Seriously ?

Janko

Janko

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My plans say that my sides (which are Walnut) should be about .07" or 1.778 mm thick. That is the typical thickness. What is that? Air? That's not even 1/32 "

Can't I go with 1/8th or is that still to thick? that is what they are now. Thank goodness my new sides are not 1/4 like my other ones (the one I broke) were. I would need a truck load of sand paper.

Now I know what all the huff about thickness sanders is about.
I would be grateful for any advice on the thickness. Are my plans correct? :) Can I cheat here a bit?
 
.070 is a little over 1/16". That is what I use if you try bending 1/8" you will get lots of cracking in the tight curves.
 
The measured drawing I have of a Martin clone calls for 1.5mm top, back and sides. That is 0.05906," which is even less than your plans call for. When I build my first one (my wood is supposed to be here today), that is how thick I will (try to?) make it. From what I have read, listened to, and measured, one of the differences between a good sounding uke and a dead one is the thickness of the top and back. The sides probably affect it less, but there is no reason not to make it as thin as you can without making it too fragile.

You don't have to start with sandpaper. If you don't have a thickness sander, a good scrub plane and some scrapers will take a lot off. There is also something called a Wagner Safety Planer that fits in a drill press and works, and some have made bed carriages to use their routers to get close, with some sanding to the final thickness.

For reference, my Ohana SK-35 solid mahogany top is right around 1/16 (0.0625)," but I can 't measure sides. The top on my Flea is around 0.060." Several other posters have reported top thicknesses in the order of 0.05" on quality ukes. If you can't get the sides below 1/8," how ya gonna make the top and backs?
 
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Ditto Zog. You'd (probably) never get 1/8th inch into a uke shape. I thin my sides down to 0.065 to 0.075....thinnest in the waist and upper bout area.
 
I picked this little puppy up at a lawn sale. Figure it will do the job.


But seriously thanks for the input. I guess that wasn't a mis-print on my plans then. I can get below 1/8th. It just seemed so thin that I questioned it.
The Wagner Power Planer , seems like an idea worth trying. Has any one had experience with it. Does it work well?
 
There are flamenco guitars built with tops around 1 mm. They are generally designed to a have "snappy" sound with almost no sustain.
 
safety planer

I have one and used entirely on my first 6 ukes tops, bottoms and sides. They work but the finish isn't great. and you need to make a fixture for your drill table to keep it from kicking back or out the sides. I use a Proformax 10/20 plus drum sander now, still use the safety planer at times for thinning headstocks.
It is a worthwhile tool to have when you are starting or making a limited amount of instruments.
 
I have the Wagner. Love it. I suppose I'd like a real thickness sander better, but until I win the lottery I'll stick with the $50 Safe-T-Planer over a $1,000 Proformax sander.
 
mzuch said:
I have the Wagner. Love it. I suppose I'd like a real thickness sander better, but until I win the lottery I'll stick with the $50 Safe-T-Planer over a $1,000 Proformax sander.
Click to expand...

I may have to get me one of those. Its cheaper than a good hand powered scrub plane these days.
 
Mzuch said:
I have the Wagner. Love it. I suppose I'd like a real thickness sander better, but until I win the lottery I'll stick with the $50 Safe-T-Planer over a $1,000 Proformax sander.
Click to expand...

Keep your eye on craigslist. With the economy as it is, lots of guys are selling off tools they only use occasionally. I picked up my 16-32 performax for $450. A guy on the luthier forum mentioned he got a jet 20-40 (I think that's the size, or is it 22-44?) for $500. Wait--aren't you building your own...?
 
WoW! Great, lots of good info and entertaining info too :) Thanks all. I like the idea of the Wagner Safety -T- Planer. I watched the video you posted SWB and it seems to work alright. I also found a discussion about the tool here : http://www.tdpri.com/forum/tele-home-depot/167334-safe-t-planer.html
Lots of people are happy with it. So' I'm going to order one. It won't be cheap though. An hour on the net and I can't find one in Canada. Went to all the locals and they don't know what it is. Stew Macs has one $56 bucks but it will cost me a $100 to get it here. I wonder if I shouldn't just buy a belt sander?
 
An even less expensive way to do it is to set up a fence on an oscillating spindle sander or a drum sander that goes on a drill press. Think of it as a thickness sander on its side. You can also thickness head stocks, homemade binding, lining and whatever else with it. Look at the Luthiers Friend Sanding Station for ideas.
 
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I was googling drum sanders when I got an idea about using a seldom used Master Crap wood lathe stuck away in my basement for a thickness sander. It's a 12 " variable speed and I think 1/3rd HP. If I put a pulley where the face plate goes I would have a power plant. (I know but I'm tired ok)

So I googled the idea and look what came up:
http://www.smithart.us/downloads/Drum Sander.pdf
I guess sometimes being tired pays off :eek:
 
Janko said:
WoW! Great, lots of good info and entertaining info too :) Thanks all. I like the idea of the Wagner Safety -T- Planer. It won't be cheap though. An hour on the net and I can't find one in Canada. Went to all the locals and they don't know what it is. Stew Macs has one $56 bucks but it will cost me a $100 to get it here.
Click to expand...

I don't know if it is the same brand, but it is $24 at Woodworkers Supply:
http://woodworker.com/drill-press-planer-mssu-24760.asp?search=drill press planer&searchmode=2
 
A dedicated spindle sander would be a good option, if you can rig up a jig to pass the wood past the sanding head and keep your thickness tolerances under control. One caution about using a sanding drum on your drill press. You see it done a lot, but keep in mind, the bearings in a drill press are not designed for side load (radial?). They are designed for load directly in line with the bit (axial?) and side-loading the bearings in a drill press will eventually effect its accuracy. A sanding drum anchored at the bottom would help though. As for a belt sander, Janko, it's almost impossible to maintain even thickness of the piece with any kind of belt sander.
 
Cateye said:
A dedicated spindle sander would be a good option, if you can rig up a jig to pass the wood past the sanding head and keep your thickness tolerances under control. As for a belt sander, Janko, it's almost impossible to maintain even thickness of the piece with any kind of belt sander.
Click to expand...

I agree. I think a belt sander would be difficult. The Spindle Sander won't work for me . The spindles are to short, unless I have the wrong visual on a spindle sander.

I followed the link for the Drill Press Planer at Woodworkers Supply and I will order it tonight. It's not a Wagner but it's the same tool almost and its only $24. Mind you it still will cost me $60 bucks to get it here with the extra blade which are only $11 . But I need something or I can't move forward at all. I do want to make more than one Uke so this may work for a bit.
If I use the Drill Press Planer I would take the wood down in steps to lessen the load on the bearings and may even get a better cut. I'll have to wait and see how it works.
 
As far as the belt sander goes, that is what I used for my first few. I nailed hacksaw blades to the table to act as a guide on either side of the wood, and then sanded away. Obviously the wood sands easier than than the blades. You go through a lot of belts, but it worked for me. It was surprisingly accurate, but not perfect. I havent done it that way in a long time though.

Good luck.

Thomas
 
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