Jet lagged yes, but I had a huge itch to get back to the workshop. Spent about four hours there today getting re-started on the four tenors that four patient folks have been waiting for. Today I thinned the backs, the sides down to final thickness, .o75. But the big project was getting a good start on the spalted maple rosettes for these ukes.
The way I make rosettes is pretty labor intensive but I love the final look. I begin by sawing hundreds of these little triangular pieces of this interesting wood. Then I make with a compass the maximum size of the rosette on a piece of scrap Sitka Spruce, Now I select the triangular pieces I wish to use, sand the edges so the joints will ge perfect and then I lay them in position like this.
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The process is to glue the pieces across the marked circle. with superglue. It is easiest to put the glue in the place you will put the piece, rather than applying it to the piece itself. Lay a bed of glue and drop the piece into it.
Pushing the new piece in will cause glue to fill any gaps . One after another I build the basic circle
Here they are, all glued together and to the backing plate. In the morning I will run them through the sander to level all pieces so that cutting the final piece will have a flat surface. then the challenge will be to calculate the exact diameter and width I want them to be to fit into the groove already cut into the instrument soundboard.
I will deal with that tomorrow.
I will deal with that tomorrow.
