Recent content by rudy

I use a random orbit 5" A LOT for a wide variety of purposes. I keep mine outfitted with 220 Mirka Gold and don't switch grits. The random orbit is aggressive enough that switching grits isn't necessary in most cases. I use them hard to the point of abuse, so buying expensive RO sanders isn't...

Nice accessory jaws! Making up specialty jaws often makes a specific task much easier; here's a version I did to do the delicate work on a banjo bridge.

I just finished up doing a "just for fun" 3 string guitar that turned out to be a hugely fun instrument. It uses a construction process that features 3mm Baltic birch ply and no bracing, and the basic methodology would convert to a great inexpensive uke design; particularly if you wanted to do...

Download the full-size pdf version of my nut slotting guide from the Uke construction page of my website. The actual "ideal" measurement is based on actual setup which does not rely on a specific numerical value.

I grabbed your basic drawing and imported it into CAD to produce a printable PDF of the body outline using your dimensions. This removes having to nudge the outline manually, and allows an accurate body profile to be printed out at will. The PDF is free for the using; the download link is...

Proper fitting is the secret to smooth tuning with wood friction fit pegs. Proper peg paste smoothes use a bit, but they should work easily when newly fitted without it. The reamer is only half of the solution for fitting, as wood pegs will be ever so slightly out of round when new. They take...

Bought one of those, it sat around for a year or two and I moved it on. Just not much use for it if you already have a larger saw. In practice, I just used the bigger saw and never bothered using the small one. To the OP, don't purchase anything smaller than a 12". I have the 12" Delta that...

A free full size downloadable and printable Uke nut slotting guide is available at the Uke page of my website: http://www.bluestemstrings.com/pageUke1.html The download link is towards the bottom of the page.

Looks to me like someone is a bit envious of all those Grover Sta-tite cast base tuners being sold for after-market use. Since I usually retro-fit to get rid of cast metal buttons anyhow I think I'll stay with $40 Grovers, they are a great tuner.

Sure, I do it fairly often. The cast buttons are fairly heavy, so you get the side benefit of shaving off a lot of the excess weight. It's quite easy to remove the old button, but it takes the right tool. I used a couple pieces of scrap 1/4" bar stock to make a set of button pullers that...

Nice job, Paul. I also use a yellow saw, just not that one. My setup works great and my entire fret slotting setup costs less than just the Stu-Mac blade.

If you really want a single letter you can produce pretty much whatever you want from a word processing or graphics program and have it produced in pearl very economically by someone like Buddy DePaule at Luthiersupply.com as a source. I have my logos made by them, you can have custom logos cut...

I made mine from a heavy duty hacksaw frame after hurling the X-acto type as far away from my work area as possible. It's very solid and is fitted with two blocks made from 3/8" key stock. It has two allen head screws that tighten against the blade blocks to retain the blade. One of these days...

I personally have a dislike for bound boards, so offer up the option to you of undercutting the tang end and filling the voids created by the fret slots. A clean fret board with no obvious binding and no fret ends or slots visible is my preference.

Here's a variation of the spindle sander jig that is seen a lot. Here it is set up for doing the heel cut on a banjo neck but you can set it up to do a much larger radius cut to match your uke body if you're using a contoured upper body shape.