I ENJOYED A PLEASANT VISIT this morning with a customer who had bought one of my Mexican Pinecone sopranos. She loves the uke and wanted to upgrade the tuners to Pegheds. A good choice, and I happened to have a couple of sets of the new shorter Pegheds which were perfect for the small Pinecone.
In addition she wanted a strap button put on her nice all koa uke built in Hawaii. Here are some photos of the strap button project.
In addition she wanted a strap button put on her nice all koa uke built in Hawaii. Here are some photos of the strap button project.
 Clamp the uke firmly to the work table protecting it with foam padding top and bottom. Note the clamp pressure is brought to a stiff cross board which distributes the pressure to the vertical sides and not the flexible top. Clamp it firm but don't over-do it |  Carefully measure and mark the center of the butt and drill a pilot hole with a small bit. Then use your proper bit. I prefer a hand drill as I think I have better control with it Drill the hole all the way through the butt plate. |
 Now put a little glue in the hole and on the wooden button and insert it to the correct depth. Remember, you must leave enough of the shank outside the instrument so you can get a leather strap on. Don't push it all the way in. This is one of the rosewood buttons that I turned on my lathe last week. So much better looking than those shiny metal buttons that you screw on. |  Here is the final result. I cut a scrap of leather to fit over the button and attach the strap to. Job completed, Happy customer. |
