Curly Australian Blackwood and German Spruce Tenor - Picture Set

BR Ukuleles

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I built this tenor with the intent to have it very showy but in an understated way.

So I used off cuts from the same material for the bindings and end graft, giving the illision that the purflings have been inlaid into the sides.

Fret board is Ringed Gidgee, and bridge carries the curly look with some curly Gidgee and more curly Blackwood. As is the rosette inlay. All finished in a satin gloss lacquer.

Curly Blackwood and German Spruce Tenor-4.jpgCurly Blackwood and German Spruce Tenor-2.jpgCurly Blackwood and German Spruce Tenor-7.jpgCurly Blackwood and German Spruce Tenor-10.jpgCurly Blackwood and German Spruce Tenor-14.jpg
 
That is one beautiful looking tenor ukulele. I bet the sound is amazing. Did you commission that for someone or is it up for sale!<g> I love the fret board wood and suspect with restriction on rosewood, we could see a lot more. I find the fret board works so well with wood choosen.

I also really lie your bridge. I've never been a fan of "pinned" bridges on a ukuleles but yours is so unique with its two piece looking design. So many great ukuleles to try, so little time ( and money) ha ha.

Great work Allen. You definitely are on my list for a future build.
 
Most of the work I post is commison work, and I don't often get time to build on spec. However I've made a concerted effort to build several instruments in the last couple of months for stock. This is one that is available, with the others coming along in the next week.
 
Love the uke. That fretboard is tasty. The wrap-around perfling on the endgraft is about as perfect as a person can do. And it is a partial ellipse too. Never did figure out how to pull that off myself. Never will.
 
Beautiful Work!
 
Love the uke. That fretboard is tasty. The wrap-around perfling on the endgraft is about as perfect as a person can do. And it is a partial ellipse too. Never did figure out how to pull that off myself. Never will.

The end graft is not all that difficult to do. Treat it like any other inlay. If you are using purflings, then glue them to the piece and once dry then use a bit of double sidded tape and position it. Scripe with a scalpel. Remove and then reomove the appropriate amount of matierial for your inlay to fit.

The taper of the piece helps slightly in getting a good fit. You still have to be fairly accurate, because the eliptical shape will only have a limited amount of distance you can slide it and still make good contact. But I find it so much more attractive than a straigh sided end graft.

Saying all that, this is the way I use to do them. Now I built a edge vise jig that I use my laminate trimmer and a guide I cut out on my laser to route out the material and also cut the inlay on my laser. Perfect fit in just a couple of minutes total.

Here's a link to a post I made about it a while ago.
http://forum.ukuleleunderground.com/showthread.php?124583
 
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The taper of the piece helps slightly in getting a good fit. You still have to be fairly accurate, because the eliptical shape will only have a limited amount of distance you can slide it and still make good contact. But I find it so much more attractive than a straight sided end graft.

I hear you Allen on the taper to get a good fit, but the margin for error on an eccentric wedge has gotta be small. I use the straight wedge method and the margin for error is huge. As a matter of fact you really have to screw up very badly indeed not to get a tight, perfect fit... I have to admit I think these end graft things are a bit of a luthier fetish. Most people who don't build never even really look at them and they really are decoration which don't add any structural advantage. Still, they are important to me and this is one of the first places I look to see how the builder did his/her endgraft.
 
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