A RESPECTED LUTHIER has been quoted as saying "when you have built 100 instruments you will know what you are doing. I hope he was right because that means I am getting close
It is time to make and glue the labels to the backs. These labels are very crude and some might say "unprofessional", but I like them because-they are bright, they are simple, and I made them from scratch.
I take pride in making every part of my instruments that I can, The nuts and saddles, the tentalones, each piece of the instrument is made by hand. The label is heavy ga. watercolor paper that I have painted and inscribed.
I take pride in making every part of my instruments that I can, The nuts and saddles, the tentalones, each piece of the instrument is made by hand. The label is heavy ga. watercolor paper that I have painted and inscribed.
I took the necks to the bandsaw and this is the result. Not only are the shapes now defined but the grooves that the sides will fit into were cut on the bandsaw. In the upper left hand corner you see that I have slipped a scrap piece of maple into the slot to test that the cut was the right size.
Here is the proof. It fits. That maple measures at just a hair under .080
The test of how good those glue joints are going to look begins when the necks are sawn on the band saw. There are three layers of wood glued together to make the height. can you see the joints? These will be pretty necks.
Ah! that wonderful tool, the draw knife. There is nothing better to start the shaping of the necks. I love the feel of the draw knife as it planes down the neck and starts the delicate turn that will fit into your hand.
The draw knife has done it's part, now we turn to the rasp to make the curve up around the "hook" I love to carve the "hook", that raptor's beak of a curve where the neck meets the body. It is kind of my signature mark in ukulele making.
Now that the preliminaries have been completed it is time to get out the sharp blades. This is one of my sleeves of carving tools that I have gathered over the years. There will be something for every job in this batch.