A DAY OF GOOD PROGRESS

It had to start with the necks.  They needed to be shaped, the slots cut for the sides, roughed out now so it does not need to be done when the more delicate body is attached.

This tiny little drawknife is a relic of my carving days,  I had not used it in years and forgotten how handy it was.  
Razor sharp, if used carefully, it very quickly shapes the neck.   It cut this walnut like butter.  What a joy to use good tools with beautiful wood.

now we must join the necks with the soundboards.  This is a critical time when you must get the instrument straight.  Who would want to play a crooked ukulele?

Then it is into the assembly jig to receive the sides.  Glue is brushed onto the narrow sides and they are clamped into place.  They will need tentalones to be really secure, but that comes a bit later.  For now, all these clamps will keep it in place.

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this complicated picture shows the sides glued to the experimental tenor.  the sides are held down by the clamps, both barrel and commercial,  The tentalones are put in immediately to really secure the sides to the soundboard.
Note the thin veneer glued around each of the sound holes.  The veneer is maple and  its grain opposes the grain of the cedar soundboard as insurance against a split.

On the lighter side,  As i was waiting for the glue to dry, I finished a few of my little shakers.  Made from scraps of wood that I cannot bear to throw away.  Each one contains 25 dried berries of the Madrona tree.  They sound delightful.  I bend veneer sides into an oval, glue on the scraps of lovely wood, sand them a bit and I think I will offer them for sale.'
How do es $10.00 each sound to you?