First build -quilted maple and redwood

ChuckBarnett

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Sequoia suggested I keep photos coming of this adventure so I am picking up with where I am at this point. I glued the top onto the sides and am researching attaching the neck (yet to be made). If I look closely I see that the radiused heel end also has a bend to it from top to bottom. I'll need to figure out what that means as well as why it is there.
Bless you all!
 

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If I look closely I see that the radiused heel end also has a bend to it from top to bottom.

Not really sure what you mean by the word "bend" but I think you mean it isn't square or is slightly cupped. To me this is not ideal but isn't really that big a deal. It happens. The biggest potential problem is when you get around to routing in your binding and an off plumb heel can change the depth of the binding channel. No real biggy and can be fussed in. The place where you don't want a "bend" is on the neck end of the body. This place needs to be straight plumb and 90 degrees to the deck. Everything depends on it. If it isn't, there are things that can be done, but best not to go there if you know what I mean. Sleepless nights. Knashing of teeth. etc.

Otherwise, things looks great. Nice work there.
 
I have some nice old growth Redwood much like that just quite a bit darker and only large enough for a few sopranos. Have not heard a redwood sound board yet myself.
 
Here are photos that perhaps show what I am seeing. The imperfections are actually more 'visible' to the hand than the eye.

I am working on how to flatten the area where the neck will sit. I thought about resting it top down on the table of a vertical belt sander figuring out a way to keep it square to the belt and doing my best to ensure the belt and table are vertical.

The other issue evident in the photos is the radius at the neck end of the uke. I won't be able to change that and will have to form the neck heel to match. (prayers are welcome!).

And it is evident as well that I actually put a router to the top to bring it flush to the sides. :)
 

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As I gear up to attack the neck join I am confronted once again with the dreaded 'get it 90 degrees' monster that has gnashed its teeth at me over all these years. (Indeed, when my son glibly said, "Dad, lets build guitars!" I thought, 'right... It's a good day for Chuck if he can run a skill saw across a board at a right angle give or take a couple degrees!'
I have in these past 5 years gathered together a nice old Powermatic 65 tablesaw (I went through it, bearings, belts, set it up, etc.) I think it cuts square. I've a nice 17" bandsaw I believe cuts square. My 1949 Craftsman drill press (I do like the British term 'pillar drill' :)) seems to do okay in that area.
But I do feel challenged if not down right fearful when somebody whispers, "90 degrees".
So I'm at it again... overthink mode. Look at this crude drawing if you will and walk me through my question. The top was radiused on a 20' radius dish. Thus the sides if vertical hit the top at something slightly greater than 90 degrees. So if the angle between the neck heel and where the fretboard will sit on the neck is 90 degrees, the fretboard will be actually going uphill once it contacts the body. NO? Is this over think or...?
 

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Get that surface flat by dragging the use sideways (along the grain) on a stable slab with 120 grit sandpaper on it. If you need a neck angle to ensure the string hit the saddle at the right height you see to that as you're fine tuning the heel. Relieve the centre of the heel face with a gouge or whatever so you're only working on the edges, otherwise the end grain will cause it to rock and you get a convex surface. Check for alignment from side to side, you can never rescue a fault there by making the bridge and saddle higher or lower. As for the neck angle, I guess you need zero or .5 degrees and once you add the fretted fretboard you'll see what you really needed.
 
I'm a bit fast because I don't have much time. Don't take my words on the neck angle too seriously, but the ones about the centre line alignment are true.
 
As Sven says.

I'd be very wary of trying to flatten the body with a powered sander of any description. Therein lurks potential disaster ...
 
As Sven says. I'd be very wary of trying to flatten the body with a powered sander of any description. Therein lurks potential disaster ...

Totally agree on that. Things could happen fast and get nasty in a hurry. ... In my experience, if you are going to do something disastrous at least do it slowly so you can back out before it goes completely south which usually means hand tools and patience.

By the looks of the picture, you are not that far out of 90 degrees. You are close and should be able to dial it in... This is a problematic area for me too as well as many others I'll bet. It seems they never come out spot on at 90 degrees across the radius. What I did was create a sanding fixture made of melamine that I salvaged from some discarded kitchen cabinets. Very simple. Cut two 14 inch by 8 inch rectangles. Then attach them (with the true factory edge butted on one piece so that you create a perfect 90 degree angle). Reinforce so the fixture will not move. I just used metal brackets screwed into the ends after I glued and screwed the two pieces at a perfect 90 angle. Then stick down some 100 grit sandpaper to the down side. Take the ukulele and place in the fixture with the top against the back piece of the fixture and sand back and forth (tilting to follow your radius) until the body is perfectly square where the neck is gonna attach. Works if things are not too far off. 2 or 3 degrees off no problem. More and you got a problem.

I just read the above description and it isn't totally clear, but this is just a simple 90 degree sanding fixture... Now since your top is radiused this presents a problem since you can't use the top as a register reference. This is why I do flat tops. Is your back radiused too? If not you could use your back as the reference on the fixture. Anyway, I feel for you cause I been there and it ain't easy. But it is also so, so important to get right. Good luck.
 
Yeah, back is radiused at 12'. I am going to try some form of your idea and then get to the neck. I've made a blank of a lumber store 2 x 4 and will use that to learn on. My question is: when fiddling with getting the heel right at the body joint, what happens to the distance back to the nut? In other words, where do I start, on the heel end or on the nut end.
 
I cheat when I do this. First my neck is a wee bit long, and as I fix the neck joint it does get that wee bit shorter. Then I glue the fretboard on, making sure it ends up where I want it. In my case that's a 13th fret join at the body. If there is too much flat real estate above the nut end I blend that into the slanting headstock area with a chisel (or, if nobody's watching, sometimes even sandpaper).
 
Yeah, back is radiused at 12'. I am going to try some form of your idea and then get to the neck. I've made a blank of a lumber store 2 x 4 and will use that to learn on. My question is: when fiddling with getting the heel right at the body joint, what happens to the distance back to the nut? In other words, where do I start, on the heel end or on the nut end.

The answer is: As you fiddle and sand the neck heal, the distance to the nut gets shorter. I also do what Sven does and make the neck longer than it theoretically measures out (my case 14th fret to the body) and then I grind away on the neck heel until the joint is square and flush to the body. In other words I give me self some extra wood to play with. A 1/4 inch or even more. If I get it right after not too much sanding, this leaves me with extra space at the nut end (a too large nut ledge). I then sand down the peghead. As the peghead thins it moves the line toward the perfect line on the neck leaving just enough for the nut. I can compensate for the thinning of the peghead by increasing the thickness of the peghead vaneer to dial in the correct peghead thickness. Also, I don't believe the 14th fret (or whatever your design calculation was) has to fall exactly at the body so a little wiggle room there. But it needs to be close because that is my reference point on where the bridge plate was placed. I want the bridge to be close to perfectly centered over the plate when I measure for final scale length (plus compensation).

I realize that this might seem confusing and my explanation as clear as mud. I am also not a real lutheir but self taught. In short, give yourself some extra wood so that you can sand away and still have a proper ledge for your nut. Dial it in by thinning your peghead or as Sven does (scandalous!) blend the headstock in by slanting it (shocking!) to hit your marks.
 
Just bolt the neck on loosly..shim it with tiny wedges till you are happy with the position tighten it up and you can see where adjustment needs to be.
 
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... or as Sven does (scandalous!) blend the headstock in by slanting it (shocking!) to hit your marks.
Yes! Simply do not do anything as I do it because I wing it. Works great for me but as I describe the methods involved to someone else it often comes across as if I do blindfolded work in a dark room.
 
Yes! Simply do not do anything as I do it because I wing it. Works great for me but as I describe the methods involved to someone else it often comes across as if I do blindfolded work in a dark room.

Ah yes. The Blind Luthier! ... I'm sure you know I was kidding Sven. Your idea isn't bad and would work (within reason) and I've done a variation on it myself. In a perfect world we would hit our marks perfectly everytime. Sometimes the subtle recovery is almost as satisfying as hitting the mark perfectly. Almost.
 
I think I'm there regarding getting the heel end of the Uke 90 degrees with the top. I made a jig as was mentioned to register the top against and stuck down some 80 grit sandpaper. Spent a fair amount of time sanding that quilted maple. I won't make that mistake again!
I should follow this up with 100 grit. Even though the top has been radiused I'm going to go with that 90 degrees and then work on the neck heel when I get there. Thank you, thank you, thank you! Learning more every step. :)
 

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The answer is: As you fiddle and sand the neck heal, the distance to the nut gets shorter. I also do what Sven does and make the neck longer than it theoretically measures out (my case 14th fret to the body) and then I grind away on the neck heel until the joint is square and flush to the body. In other words I give me self some extra wood to play with. A 1/4 inch or even more. If I get it right after not too much sanding, this leaves me with extra space at the nut end (a too large nut ledge). I then sand down the peghead. As the peghead thins it moves the line toward the perfect line on the neck leaving just enough for the nut. I can compensate for the thinning of the peghead by increasing the thickness of the peghead vaneer to dial in the correct peghead thickness. Also, I don't believe the 14th fret (or whatever your design calculation was) has to fall exactly at the body so a little wiggle room there. But it needs to be close because that is my reference point on where the bridge plate was placed. I want the bridge to be close to perfectly centered over the plate when I measure for final scale length (plus compensation).

I realize that this might seem confusing and my explanation as clear as mud. I am also not a real lutheir but self taught. In short, give yourself some extra wood so that you can sand away and still have a proper ledge for your nut. Dial it in by thinning your peghead or as Sven does (scandalous!) blend the headstock in by slanting it (shocking!) to hit your marks.

Why not keep the neck blank as a total blank until the neck to body joint is correct , then the rest is easy peasy.
 
Why not keep the neck blank as a total blank until the neck to body joint is correct , then the rest is easy peasy.

Exactly. The first thing I do is get the neck to body profile done first and then carve and cut and shape the neck blank from there. I used to do it opposite; I would carve out my neck and then do the radiused heel part last. I now realize that everything (doh!) comes off that joint. This is the bad part of being self taught is that you make mistakes and make it harder on yourself than it needs to be. The good thing is that lessons learned the hard way are lessons that stick in the mind. Won't do that again....
 
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