Twas a dark and rainy day, perfect for working in the workshop. The last two Ukes got their backs attached today and are still in clamps and rubber bands. The first two ukes got the attention after the backs got attached. Now it was time to saw off the excess back and prepare for the heel cap.
A piece of Macassar Ebony is shaped to fit on the heel of the neck. Glued and clamped. It will be carved to shape tomorrow
Also the sanding began. It is important to sand the edges perfectly flush because the router will soon be cutting the grooves for the binding and purfling. The router will mimic any rough spots. It is important that the edges be smooth.
 The tab is cut off with two cuts with this little saw.  The rosewood back is rounded off using a coarse flat file. |  The saw cuts continue into the heel itself, but thats OK as the heel must be cut down a bit lower  Now it is time to cut down the heel a little bit so that the heel cap will have a robust thickness. |
Here we have it cut down with a sharp chisel
Now it is time to fit a piece of Macassar Ebony to the heel
On this one I decided to add a little defining "white" line using a piece of thin maple veneer.
The veneer is marked and simply cut with scissors.
And here it is sandwiched up, glued and clamped.
