A Hot mess

a summary of the last two days. we had a rainstorm today and some flood warning advisory which kept me inside the casa del sol.  a lot of gluing parts, prepping for the rosettes and bent Roger's sopranino.

Spanish cedar pocket ukes

even tiny cute things need necks too.

Myrtle anyone?!!

one piece tenor sets anyone?!!!  :)  watch out Mya-moe fanboys and girls.

This is Martin's select myrtle concert ready for some insane hand-resawing.

a nice mahogany is peeking through for Fernando's taropatch 8-string insanity.

too darn cute

Chris' vintage all-walnut soprano. james and Matilda's minis, and Jon's soundboard all set to go

                                     A night and day contrast.

Jon's birsdeye maple ribs bent,lined and lookin swell.

 

Ukulele Nursery

A little bit of everyone's uke

James' Miniature Uke

this is a tiny Tangi-inspired build but with a little twist of my own. it boast a one-piece sides .

Shiny little thing

another load of shellac french polishing with a much nicer result.

Size Comparison

Finishing

the messy job of epoxy grain filling process vs. the beauty of a french polish.

first 3 coats of Nitrocellulose Lacquer. i think i just lost 3 years of my overall lifespan being exposed to that nasty thing. oh well i'll have a shiny uke :)

Fret

Bolt-on Connection

Contrary to what Mr. Ken Timms say, Bolt-ons arent for "Girly luthiers".

 

2 Dysfunctional Cherries getting their Rosettes on

High Quality Tonewoods

im often asked if i meticulously take the process of selecting wood for my instruments . here is my answer in Photos.



                 Below is a ridiculously looking Hawaiian Koa billet for those who are willing to pay a little    extra. one of my finest koa stash.

      perfectly quartered Red Spruce. I tried counting the grains per inch and i lost count at 1/4". you literally need a microscope and a thickness caliper.

         an even tighter grains on my Western Red Cedar imported from Lasqueti island off of  Vancouver BC.

any less is just not good enough.

Gluing tops and cutting fretboard blanks

Santa's Uke Shop and im one of the elves

who knew sanding can be so tiring. ive got 7 sets of paper thin assortment of wood ready for bendng ,bookmatching  etc. Im done for the day.

Cherry parade

finally got started on the little sopranos that are going to be given to well deserving kids. the table looks like hurricane Sandy hit it.

Build from Scrap #2 : Mini Koa Uke