Soundboard Rosette
This was tricky. First I created a jig that allowed me to shape the ends of the curved mother-of-pearl to mate to each other seamlessly. Then decided to add multiple layers of purfling (the white [...]
11
11, 2015
10
11, 2015
Headstock Inlay Success!
A good day today. Always had challenges routing out small channels for inlay using the "etch and chalk" method. A friend suggested using Whiteout and Micron pens (I chose red as a nice contrast to [...]
8
11, 2015
Lacewood Neck
Prepped the neck over the past 2 days. I liked how the recent Concert uke's neck came out so decided to replicate it for this Tenor. One difference is in the use of Lacewood for [...]
2
11, 2015
Tenor Talk…Musings on my Tenor Build
Here we go again. Hot on the heels of the "Concert Chronicles" (well, a few months anyway), I'm finally building a tenor ukulele replacing my very first build. Long over due. I decided to start [...]
26
08, 2015
Mark’s New Concert Ukulele
The ukulele is done and will be delivered in mid-July when I visit him to go see the Manchester United vs. Barcelona football match! Here's a few snappies of the uke. My product photo skills are so [...]
10
07, 2015
Wrapping it up
The ukulele needed to be put to the side as my wife and I traveled to Japan to hike the Kumano Kodo Pilgrimage Trail then we had visitors to our little island. Oh well. I'm [...]
4
05, 2015
Pore Filling and First Lacquer Coats
Weather has been very wet and humid lately thus delaying the finishing process. Spent considerable time reviewing various pore fill techniques balanced by what's available on the island (not much!). After positioning and taping off [...]
19
04, 2015
Bridge Design
Sometimes it really pays to have the right tool. But I get ahead of myself. Finally got into the shop after a couple weeks of being "under the weather". I decided to create a new bridge [...]
10
04, 2015
Nearing the end (but not really)
Did some basic clean-up work, the most important being adding some accent to the hand-cut white mother-of-pearl inlay. Inlay against Koa is "ok" and you can see how it looked in the previous post. I [...]
5
04, 2015
Anatomy of a screw-up
Mark, aka "the Customer", enjoys figuring out "how-things-work" and solving issues even more than ukulele playing...ergo, this entry. I'll share the process of fixing one of the inevitable screw-ups that occur during the build of an ukulele. [...]