap between the front and the binding that needed attention. I could have relied on the finishing process to fill the gap, but it was a little too big for that. So I cleaned it out with a fresh scalpel blade, and I was glad that I did because a lot of dust had built up in the gap making it look better than it really was.

SO I went through the scraps bin and found an offcut from the front. Then using the scalpel I trimmed off a thin sliver. Literally following the grain lines to make the cut. A few minutes with sandpaper and the scalpel to trim to shape and size, and then I loaded the slot with glue and eased in the spruce filler.



Ignore the dark spots, they are just where I placed a wet finger while cleaning up. It will come out very clean.

Then I decided to make a start on the frets before finishing. Although the fret press puts the frets in very neatly, you still need to dress the tops flush, re-profile where required, and tidy up the fret ends. So it was out with the scalpel and masking tape. It takes a little while to mask the fretboard well, but masking tape is dirt cheap and the time it takes more than compensates for the time it would take to repair accidental damage to the fretboard.



I do have a suitable fretfile in my tool rolls at Mark's already, but I have another, better, fret file at home that is perfect for the job. So once I finish here I'll dig it out ready to use tomorrow. And I also need to grab my old triangular file with the corners ground off to tidy up the fret ends.

Should be enough time to finish the first neck frets, mask the second neck, and possibly finish working on the second neck frets tomorrow.

Then it really is boring sandpaper time.

Andy

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When the going gets weird, the Weird turn Pro.

Quote zenguitar:

---

The final furlong's are always the worst. Not because they are any harder, but because so much work is already invested...

Then it really is boring sandpaper time.

Andy

---

Every gift is a chore. But it'll all be worth it when it finally all comes together. I'll bet you're itching to string them up & have a strum?

DM

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Not much in life worth running for. Or from.

Quote Dynamic Mike:

---

I'll bet you're itching to string them up & have a strum?

DM

---

Honestly? I'm itching to find another project as an excuse to NOT 'have a strum'. And I'm already lining up candidate projects As well as the MIDI controller for my Korg VSTi Wavestation I mentioned elsewhere in the fora, I've got a full set of materials to make a prototype production tenor uke where I need to refine the process down to a few weeks using jigs, moulds and machines. Then I have to finish both of my 12-string electric guitars, get up to speed with Arduino programming, make a start on pick-up winding, make some experiments with electric guitar circuits using inductors. I really want to make an electric hurdy-gurdy and a banjolele sounds quite interesting too. Then there are the CNC machines and 3D printers... And that's only a part of the list!!

I have a long list of things to keep me occupied. Although I am tempted to learn how to play the uke once it's finished

But to get back on topic...

First job today was to grab a big chisel and trim back the spruce fillet I used to fill that gap between the front and binding on Ruth's cutaway uke.



I'm very pleased with the result. Hard to spot even if you know what you are looking for.

Then it was time to make a start on those frets. I did my uke first as I had already masked the fretboard, then I masked Ruth's fretboard and went through the same steps.

The first job doesn't need a pic really. Using the same radiused sanding block that I used to shape the fretboard, I used some wet & dry paper to dress the tops of the frets level. This is a job I learned the hard way, in the old days you would use a straight edge along the string lines and the side of a sharpening stone to carefully stone the frets level. But with the radiused sanding block and pressed frets it only took a handful of strokes with the wet & dry paper to have the tops of the frets level and even.

The next job was to work on the ends of the frets so that there are no rough edges to catch the fingertips. And I took the opportunity to follow a tip I picked up from StewMac and Luthier's Mercantile. A triangular file is ideal for shaping the fret ends. But with an off the shelf triangular file the corners can cut into the fretboard. So the tip was to stone the corners of the file flat and smooth. Easily done by standing the sharpening stone on it's edge and grinding the sharp corners off the files. And just to be certain, I finished all the corners off on the fine stone to make sure they were all nice and smooth.

Then it was time to file some smooth 45 degree facets on the fret ends.



It does help being ambidextrous. I could work up one side of the neck right handed, then back down left handed to do both sides of the fret. Then turn the uke around and repeat for the other edge.

And once the fret ends were nicely faceted and smooth I could pull out the fret file and give the tops a nice round profile again.

I have a traditional fret file and a Gurian fret file. For the ukes I used the Gurian because the small burr was just right for the skinny fretwire. I'm perfectly happy using either type and don't have any preference. Both work equally well so whichever you choose is just a matter of preference.



By now it was getting cold and dark. So I'll save the final polishing for tomorrow.

Andy

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When the going gets weird, the Weird turn Pro.

{list of must-do things}

Yes, but what do you do in your free time?

Really looking forward to seeing them nicely polished.

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

Quote zenguitar:

---

It does help being ambidextrous.

Andy

---

Did we know about this? I bet it does Andy!

BTW I vaguely know a hurdy gurdy player called Nigel Eaton who is usually pretty generous with advice to other musos, should you ever need any with your electric hurdy gurdy project. His wikipedia entry doesn't say so but he even did a wold tour with Page and Plant in the 90s (had a 9 minute solo on Dazed and Confused)! As with so many other talented musicians he mostly make his living doing something else these days, and I expect he's easiest tracked down via his furniture making website.

I was just reading your uke playing aversion strategy list and couldn't help thinking it will be the 3D printer that will afford the Zen like retirement you will one day award yourself! Won't be long before every village has one...

--------------------
Strictly project and just for fun

Quote Frisonic:

---

Quote zenguitar:

---

It does help being ambidextrous.

Andy

---

Did we know about this? I bet it does Andy!

BTW I vaguely know a hurdy gurdy player called Nigel Eaton who is usually pretty generous with advice to other musos, should you ever need any with your electric hurdy gurdy project. His wikipedia entry doesn't say so but he even did a wold tour with Page and Plant in the 90s (had a 9 minute solo on Dazed and Confused)! As with so many other talented musicians he mostly make his living doing something else these days, and I expect he's easiest tracked down via his furniture making website.

I was just reading your uke playing aversion strategy list and couldn't help thinking it will be the 3D printer that will afford the Zen like retirement you will one day award yourself! Won't be long before every village has one...

---

Nigel Eaton often gets mentioned in dispatches precisely because he's so generous with his advice. He's on the Page & Plant No Quarter CD too, together with Najma Akhtar. Always one of my favourite CDs

Hmmm... Won't be long until every village has one.... perhaps I could trade some of the surplus village idiots here in deepest Devon for some shiny new 3D printers.

And I'll be back later with some pictures of shiny new frets once I've got them off the camera and uploaded then

Andy

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When the going gets weird, the Weird turn Pro.

Quote zenguitar:

---

perhaps I could trade some of the surplus village idiots here in deepest Devon for some shiny new 3D printers.
Andy

---

How many village idiots to a 3D printer?

Looking forward to the fret pics!

Francis

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Strictly project and just for fun

Perhaps a village in the Home Counties might get together and purchase a 3D printer and in exchange I can select a suitable idiot to send up to stack shelves in their Community Village Farm Shop. I'll provide a good home for the printer, and they can do the same for the Village Idiot.

Good Village Idiots are hard to find. It's a specialist skill that goes back generations, passed from unknown father to son.

However, other skills are passed from teacher to student over the generations. And in particular, making frets shiny is a highly valued skill.

After levelling, shaping the fret ends, and re-profiling you need to keep the masking tape in place. Then you need to remove the coarse fret file marks with wet & dry paper. I like to soak mine in white spirit for a few minutes first, it helps make the backing paper pliable so it easily matches the profile of the frets.

After that, I like to use fine wire wool to polish them to the next stage. You can easily buy 0000 wire wool, and you can do an acceptable job with that, but my secret weapon is a stash of 000000 wire wool. It's not easy to find, but worth the effort. You don't need a lot, my original supply lasted me a good decade and when it was close to running out I was chatting to a fisherman who used to make his own flies and had a big bundle that he didn't use any more. That's already lasted me a few years and there's at least another 10 years worth left. You don't need a lot. You need to find some of the more specialist woodwork suppliers online to get it, but it really is worth it.

And then to make things as smooth as possible, it's time to break out the Brasso and elbow grease. Apply with gusto, rubbing along the length of the fret. And once all are highly polished, buff of the excess. Remove the masking tape, and buff again with a soft, clean, cloth and you too can have shiny frets like these.







Day off tomorrow. Fine sandpaper time starts on Monday.

Andy

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When the going gets weird, the Weird turn Pro.

Andy,

can I just say WOW!! This is such inspiring stuff!!
I've been following this thread since day one and I can definitely say that it has been the most entertaining thread I've seen in years!! I'm absolutely bowled over by your attention to every last detail. Sorry for the late night night post, but I'm just back from my honeymoon in the USA and I'm still suffering from jetlag. I'm really looking forward to seeing these ukes finished (particularly the finishing process) and I'm especially looking forward to seeing/hearing some vids of them when they're finished!!! Keep up the AMAZING work!!

Dan

Many thanks Dan.

And congratulations New York sounds like a great place to honeymoon.

Andy

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When the going gets weird, the Weird turn Pro.

Progress is going to be slow for a few days. It's time to start preparing the bodies for finishing. And after a few days thinking and getting back up to speed on French Polishing techniques (it's been a long time since I used French Polish in anger) I've made a start.

And one reference I'm using is this site on French Polishing guitars byMilburn Guitars. Luthier's Mercantile, StewMac, and others, have lots of very good information on the subject. But the Milburn Guitars site pulls everything together in one place and has lots of detail on the process too.

Before sanding, I'm going over both ukes with a fine toothed comb and checking for gaps in the joints, especially around the bindings, and little dinks and dents in the surfaces. And one thing I've learned from the link is that epoxy works great under French Polish for filling small gaps, whether on it's own or mixed with sawdust.

The small gaps around the binding have been filled naturally with sawdust. But I decided to clean them out carefully with a scalpel and make up some sawdust and epoxy filler. The front of Ruth's uke has a few gaps that need to be filled properly. So I grabbed an offcut from the front, cleaned a file, and started making some spruce sawdust. Then I mixed up a little epoxy and mixed it up with the sawdust.

Now, it was pretty cold this afternoon and I wanted the mix to flow a lot better so I could work it into the gaps. Usually, I use the heat from an anglepoise lamp to warm the epoxy. It doesn't take a lot to make it quite watery in consistency. But with no lamp to hand, I improvised and plugged in the side bending iron. Now, the iron gets a little too hot really. But by keeping a hand on it as it warmed I could switch it off before it got too hot. Then it was just a matter of placing the mix on the top for a few seconds and stirring quickly.



Then use a cocktail stick to work it into the gaps. Re-heating gently before each application.



The gaps on mine were a lot smaller, so I decided to just use straight epoxy, no sawdust.



But before I can work on the backs, I need to let it dry overnight. But I did decide to save some time tomorrow by preparing some more sawdust. A nice pile of Pheasant Wood for both backs, and a smaller pile of Maple for Ruth's bindings.



I never thought I'd be posting a pic of labelled sawdust piles online!!!

As well as the small gaps I need to look at a couple of minor dents. So I've got one of my soldering irons ready to take a long tomorrow too. Very good for removing dents in wood

Andy

--------------------
When the going gets weird, the Weird turn Pro.

And as winter draws in it is getting colder every day. I knew I wouldn't get a lot done this afternoon anyway, mix up the resin and sawdust and apply, then wait.

But when I got there an hour later than normal yesterday's epoxy was still tacky. OK, I could have got away with putting the ukes face down to work on the backs, but I thought it best to wait a little longer and let it dry out another 24 hours.

But, I could work on the maple bindings of Ruth's uke. So I plugged in the hand warmer (bending iron) and mixed up some epoxy. And got ready to add the maple dust.



Then I mixed it all up nicely with the help of the bending iron.



And worked the resulting sludge into the gaps and joins in the bindings.



And putting Ruth's uke to one side, I went on to look at a few dinks in the front of mine.



As you can see, I took along my 40W soldering iron for the occasion. Basically, there are two kinds of flaws in flat wood surfaces. Those where the grain has been cut or broken, and those where the grain has just been crushed. And where the wood has just been crushed it's pretty easy to restore it as good as new. The secret is to use steam to make the wood swell back to it's natural state.



The first step is to apply water to the dinks, and it's best to keep it just in the dinks that need repairing. On this occasion I blunted a wooden cocktail stick and used it to apply the water accurately, as you can see from the pic.

Then, like when bending wood, you use a damp piece of cloth between the heat and wood so that you don't burn it. And that's where the soldering iron comes in. Rather than cloth, I used a piece of wet kitchen roll. It works just as well, and you can make sure that it is perfectly clean. The pieces of cloth I was using when bending the sides and bindings will have picked up colour from the darker woods, and I wanted to avoid transferring that colour to the lighter softwood of the front.

Place wet cloth on the dent to be raised, and gently apply hot soldering iron, like so...



Now, one of the dents was small but quite deep and it had broken the grain. But it was still worth using the soldering iron to raise it as much as possible. I'll still have to carefully fill it, but it's now a much smaller hole to fill. And the other 2 or three spots raised perfectly. Once I've finished the final sanding there will be no sign that they were ever there.



The dark marks you can see are just damp. They'll be gone tomorrow, I promise. And tomorrow I'll also be working on filling gaps around the back and sides on both ukes.

Andy

--------------------
When the going gets weird, the Weird turn Pro.

Yes, as promised, another day with sawdust and epoxy.

First up was the Pheasant Wood and sawdust for the backs. And after close examination it was only Ruth's back that needed attention, and most of that only minor.



For my back it was the purflings that needed attention. Nothing bad, but quite a few areas where the black purflings had very minor break out. And the best way to address that was with plain epoxy, like this.



And then I mixed some Bloodwood sawdust into the remaining clear epoxy and touched up the bindings on my uke



Tomorrow my attention switches to the necks.

Andy

--------------------
When the going gets weird, the Weird turn Pro.

I can't help wondering how you seem to find so many (admittedly minor) defects. I would find that terribly discouraging.

But then again, the only carpentry I do these days is studwork and the occasional kitchen shelf!

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

Quote Folderol:

---

I can't help wondering how you seem to find so many (admittedly minor) defects. I would find that terribly discouraging.

But then again, the only carpentry I do these days is studwork and the occasional kitchen shelf!

---

Yes, they really are very minor flaws. A tiny little gap here and there. And it does seem like a lot of time and effort to spend filling them all. But there are two main considerations here. The first is that I will be French Polishing the ukes, and that is a very thin finish. That means that even the smallest gap will need a lot of filling if I let it go and rely on the finish to fill it. And the other consideration is far broader; a good instrument will last you for decades, compared to that a day or two extra is nothing. There really is nothing worse than picking up a well made instrument, spotting a tiny flaw, and knowing that it wouldn't be there if you only paid a little more attention.

Seriously, even the sunken finish in the grain of my 20 year old acoustic guitar catches my eye every time I pick it up. And when push comes to shove, it's thoughts like that that make you a luthier. No matter how good it is, you only see the flaws and think about how you can avoid them next time. That's how you keep getting better.

And to prove the point, today was another boring day with sawdust and epoxy

This time it was epoxy and walnut sawdust. Both necks needed close attention. And there were two pesky pinholes in mine that needed serious attention.





Yes, it really does get this boring when you are finishing

Andy

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When the going gets weird, the Weird turn Pro.

Guess what I did this afternoon?

And no prizes for guessing, it was a rhetorical question

More sawdust and epoxy. No pics this time, I was doing more tidying up on the sides and the bloodwood binding. And you've already seen pics of both bloodwood and pheasant wood mixed with epoxy.

But the good news is that I am running out of tiny gaps to fill. There is the remnant of the final dink on my front to fill tomorrow, but unless I spot anything else, that's it for filling.

Which is good news all round, almost out of epoxy

Andy

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When the going gets weird, the Weird turn Pro.

DEEP JOY!!!

Looks like this afternoon was the last gap filling session.

Mixed up some more epoxy and applied it to the inlay on the rosettes. Just to fill any gaps between the pearl pieces. And then I mixed some spruce sawdust with the remaining epoxy and filled a few minor dinks on both ukes.





Day off tomorrow, and then on Monday sandpaper time starts in earnest

Andy

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When the going gets weird, the Weird turn Pro.

Due to an administrative error... (basically, forgetting for some bizarre reason)...

there wasn't a post last night. OK, I didn't bother with any pics, but essentially I spend monday afternoon preparing for the final sanding process. So I knocked together a padded neck rest which needed to dry overnight while the epoxy set, and a couple more cork padded sanding blocks.





Then it was time to patiently start working with the 180 grit sandpaper and padded sanding blocks and start getting rid of the surplus epoxy and sawdust that I created last week.




And it wasn't too long before I got rid of the excesses from the first front.



I did work on the headstock too, before turning it over and working on the back. The epoxy really does load the sand paper at first, it's very rubbery (for the sake of a better description) and until you remove the bulk of the excess it does clog the sandpaper a lot. But once you get rid of that, it works very nicely. So I soon got the back finished too.



Then it was time to switch attention to the sides of the body. One thing you will notice is that once the excess filler is removed I carry on and start working on the whole surface to remove all marks and flaws.

The body isn't close to finished yet, I've only worked with 180 grit paper and there are still a few marks left to remove. But I wanted to give the body a good wipe over with white spirit and kitchen roll to remove the sanding dust and see how things were getting on. And already things are looking a lot better





More of the same tomorrow. Once the body has dried overnight there will be more marks to remove, and then there is the neck and headstock... not to mention Ruth's uke too.

And that's before I start working through the grades to the finer papers.

Andy

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When the going gets weird, the Weird turn Pro.

Quote zenguitar:

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Due to an administrative error... (basically, forgetting for some bizarre reason)...

there wasn't a post last night. OK, I didn't bother with any pic

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GEEEZ man don't scare us like that!!!

"OOPS" as a post title in the ukulele thread? I was expecting to see a gouged top or a snapped neck or something....

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http://ryanmead.net

Quote ryan mead:

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GEEEZ man don't scare us like that!!!

"OOPS" as a post title in the ukulele thread? I was expecting to see a gouged top or a snapped neck or something....

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Trust me Ryan, when you do that much damage you don't say 'OOPS!' When I was younger I would explode in a cloud of expletives and throwing things around. And sometimes it is appropriate to let off steam like that. But mostly now I sigh... A very long, quiet, release of breath... then I sit down with a coffee and a cigarette until I am relaxed enough to look at the damage and work out how to fix it.

Andy

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When the going gets weird, the Weird turn Pro.

Quote zenguitar:

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Quote ryan mead:

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A very long, quiet, release of breath... then I sit down with a coffee and a cigarette until I am relaxed enough to look at the damage and work out how to fix it.

Andy

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It is interesting how often people reach for not one, but two stimulants, in order to relax in stressful situations !


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Strictly an amateur with some nice toys,

Looks absolutely stunning already. Once they are both polished up I guess you'll want to re-negotiate your home contents insurance

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

Quote DAGGILARR:

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Quote zenguitar:

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Quote ryan mead:

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A very long, quiet, release of breath... then I sit down with a coffee and a cigarette until I am relaxed enough to look at the damage and work out how to fix it.

Andy

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It is interesting how often people reach for not one, but two stimulants, in order to relax in stressful situations !

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If I'd just hacked off a finger I think I'd need a few more than just two stimulants thank you very much!

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Strictly project and just for fun

No need for stimulants today. Any usage was purely for pleasure, cider in the pub this evening

I cleaned the workspace first. I am always a very tidy and neat worker, but when it comes to finishing even I raise the standards. There will be a LOT of cleaning between steps from now on.

Then I worked on the neck and headstock for my uke, generally cleaning up the filler and smoothing off.

Then another clean up of the work area and I got started on the body of Ruth's uke.



As you can see, quite a few areas needed some attention to remove the excess filler. But it wasn't too long before I could work over the whole of the front and get it consistent.



The back and sides were a lot quicker. So by the end of the afternoon I was able to give the body a good wipe over with white spirits to lift the sanding dust.





Looking pretty good now. Tomorrow the neck gets the same treatment. Then it's time to start playing very close attention to detail. More sanding with the 180 grit paper to remove the smallest imperfections (because they really will show under the finish otherwise) and then start working through the grades.

Wiping down with white spirit also helps a lot. Partly because it shows the smallest flaws clearly, but also because it raises any loose fibres in the grain so I can sand those back too.

Andy

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When the going gets weird, the Weird turn Pro.