No Drum Sander? Use this...

Pete Howlett

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I made about 400 ukulele using methods like this: Just the first 6 minutes - sorry cannot edit out the rest...you have an off button so use it :)

 
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Yeah but you need to know how to sharpen your plane. And that plane probably cost more than building my drum sander. Nice wood.

That vacuum table is also nifty. I will have to make one one day. And learn to sharpen properly. This building one guitar seems to be a life long learning task.
 
I do like the look of that Pete. The vacuum clamp really solves a lot of the problems of hand planing thin boards. Out of curiosity, when you built those 400 ukulele, did you also have the vacuum clamp, or did you have to work around mechanical clamps?

Nelson
 
I used a combination of techniques over the time I made those 400 ukes - the vacuum camping system was central to it because I ended up hand scraping all my outside surfaces... You wanna learn how to use a scraper? do this!
 
I hand scraped my first few guitars, actually I think I have done most of them that way.
 
This method will be perfect for what i want to do. Do you have plans for making that vacuum clamp? I have several old Bailey hand planes that I've restored and they truly are a remarkable tool.
 
Yes I will do some. They will be $10 a set plus postage - they are part of the online course 'The Ukulele Building School' which I am developing. Available in about 4 weeks.
 
I do like the look of that Pete. The vacuum clamp really solves a lot of the problems of hand planing thin boards. Out of curiosity, when you built those 400 ukulele, did you also have the vacuum clamp, or did you have to work around mechanical clamps?

Nelson

There are other less technical methods. A simple one is to finish plane one surface, flip the board and spot glue in the corners with CA. You can still measure thickness if you have a caliper and know the thickness of your backing board. It's not quite as quick as a vacuum system but then again it's a lot quieter too.
 
A short video of a vacuum clamp I’m developing. It uses a refrigerator compressor as the vacuum pump. Further refinements might include a reservoir (tank), vacuum gauge, and specific vacuum bases.

https://vimeo.com/251042611

Mervin Friesen
 
A short video of a vacuum clamp I’m developing. It uses a refrigerator compressor as the vacuum pump. Further refinements might include a reservoir (tank), vacuum gauge, and specific vacuum bases.

https://vimeo.com/251042611

Mervin Friesen

That looks like a brilliantly cost effective solution. Do keep us up to date with developments.
 
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