Kerfed Lining

erich@muttcrew.net

erich@muttcrew.net

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Does anyone know a good source to get kerfed linings. I know several places to get them for guitars, but not ukuleles and other smaller instruments. And making them myself is just one of the jobs I don't want to do - too much bother and no fun :)
 
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Erich, look up Frank Ford's ingenious jig for making kerfings. It is not hard to make, and with it you can make your own, any size and any material. I think you can find it in Frets.com.

Brad
 
Bradford said:
Erich, look up Frank Ford's ingenious jig for making kerfings. It is not hard to make, and with it you can make your own, any size and any material. I think you can find it in Frets.com.

Brad
Click to expand...
Yup' I made one and that was fun..you can turn out 100 strips in no time :cool:
 
I get kerfed linings from "Kerfing Tom" Peterson in Glen Ellen, CA. He supplies many of the major guitar manufacturers and boutique shops in the US.
 
Thanks to all of you for your helpful suggestions. I guess I'll probably end up ordering them from Snowcauldron in the UK, simply because it's closer, probably a little quicker, and there's no hassle with customs within the European Union.

Brad and Ken, I like the jig idea a lot. And thanks for the video, Ken - very nice. Only thing is... try as I may, I can't get the pesky little dozuki to do that :) The only power tools we have are a drill and a dremel - that's it. I have done kerfings with the dozuki before, but it's time consuming and extremely boring.

EDIT: Actually the dozuki one of my very favorite tools, so please don't think I'm knocking it - we couldn't do without it.
 
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ksquine said:
Hana Lima sells uke sized linings. http://www.hanalimastore.com/servlet/the-Parts/s/9/Categories
Click to expand...

The product info says 1/4" x 1/4" but the ones I got are 3/8" x 3/8" which is too big for my taste. The backing, i.e., the continuous strip that connects the nubs, is pretty thick and so the strips don't bend nearly as well as the ones LMI sells. These may suit your needs but if they don't, it is tedious the cut and sand them down. That's more than I want to do after paying for pre-fab strips.

Please don't take this as a snarky comment about Hana Lima - they lots of things very well!
 
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It's really not that hard to make your own after you've invested a couple of hours into the sled you have to make (I use my fret slotting sled). That's assuming you have a table saw of course. But the real advantage is in making them according to the application in which they will be used. I'll use narrow kerfings for ukes that have simple bindings and thicker ones for ukes that will be purfled in wood or pearl. I'll use kerfing thickness between 3/16" and 5/16".
 
speaking from extremely limited experience.. It was very easy to make kerfed linings on a table saw, even though next time I would use an even narrower kerf, and change the dimensions slightly, and experiment with grain orientation. The last few bodies I have put linings in have been with solid basswood linings. Right now, I like the solid linings, and may continue to do this for a while. The biggest question I have with the solid linings is how to get the same support for a wider band of purfling in a thin top.
 
I use a stack of 3 slitting blades and spacers of 3, 4 or 5mm between the blades depending on how tight I want the kerfs to be cut. You can get slitting blades in a bewildering number of sizes. They are very inexpensive and used in the metal industry. I get the HSS ones from CT Tools out of Hong Kong.

Those in a diameter suitable for a table saw will most likely have a hole diameter of 1" so will need a bushing sized appropriately for your arbour. But it sure does make cutting kerf linings a breeze and very fast too. There is a bit of video demoing this on my latest Cairns Uke Kit Prep.
 
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