FOR THE NEXT FEW MONTHS I am going to be a part time uke builder. The mornings will be dedicated to writing the two history books that I have been pecking at for some time. This morning I devoted the hours til noon to writing and did some uke work in the afternoon. If I am ever going to get these books written I will have to discipline myself in this way. It is far easier to head for the workshop and build ukes than to spend the brain energy it takes to write.
But I still made some progress with the Concert Pinecones this afternoon.
But I still made some progress with the Concert Pinecones this afternoon.
| I got the fretboards thinned, sawn to shape and the fret slots cut, now it is time to put on the marker dots before adding the frets. This comes first because you will want to do a final sanding with the dots installed before committing to the frets. 
All three of these concert pinecones get mother of pearl side dots. I decided to vary the top dots however. I had a few Puia Abalone dots and decided to use them. 
And then I decided to use the small 2.35mm dots that I use on the sides, for the top of the fingerboard of the third uke. Which do you like best? 
| Thats a pretty narrow place to plant a marker dot so you want to be sure your drill starts dead center. I mark the spot with an awl and that keeps the hand drill in the center. These little drills are turned by finger power-thus easy to control. 
On the next uke I used my standard white mother of pearl. Both the abalone and these white ones are 5mm in size. 
This fancy abalone is very pretty stuff. It does not stand out like the white shell does so it might be less effective as a marker. It will be interesting to see how it will play. Sure pretty though. 
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