Build Thread: Custom Guilele by Jonathan Dale/Jupiter Ukulele

Starting to get real...

Sycamore back:
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Sycamore sides - mine is 2nd from the left:
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Pennsylvania red cedar top with spiral rosette:
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More tops - pretty sure mine is upper right
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Really nice looking top and rosette Jim. I like that spiral design in abalone, looks very dramatic and impressive. Your sycamore side lined up against the others looks the best to my eye. Sycamore really is such a lovely and unique looking wood, sounds great too.
 
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Fretboard choices

There were a couple of other choices but I narrowed it to these two:
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  1. Katalox - hard, purple-black, Central American, being used as an ebony substitute by some. Not CITES listed as endangered.
  2. Casuarina - an invasive species in south Florida. As hard and heavy as ebony, almost no pores, takes a great polish, totally sustainable.

I'm gonna leave it as "luthier's choice" between these two depending on which looks best with the rest of the woods.
 
Doc_J said:
Both fretboard choices are nice, but I’m partial to the Katalox.
Click to expand...
Do you just like the look, or do you have a katalox board that you can comment on functionally?

By the way, one of the pluses to the casuarina is Jonathan harvested it himself like the sycamore so that's kinda cool.
 
Jim Hanks said:
Do you just like the look, or do you have a katalox board that you can comment on functionally?

By the way, one of the pluses to the casuarina is Jonathan harvested it himself like the sycamore so that's kinda cool.
Click to expand...

First, I do prefer darker fretboards. My Hive used Katalox (a.k.a. Mexican Royal Ebony) for the back and sides; love it the color. Second, Katalox appears to be somewhat better known by luthiers than Casuarina. But that Casuarina does have some better visual interest. I would also compare the the hardness of the two woods. Katalox is harder than Macassar ebony, African Blackwood and EI Rosewood. Not sure what hardness Casuarina is.
 
Sorry, Hodge, the luthier has chosen: "I will go with the casuarina. The rest of the instrument is very 'woody', meaning that there is a lot of wood grain and pattern showing, and there are all the woods in the Picasso headplate, so using a casuarina fingerboard which while darker still shows a fair amount of wood grain is consistent. I think a flat almost black katalox board would look a bit out of place."

Sound reasoning to me.
 
Jim Hanks said:
Sorry, Hodge, the luthier has chosen: "I will go with the casuarina. The rest of the instrument is very 'woody', meaning that there is a lot of wood grain and pattern showing, and there are all the woods in the Picasso headplate, so using a casuarina fingerboard which while darker still shows a fair amount of wood grain is consistent. I think a flat almost black katalox board would look a bit out of place."

Sound reasoning to me.[/QUO
I agree with the luthier. I love the grain of that casuarina. I also like that you are using a very sustainable wood.
Click to expand...
 
Jim Hanks said:
Sorry, Hodge, the luthier has chosen: "I will go with the casuarina. The rest of the instrument is very 'woody', meaning that there is a lot of wood grain and pattern showing, and there are all the woods in the Picasso headplate, so using a casuarina fingerboard which while darker still shows a fair amount of wood grain is consistent. I think a flat almost black katalox board would look a bit out of place."

Sound reasoning to me.
Click to expand...

Good rationale from the builder for his selection of Casuarina.
 
Closing up the box

"Got the 'box' closed up, and the first coat of sealer on, which I put on before doing the binding as it stabilizes the wood and makes the cutting of the binding channels go smoother and more chip-free. The sealer lets one see more the color of the finished instrument which is always exciting."
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Wow Jim thanks for the eye candy. Bunch o' good lookin' ukes there. Really nice use of different wood combinations for color and contrast. I'm impressed.
 
Binding installed

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Looks like he went with the koa on mine. Although the one to the left says koa on the paper, it sure looks like sycamore to me.
 
Black light in uke building, who knew?

"Just so you are prepared, the koa used as your binding glows pretty brightly yellow under ultraviolet (UV) light. So when you are up on stage shredding, and the lighting manager hits the black lights, the edges of your instrument will glow pretty brightly.

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Wood varies in its response to UV light, and koa itself is quite variable. Black Locust glows really brightly, bits of black locust sawdust on the shop floor glow like little stars. This koa (who knew) is almost as bright a glower as locust.

I use a little UV flashlight to look for glue remnants when sanding down bindings. Titebond glue also glows yellow under UV, and one can find little bits of exposed glue or glue smears that are not visible under ordinary light."

"This is what it looks like in 'regular' light. Bindings sanded flush, and the first coat of sealer applied."
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Hi Jim......just a note to say I am watching this thread with interest.......It appears you are having a lot of fun and your homework is exemplary. I can't wait to see and hear the results!
Mike
 
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