Recent content by John Colter

This video is not straightforward enlightenment. It perpetuates the myth that the rule of eighteen is an approximation and that using a divisor of 17.817 is more accurate. That is simply not true. Both methods will put the frets where they need to be. Both methods will give similarly accurate...

This evening a Robin was perched, overlooking my back yard, singing his little heart out. The light was fading fast but I got a shot of him silhouetted against a light cloud:

Back in the old wild west, three gamblers were travelling on a stage coach and passed the time playing poker and blackjack. The fourth passenger was a preacher. This worthy gentleman lectured them on the evils of card games and talked them into betting on a spelling bee instead. After the...

This morning, I went for a walk in the Wyre Forest. Someone had put out mixed seeds for the wild birds. This is a Nuthatch tucking in. Just look at the size if its feet and claws:

A woman with whom I used to work was asked what her husband did. "He works with computers", she replied. I learned later that he was a ticket clerk on the railways. :sneaky:

Just an airliner flying overhead at about 30,000ft - but the way it is lit by the rising Sun (this morning) is interesting.

This is not strictly relevant to your query, but twenty years ago a friend showed me a picture of a 'Northern' uke and it inspired me to make something similar. Mine had some very odd features that were different from the originals.

A Thrush was shouting out a defiant challenge while I was in the back yard this morning:

In reply to 'Ukecaster' :- It was made in England (of course) and Ken Timms sold it to someone in Norway who kept it in conditions of very low humidity. As a result it developed two cracks in the front. Ken accepted it back and gave it to me. I repaired it and enjoyed it for a few months, then...

You soft barmpot!

Ken Timms made five 'Island style' sopranos with tapered pegs, as described above ten years ago. I have played two of them and they are delightful little things. The tuners are something you have to get used to but, once set, they hold tune really well. Tapered wooden pegs are not a problem...

All this reminds me of a bloke I used to work with. He was fanatically keen on riding his pedal bicycle. One year he rode it from the Midlands up to the very top of Scotland on the eastern side, then right across, finally making his way back to England down the west side. He showed us his...

'ere! Who are you calling crepuscular?!

I've made a couple of ukes with the vertical headstock design - but mine used regular friction pegs, not tapered pegs. The tricky thing (for me) was getting the run of the strings sorted out satisfactorily. Also the position of the buttons has to be in an unfamiliar pattern and, each time I come...

Nice shot, Corinto! Seeing "Bwlch 9/23" up by the heel made me realise that folk might wonder what it means. I inscribed that to mark a visit I made (Sept. 2023) to a place in the valleys of North Wales where military aircraft often fly very low training missions. I go there from time to time to...