LOTS OF PROGRESS in the shop today. I fine tuned the five new Soprano Pinecones, lowering the action in a couple, making a new nut for one, Found a high fret and fixed it, These are great ukes and I will keep one of them for myself, so I spent a lot of time just playing each in succession. I think I will keep #50, the other five will be posted on the "available instruments" section of the website in a few days.
Then I completed the Son of Gut-bucket assembly jig
Then I completed the Son of Gut-bucket assembly jig
And here it is with the top of the instrument successfully seated into it.
Then came time to bend the sides. They are six inches high and my heat blanket is only four inch s wide. I was worried! I set the Soprano Pinecone bending jig sideways in my Parrot Vice and turned it sideways . Then just draped the heating belt over it.
The bending went very very well. The wood being wider than the heat pad caused no problems. I simply moved the wood back and fourth and distributed the heat.t I was able to hand bend the sides matching their curves to the paper cutout I have used throughout. I think I got them pretty close to perfect.
Here they are bent and sitting in the jig. I think I had better clamp them in position to keep the bend overnight
I think "Son of Gut Bucket "is beginning to take shape