Bye and many thanks to 2012

..and with this, i close my 2012 build season.

 

 

 Anthony's Dark Koa Tenor sides bent and endblocks installed.

my new and improved Mini template. this little mould will see plenty of action in 2013.

 

 

uke ribs marked accordingly and are ready for the heat pipe.

Mark's mini walnut, Paul's Purpleheart soprano, Hunter's all koa pocket uke set.

 

Fernando's Taropatch endblocks will be glued tonight.

 

i have  several more ukes in the works that are in the finishing stages and  arent featured on here today so dont worry. i usually call this bunch the beauty queens and not show too much details until the final reveal .. stay tuned folks.

Tiwi Ukes Size Comparison Update.

I still get alot of questions regarding the size difference of my ukes. here it is folks. Merry Christmas !!

2013 Ukulele Sets

 Myrtle,mahogany,Koa,Black Walnut, Acacia, tazmanian blackwood.

   some interesting and weird looking Koa.

Martin's Myrtle Concert sets.

Macadamia wood close-up

My 2013 build season is going to be quite exciting with all new wood selections such as this one. This Macadamia is going to be on Paul's Mini ukulele slated for a mid-january completion.

Cartoon Gallery

this is how i see your guys' ukes in my head before each and every  build.

 

 

Curly Mahogany Sopranino

i couldnt be any happier with this build. i think I outdid myself with how beautiful this little uke turned out. this is my latest Sopranino custom built for Mr. Roger Coleman in Seattle, WA. Narra headplate, walnut fretboard with maple inlays. maple bridge, real ox bone nut and saddle. i will let the picture do the talking on this one. enjoy.

All-Walnut Vintage Soprano

Simple but elegant uke built for Mr. Chris Covington from Baltimore, MD. Fashioned after a Jonah Kumalae's style 1 Ukulele from 1912. it has the same bracing design as the original which makes it one of the lightest uke ive ever built to date. the beautifully bookmatched tops and backs is almost paper thin.
All walnut body construction, maple for the fingerboard, bridges and tailgraft. the extra deep soundbox evens out the warmth of the walnut yet giving it some extra punch on the volume.

Finding Beauty in simple things

 

Mrs. Matilda Webber's pocket uke # 9.

Curly Spanish Cedar top ,back and sides. Shellac French Polish . mahogany neck and bloodwood heelcap. 8" scale. rosewood bridge with bone saddle and 1-1/8" nut. walnut fingerboard with purpleheart binding. tornillo headstock overlay with Hawaiian Mango leaf inlay.

A little Ray of sunshine

 

Mr. James Pollard's pocket ukulele. Spanish cedar top, Shellac french polish finish,honduras mahogany one-piece sides, sapele back, mahogany neck, hawaiian mango headstock veneer, rosewood bridge and fingerboard with flame maple binding, real bone nut and saddle, mini white friction tuners, purpleheart heel cap, 8" scale, 1" thick, 12" overall length.

 

 

 

Backplates galore

Hey guys, i really appreciate the support and the positive encouragements. im on week hiatus for a medical leave. here are some  finishing touches on Chris and Jon's ukes.

Minor accomplishments

finished thickness sanding Anthony's sets for the slotted head Koa tenor tonight, planed Chris' maple fretbaord to thickness, shipped James pocket uke home to Australia and installed Rogers' rosette on his sopranino lastnight. the backplates for the sopraninos are also braced,shaped and ready to glue on.

December build summary

here's a glimpse of your ukes in different stage of completion. if you dont see your baby on this collage, that means its done and in a box somewhere...with lots of padding....and your shipping address stickered on the front.

Frenching the wittle Uke on a stormy Sunday morning

this one is James' pocket ukalady.

me vs. all of these.

                                      necks in all size and shapes for everyone.

 

 

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".