Plea...

Pete Howlett

Pete Howlett

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 20, 2008
Messages
5,871
Reaction score
614
Location
Wales, UK
I hope that the cryptic title has got your attention?

Over the year I have seen many excellent amateur builds - better than my early efforts anyway before the days of video, youtube and all the volumes of hard copy available now on making. However there is one thing that, for me, devalues much of the skill of these builds and that is 'square' kerfed lining. Quite frankly, and ya'll know I don't mince my words, it looks (to me that is) ugly and is unnecessary. In one of the very few books available on guitar making when I was starting out in 1976, Irvine Sloan shows how to hand make perfectly good 'triangular' kerfed lining. If you must use kerfed lining, PLEASE give the triangular variety a go - your instruments will look all the more professional for it!

And a further word of advice - Irvine's ideas on shooting edges for gluing using sanding sticks is just one of aa number of examples of how WRONG, just plain WRONG some of his ideas were. Like all men with feet of clay he had some weird ideas!. Read his stuff with caution, but read it - you will learn a lot. Do the same with anything I publish also because like Irvine, I to do some pretty daft things...
 
I agree Pete.. square linings look "Duff"...Thats if you're the type of person that looks inside the soundhole?...I do!.. I confess I like to look inside ukes.
 
Sorry Pete,

I haven't figured out a way (other than to make it bigger) to do non-square reverse kerf lining - of course, triangle doesn't work. I was thinking of making it taller and rounding off the top, but I don't seen the need as it functions well as it is, with form taking a distanct second.

On the other hand, I do agree that triangular linings look more distinct than square.

-Aaron
 
It just so happens that I put a soprano uke body half together today and it has triangular linings..The photo is not too good co's the light was bad...But it gives an example of Triangular linings...Why bother with reverse linings when the kerfing looks good ?.
PICT5793.jpg
 
Last edited:
Research Charles Fox for the ultimate in reverse kerfed linings...look good on guitars but suspect for ukes I guess.
 
Timbuck said:
Why bother with reverse linings when the kerfing looks good ?.
Click to expand...

Thanks for that - we all need a good laugh and a smile every now and then.

Pete Howlett said:
Research Charles Fox for the ultimate in reverse kerfed linings...look good on guitars but suspect for ukes I guess.
Click to expand...

Exactly the style I would go for, except they're a bit large (or suspect as you say) for `ukulele. However, this thread has caused me to rethink the angles involved with doing a triangular reverse kerf - it would end up looking solid (I'm not saying this is bad).
 
Last edited:
Kekani said:
this thread has caused me to rethink the angles involved with doing a triangular reverse kerf - it would end up looking solid (I'm not saying this is bad).
Click to expand...

If I understand what you're thinking of Aaron, it's a nice idea, but I don't think the linings would want to bend in the horizontal plane. They'd try to follow a curve in a plane perpendicular to the angle, if you see what I mean.
 
personally glad to see no one has come down on Pete for this...sometimes he gets the short end.

Pete, love the ukes...love the vids...and appreciate the sincere post offering some guidance to those coming up in the art. You gotta love honesty. Like it or not, you always know where you stand. Cheers
 
I bought some of each, Pete. I'll use the square stuff for my early builds and save the triangular for later.
 
Yeah, I'm surprised the brick bats haven't come out... Sometimes classic guitar builders use square blocks around the rim and a solid lining round the back. To me, ukes are delicate and so should look 'fine'.
 
I had decided to use solid lining on Soprano #001, but when I went to bend some engelman spruce I had cut for it the stuff wouldn't bend, it kept snapping on me. I guess I should have soaked the stuff for an hour but there was my new kerfing jig and I used it. I feel like solid linings are the best way to go. In the future I'll use solid mahogany on the top and the back and sides wood for the bottom, with a rounded edge and maybe even a little side bracing in some situations. I don't really care for the triangle kerfed lining, I like the RR lining but I'm not sure about the addtional mass everyone talks about. As I gain more knowledge and skill I'll switch to RR linings for some situations but from what I've read, solid is the way to go.

One of my future projects has two sets of cedar sides that I went to thin on laminated. I'll use laminated solid lining on it and some light side bracing as an experiment.
 
Last edited:
Worse than square kerfing is kerfing cut with an 1/8" wide table-saw cut kerf - like my first two ukes I built.

Lately I prefer reverse kerfing with a rounded edge, I think I bought it from LMI. It may be considered a little tall and I've been tempted to slice it down some, but I've yet to do it. After reverse kerfing I prefer a rounded edge over a triagle.

Kerfing with a cove cut into it would be pretty cool, I've never seen it, but I'm sure somebody has done it?

I think it would be a fun challenge to make a smaller version of Charles Fox's two piece design. I don't think it would add anything to the smaller body of a Uke, but it would be a challenge and look cool if done with contrasting woods like walnut and bass-wood. Of course then you'd need to finish the interior...

just my thoughts on the subject.
-darrel
 
When someone figures out how to do Kevin Ryan's A4 Kerfed Lining AND jig up for it without a laser (Timbuck?), please show me how. If there is one lining I'd love to try, its his. Shorter, of course.

Pete, no bats (good one). I think we've gotten to the point where its okay to disagree without having a fit.

-Aaron
 
I'm not suprised it's expensive stuff..it's clever lamination work..I've not sussed it completly yet ...but i will!.....I used to design and make equip: for Magican's and Ellusion act's in my younger days..."There's no such thing as real magic" Just deception....I suspect the black stripe in the Kerfing is just that...I could be wrong tho'.
 
Last edited:
I've got some Zipflex and I've used it a couple of times. It is segmented into 1/8" pieces and bound on three sides by some very thin (and very strong) rubber or plastic. It's very easy to use, I just don't like the way it looks. Since it's actually Abablam it's got that fake stick-on look you see on so many imported instruments, what I call the Lanikai Look. What I do like about it is that it's available in .30" (.76mm) width which is very cool in certain applications such as side purflings. I have since found a source for .043" (1.1mm) pearl so I'll stay with solid shell for now. BTW, Zipflex is about $1.80 an inch the last time I looked.

EDIT: Whoops, I just looked, it's over $2.00 an inch now.
 
Last edited:
just kinda wondering, but does any kind of kerfingnecessarily make a more structurally sound ukulele, or is it all just visual, to satisfy those who actually looke inside, which I'm not blaming, because I do it too. I'm just wondering,
 
pie_man_25 said:
just kinda wondering, but does any kind of kerfingnecessarily make a more structurally sound ukulele, or is it all just visual, to satisfy those who actually looke inside, which I'm not blaming, because I do it too. I'm just wondering,
Click to expand...

The shape of the lining makes no difference whatsoever, structurally or accoustically - it's just a glue block :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

W
Song Help Request Desperate plea for chords to Remember Me I'm the One Who Loves You
Replies
1
Views
555
overthehillphil75
O
H
A personal plea for a fellow member in need
Replies
17
Views
2K
UK Paulie
UK Paulie
uke5417
Slacker's plea
Replies
1
Views
408
DAPuke
DAPuke
gioconbrio
A plea for sanity. Fremont low G info; another nerdy string thread.
Replies
11
Views
7K
marymac
marymac
seeso
A plea to clean it up
5 6 7
Replies
129
Views
8K
HaileISela
HaileISela
Top Bottom