It's a mystery ?

One last question and I'll stop buggin you guys. I do appreciate all the tips and help I have recieved from this forum. Thank you.

How on earth does one route the binding Chanel around the body when there is a neck (Spanish heel) already glued in the way?
What do you guys do? Do the small stretch with an exacto knife and hope nothing gets massacred?

Things I have learned along the way so far:

It helps to first be an expert of sorts in Jig Making.

I don't like working with Oak for a neck. It's cheaper than Maple but Maple is nicer.

There is no such thing as a straight board. Only twisted , bowed and cupped or partially missing.

The guy at the scrap yard where I got my pipe for my Heating rod wood bender is greedy and I'm sure he pocketed the ten bucks for the rusty chunk of pipe.

Wood changes dimensions after it is measured!

Pencils vanish. Forever! in a flash.

It's difficult to make a straight jig when every thing you own is crooked.

Sand paper must be crooked also!

Saws don't cut on lines.


But! I wouldn't trade any of it away.

Have a great day.

Yep, cut it in by hand. That's just one of the reasons I don't like Spanish heel. Other reasons include not being able to finish the body and neck separately and the difficulty in repairing or replacing a neck if needed.

Chuck, If I can chime in.
I am glad to hear that you dont like Spanish heel. I see a lot of that type build and thought I need to learn to build that way.
But if you, one who is a pro builder does not build them that way. Then I will continue to build separately too. Just one less thing I have to try and learn.

Janko keep us informed on your building. Id like to know how it would end up doing it by hand.
Thanks
Dan
i

Dan, just because I build a lot of ukes doesn't mean that the way I build is the only way. A good builder will know many approaches to the same end result. I can admire a well crafted dove tail or Spanish heel connection, and they have their own benefits. But as a small production builder it just doesn't fit my working style. But for me, the real benefit of a detachable neck is in being able to treat the body and neck both separately and together as a whole. During the building process my necks and bodies are attached and detached maybe a dozen times. One of the biggest advantages though is in the finishing process where I can spray, sand and buff each element separately. The neck and fret board joints are real tough to get a mirror finish on otherwise. If I were using anything other than a glossy type of finish, and not doing bindings, I might consider a different kind of neck joint. So many steps are dependent on how they relate to each other and you've always got to be thinking several moves ahead. It's this kind of stuff that keeps you awake at night!

Chuck thanks for the info. This is how us new builders learn. I love this forum.
Dan

Janko said:

One last question and I'll stop buggin you guys. I do appreciate all the tips and help I have recieved from this forum. Thank you.

How on earth does one route the binding Chanel around the body when there is a neck (Spanish heel) already glued in the way?
What do you guys do? Do the small stretch with an exacto knife and hope nothing gets massacred?

Things I have learned along the way so far:

It helps to first be an expert of sorts in Jig Making.

I don't like working with Oak for a neck. It's cheaper than Maple but Maple is nicer.

There is no such thing as a straight board. Only twisted , bowed and cupped or partially missing.

The guy at the scrap yard where I got my pipe for my Heating rod wood bender is greedy and I'm sure he pocketed the ten bucks for the rusty chunk of pipe.

Wood changes dimensions after it is measured!

Pencils vanish. Forever! in a flash.

It's difficult to make a straight jig when every thing you own is crooked.

Sand paper must be crooked also!

Saws don't cut on lines.


But! I wouldn't trade any of it away.

Have a great day.

Click to expand...

Search for "Pablo Requena binding" (spanish heel guitar builder) on YouTube. He explains how to bind the front by the spanish heel supurbly well. I used his methods to create the binding channels on my first spanish heel ukulele and the binding process went smoothly.

Keithshort said:

Search for "Pablo Requena binding" (spanish heel guitar builder) on YouTube. He explains how to bind the front by the spanish heel supurbly well. I used his methods to create the binding channels on my first spanish heel ukulele and the binding process went smoothly.

Click to expand...

I learned how to bind with Spanish heel construction from Pablo as well. It was intimidating to consider doing this until I watched him. You will definitely need a 2mm chisel as well to make things go smoothly.

I had to rebind an instrument once with the neck on and it was easy. Just use a very small, very sharp chisel to take out that last little bit of top and side material and make that little pocket you are going to tuck the end of the binding in. What is key is not taking out too much wood and ending up with a gaps. Go slow and measure with a small piece of scrap binding. Keep in mind that when you round over the binding edge that you will not be able to round that last little bit against the neck, but you can get it close enough that only you will know.