Here are two of the stalwarts of the Whatcom County and Bellingham ukulele world. Wes Lewis and Pat Madsen. Wes is our leader of the Bellingham Ukulele Group monthly jams, a fine musician, an excellent singer. Patrick Madsen is another marvelous musician who began, and leads the Blaine WA weekly jams, a key member of the Community players, and a committed player and all around patron of the local Ukulele scene. They are shown here chatting after another very successful Bug jam for the month of May.
Before the BUG jam today I spent some time in the workshop bending the sides for the two tenors i am working on. Here are all of the parts and pieces necessary to bend sides.
It begins with the hot pipe held in the vise in the upper right corner of the photo. The home made pipe is heated with a soldering iron. 'the sheet of stainless steel is helpful in trapping the heat in the wood, and providing a gradual and even pressure to the wood in the bend. The form, or press, is used to "cure" the bend. 24 hours in compression as the wood dries confirms the bend.
Here is the east indian rosewood in the sink getting some moisture to help the bend,
it is easy to get confused when bending sides so I carefully mark with white pencil, where the waist is to be and which end is the head.
The Sycamore bent like rubber. Here it dries in the mold.
The Rosewood bent well too, and here it is clamped to a form to dry. i only have one press, so this is another way to hold the bend as it dries and "cures".