Build Log for #002 - Finished!
There was recently a very interesting discussion started by Pete Howlett on the subject of peer review and this sub-forum. As a beginning builder, I’m not going to offer anything to the peer review discussion because I’m not a “peer.” With respect to the use and usefulness of the sub-forum, it has certainly been of immense value to me and, I’m sure, to other inexperienced builders. For aspiring builders, there is a practically endless vein of useful information already in place and, also, an opportunity to get constructive criticism from the experts to improve our projects. As someone else observed, there may be the occasional “attaboy,” and no one doesn’t like praise, but most of us would rather get useful advice about our materials, tools, and techniques even if some criticism is involved. So, I’m going to toss up a log as my second build goes along. I hope that it creates a vehicle for input from others and, perhaps, an inspiration for other beginners to take the plunge.
Since my first build was a concert, I thought that it would be a good idea to do another concert for the sake of continuity. In reality, the first few builds are less about the final instruments than about 1) making tools and jigs, 2) learning about tonewoods and other materials, and 3) learning how to do things in ways that are consistent with good lutherie practice and still compatible with your own skills and the available tools.
Collecting wood has been a lot of fun. One of the pros recently mentioned that amateurs have a freedom that the pros don’t. We can use woods that don’t turn up much in commercially mainstream ukuleles because we don’t have to conform to what customers will accept. This opens up a wide range of potential materials that work fine but aren’t koa or Honduras mahogany or the other classic choices. There are only two hardwood outlets within an hour-and-a-half drive so pickins’ ain’t easy but it’s still amazing what turns up from time to time. Last week, the hardwood place in town got in a new load of walnut and right on top of the stack was a seven foot 1x5 board with nearly vertical grain through most of it. Someone had thoughtfully put it on the top of the stack for me to find so it got taken home. After resawing a couple of slats and thicknessing them on the drum sander, the hot pipe was fired up and all went well until the second side snapped. This was a real surprise because I thought that I was taking it slow, but that’s how you learn the feel. Luckily, the good piece was back-to-back with the next surface on the board so a matched replacement was sawn off and the sides were completed.
Although this is only my second instrument, I’ve tried bending a number of woods and have found that walnut takes to bending well enough to be near the top of the list of beginners’ woods.
There is a shop down the road that uses Port Orford cedar to make planter boxes. The guys there kindly gave me some 2x6 drops to experiment with. Each piece is enough to make a laminated neck. An eighth inch of walnut was laminated down the middle with epoxy.
All other gluing on this instrument has been done with hot hide glue but it seems like epoxy is a better choice for neck laminations to avoid water absorption and possible warping. The dowels were used to hold the three pieces in position so they wouldn’t slide during clamping. Of course, they are removed when the neck blank is sawed to the correct profile.
The Wagner Safe-T-Planer has detractors and supporters and it won’t add much if we debate its virtues here. I will say, though, that it works wonderfully when the work piece is moved beneath it on a sliding table. I’m lucky enough to have a metalworking mill to do this job but the same could be accomplished with a cross-slide table under a drill press.
There was recently a very interesting discussion started by Pete Howlett on the subject of peer review and this sub-forum. As a beginning builder, I’m not going to offer anything to the peer review discussion because I’m not a “peer.” With respect to the use and usefulness of the sub-forum, it has certainly been of immense value to me and, I’m sure, to other inexperienced builders. For aspiring builders, there is a practically endless vein of useful information already in place and, also, an opportunity to get constructive criticism from the experts to improve our projects. As someone else observed, there may be the occasional “attaboy,” and no one doesn’t like praise, but most of us would rather get useful advice about our materials, tools, and techniques even if some criticism is involved. So, I’m going to toss up a log as my second build goes along. I hope that it creates a vehicle for input from others and, perhaps, an inspiration for other beginners to take the plunge.
Since my first build was a concert, I thought that it would be a good idea to do another concert for the sake of continuity. In reality, the first few builds are less about the final instruments than about 1) making tools and jigs, 2) learning about tonewoods and other materials, and 3) learning how to do things in ways that are consistent with good lutherie practice and still compatible with your own skills and the available tools.
Collecting wood has been a lot of fun. One of the pros recently mentioned that amateurs have a freedom that the pros don’t. We can use woods that don’t turn up much in commercially mainstream ukuleles because we don’t have to conform to what customers will accept. This opens up a wide range of potential materials that work fine but aren’t koa or Honduras mahogany or the other classic choices. There are only two hardwood outlets within an hour-and-a-half drive so pickins’ ain’t easy but it’s still amazing what turns up from time to time. Last week, the hardwood place in town got in a new load of walnut and right on top of the stack was a seven foot 1x5 board with nearly vertical grain through most of it. Someone had thoughtfully put it on the top of the stack for me to find so it got taken home. After resawing a couple of slats and thicknessing them on the drum sander, the hot pipe was fired up and all went well until the second side snapped. This was a real surprise because I thought that I was taking it slow, but that’s how you learn the feel. Luckily, the good piece was back-to-back with the next surface on the board so a matched replacement was sawn off and the sides were completed.
Although this is only my second instrument, I’ve tried bending a number of woods and have found that walnut takes to bending well enough to be near the top of the list of beginners’ woods.
There is a shop down the road that uses Port Orford cedar to make planter boxes. The guys there kindly gave me some 2x6 drops to experiment with. Each piece is enough to make a laminated neck. An eighth inch of walnut was laminated down the middle with epoxy.
All other gluing on this instrument has been done with hot hide glue but it seems like epoxy is a better choice for neck laminations to avoid water absorption and possible warping. The dowels were used to hold the three pieces in position so they wouldn’t slide during clamping. Of course, they are removed when the neck blank is sawed to the correct profile.
The Wagner Safe-T-Planer has detractors and supporters and it won’t add much if we debate its virtues here. I will say, though, that it works wonderfully when the work piece is moved beneath it on a sliding table. I’m lucky enough to have a metalworking mill to do this job but the same could be accomplished with a cross-slide table under a drill press.
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