Beau Hannam Ukuleles
Well-known member
I first came up with the window idea for a moon inlay but on my test pieces I found that Mother of Pearl- even when at .050" is still way to opaque to be an effective window, or even to give a dull glow.
I then went to a yard sale of a jeweller and gem cutter- He was selling agate guitar picks and i asked how strong agate is- he dropped the pick on the ground and said- its almost as strong as steel.
Agate is also see through (well, some of it) thus providing a perfect material to use as a 'window'. I also love the swirls and lines in agate.
This uke is for a Sci Fi writer so i choose agate with colours that reminded me of Jupiter, Mars and nebulas etc. Orange agate for the front of the headstock, and black for the back.
The front piece also has a crystal lined hole in it- im sure there is some term for this but i don't know what it is.
Between the agate slices - i layed some gold leaf which i supposed would reflect light a bit better then mahogany.
For anyone using agate- its not possible to sand with wood working tools, so get it cut and finished to perfect size. These pieces were a bit uneven in thickness- ALL 4 corners were different thickness which proved a challenge to inlay it perfectly flat. Remember- if it is in any way proud of the surface, you cant sand it flat..... The walnut surrounding it is only .020" thick veneer so it could have all ended in disaster, but it didn't