Today I added kerfing to the ukulele. Kerfing adds surface area to the side/soundboard and side/bottom glue joints. The kerfing I have is about 3/4″ high. Multiple by 2 and I’d have 1.5″ of kerfing on a side that’s only 2.5″ tall. Even though this is on the inside, I still want an pleasing view when peeking inside. I took about 5/16″ off the height then made a simple jig to hold the flimsy kerfing straight and perpendicular to smooth and round the new top of the kerfing.
Prior to glueing in the kerfing, I cleaned up the inside of the sides by scraping and sanding. The sides had some excess glue around the head and heel blocks plus some discoloration due to the bending process. My fancy sanding block for curves is a small piece of the cheapest flip-flops I can find. That firm foam rubber bends nicely along those curves! Then a simple glue-up of the kerfing to the sides using clothespins “enhanced” with more clamping pressure via rubber bands. I tried those cheap 1″ metal spring clamps from HD, but they can leave divots in the wood.
Only you would bother to spend time to make something that can’t be seen pretty! Love the use of the suped up clothes pegs, very clever. I will store that idea away for future use. Sorry to hear about the double bo bo but I have complete confidence that your fixes will be impossible to see. I am in awe of the level of precision that you achieve. I dont have the skill or the patience. Looking forward to the next installment!