Ukulele Lemon.

Timbuck

Timbuck

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I'm building a batch of six Soprano Uke's... all has gone well so far on 1,2,& 3 ...And I've just
completed the neck and body (minus back and front) of number 4.....and number 4 has been a right
bastard from the start..first off, the dovetail on the neck was damaged when the router bit came
loose, and I had to do a repair and recut it...then bending the sides, I overcooked them and had to
scrap and remake another pair...
then when clamping the heel block in place it split down the centre, I replaced the heel block and started
on the linings then when I removed the "lining clamps" to my dismay I found that due to the cold spell
the Titebond had refused to adhere and i could just pull the linings off with the fingers...I have now
cleaned up the joints reglued a new set of linings, and I am ready to procede with the next stage..
somehow I know that this is not the end of my problems with number 4.

I have heard stories of cars that come off the assembly line and every now and then, you get a
"lemon" (one that has problems all the way from the start) and I think number 4 is going to be one of those.
Or is it just "Me" having negative thoughts about this one???.
 
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wow, bad luck, but why are you making 6 ukes? for fun? or do you make them for others?
 
always_ukulele said:
wow, bad luck, but why are you making 6 ukes? for fun? or do you make them for others?
Click to expand...
I'm a retired "Uke playing Engineer" with a well equipped workshop i built up over 25 years in my back garden..and I made a load of jigs and things to make my first uke...and now i find it's easier to do half a dozen or more at a time while Ive got the Machine's set up, rather than do them one at a time, The benifit is that " if the first off is not right, I can correct the problem untill i'm satisfied".... I like to spend all day just making "Kerfed linings" or i sometimes spend another day or so making "b.w.b.w.b Rosettes" ...And I have no trouble in finding "Uke folk" to take them off my hands...Can you believe that all this is just a Hobby..Well it is!
 
Well either you'll end up with something you think was worth all the effort, or you'll think "What is this piece of crap and why did I work so hard at it?"

Let's hope for the former ;)
 
thomas said:
I smashed one on the floor not too long ago. I understand how you are feeling.

Take care,
Thomas
Click to expand...
Good For you Thomas:cool:..I've sawn them in half, Jumped on 'em, burned 'em, Burried 'em in the garden, and made Bird boxes out of 'em...As Leonado de Vincii said "If the Wine is Sour destroy the whole cask" or summat like that.
'
 
Honestly, I rarely give up on them. Working out the problems I run into hones the skills that make me a better builder. I often thought that if this work weren't without it's challenges, it would hold no interest for me. As it is, it keeps me very interested!
 
If we encounter problems on the production line, I assess the repairability and make a determination to fix it, teach someone to fix it, or cut it up and toss it.

If I'm working on a custom, I usually fix it. As much as I like to burn everything and start from zero, I usually screw up late in the game. I really don't like fixing things or doing repairs, but it's usually less stressful to do a fix. Aside from the many hours of work, I try to make each one unique. Even if the general formula is the same. Starting over won't have the same mana... but that's not always a bad thing. To answer the question, yes, some builds are a pain from start to finish. When I get a build like that, I breath a sigh of relief, more than I feel accomplished.
 
After some thought..I realise that all the problems were down to my negligence:eek:..I could have avoided the overcooking by keeping an eye on the job..I could have prevented the split block with a simple packing piece between the clamp jaws..Also I should have known that it was too cold to glue...But it's strange that all these things went wrong just on number 4 while 1 2 3 5 & 6 have got the same stage in production fault free...
There's still time for more disasters tho.:D
 
My #13 was a real pain. The router bit slipped down when doing the binding, but I figured out how to fix it and continued. After many other problems it was finally done. It ended up sounding and looking nice. I entered it in the state fair and won a blue ribbon.
I learned alot during the build and helped me make the next 12 I completed last year better.
 
It's all OK again now the gremlins have gone away ..and the 6 Sopranos are now ready for next stage" fittng fronts and backs"

PICT5865.jpg
 
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no wonder you're having so many problems.....You have them nailed to the ceiling!!!!!!!

I go through the same problems too ...... Remember the statistical odds of having everything work out perfect are the same as them not all working out........ In a bizzaro universe you have attained perfection
 
I'm not particularly superstitious, but the number 4 is very unlucky in many Asian cultures (especially Asian cultures that use/used Chinese writing). In Chinese the word for the number 4 sounds a lot like the word for "death".

using that logic, since the number 8 is very lucky because its sounds like the word for prosperity/growth... you should make 8 ukes, sell the eighth for a large amount of money... and send that useless extra seventh one to me :)
 
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