It's time to carve out the back for the Concert Pinecone, #147. It starts with a 3/4 inch board of tiger stripe maple. It has been shaped and rounded with rasps and sanding. Now it is turned over
And taken to the drill press. The press is set to stop the tip of the Forstner bitt at about 3/16ths of an inch before breaking through.
Now the bulk of the wood is hogged out by repeated thrusts of the drill press.
It doesnt take long to remove a lot of wood. Notice the holes made by the tip of the drill bit.
Now with a coarse sanding disk in the electric drill, the surface is sanded down until those bitt holes just disappear. Now you know the wood is 3/16ths thick, just where you wanted it. Wear a dust mask, this is a messy job. The shop vac helps a lot.
Just about done. You can still see a few drill tip marks. When those are gone it will be ready to glue onto the waiting uke. To be sure of the thickness of the back this handy tool will tell you.
Hey, that's pretty thick still. I think I will sand it some more. I want the back to vibrate.