StewMac Tenor Kit Build

Arcy

Strummin' in the Rain
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Hi all! Almost a year ago I posted in my intro to UU that I was starting a StewMac kit and that I'd post a build thread. For various reasons (both good and bad) it was a very slow start, and I pretty much restarted from the beginning a week or two ago.

I don't want to make things too simple, so I've planned some modifications. Some are going well. Some are providing lessons for the next one (I have another kit on my shelf).

The add-on plans:
  • Inlaid rosette (laser cut, because I can)
  • Inlaid headstock logo (handheld routed, to see if I can)
  • Sound port
  • Binding
  • Pickup with offset jack
  • Embedded magnets for ToneWood amp

So far I've managed the following will various levels of success:
  • Top and back braces glued on. Easy peasy!
    L2fh2ggb.jpg
  • End blocks trimmed to fit and glued. No problems!
  • Additional block to support the output jack. No problem, except that mine looks better than the supplied head and end blocks
  • Linings glued in. This was the first big problem:
    • StewMac supplied four solid bindings that are (in theory) flexible enough to bend around the waist. The first two went in great. The third and fourth snapped on the bend. I don't know what I did differently. My first thought was to replace them with some Baltic birch I (thought) I had handy, but I couldn't find the right size. I ended up just using the broken pieces and butting them together. I don't think they're structural in that direction so it shouldn't matter (and an old post on another luthier forum appears to agree)
    • Minor problem: the linings are a two-ply laminate, and the instructions didn't comment on which side should go in and which out. I glued the good side of the first one before realizing they were directional, so kept that for the rest. Nobody'll look closely enough inside to know if I don't tell. So this isn't telling
      l3mlxN0b.jpg
  • Linings sanded flush. I thought this went well. In retrospect I may have gotten them uneven. This may have bit me in gluing down the top. More on that in a few steps. Next one I'll probably use a full plane flat sheet rather than a skinnier (but still 2" by long enough to hit both sides) sanding stick.
  • The first real diversion from the official plans: a soundport on the upper bout.
    • After practicing cutting and binding an ellipse on a flat board I thought I had it down. Cutting the actual hole with a Dremel and sanding to shape wasn't too bad.
    • Measure twice. Step back and really look at what you're doing. Cut once. My initial cut-line wasn't quite in the right place.
      iPM4B9Xb.jpg

      Fortunately I caught it before cutting.

      Getting the ABS binding to follow the curve was tricky. It's in, but pretty obviously wonky. I'm hoping it'll look a bit better once it's sanded flush and cleaned up:
      9BWwLfdb.jpg




--Rob


 
  • Almost forgot to add in my tone magnets before closing up the back. In another measure twice then check moment I accidentally glued the magnet supports between the wrong braces, but caught it before the Titebond had se. It just caught me some cleanup and prompted me to add in a laser etched logo behind the sound hole.
    KwBs2HAb.jpg
  • ​Onto closing it up. I think a combination of too-little glue, not quite even edges, and weak clamping caused part of the bottom to separate. I wicked in some CA and reclamped it before realizing that the problem wasn't isolated to just that spot. I should have removed the whole bottom and reglued. I touched up the top edge flatness before using more glue and normal clamps instead of the elastics and the top went together much more solidly
    GUZtcPrb.jpg
  • Major plan divergence #2: binding the top & bottom. Test routing on a pieces of uke-shaped poplar worked brilliantly, so I trusted myself with the real thing. Got most of it done great, and then discovered the hard way that the router's friction-fit depth setting wasn't tight enough to hold up to my leaning on it. Extra big chunk out of the base of the uke along the top edge:
    ckUMszXb.jpg

    My plan for the next step is to try to patch it with some 1/16" Mahogany veneer, and probably end up painting the sides.

    Other than the gouge, the binding fits the channel almost perfectly. I'd like to get the body done tonight and then onto the fretboard. Most likely I'll have to wait until tomorrow for better light to colour with.
    [SUB][/SUB]
 
Thanks for the detailed description of your build. That first one is a real learning experience ain't it? ... I hope you don't paint the sides. Not a good look.
 
I hope you don't paint the sides. Not a good look.
Unfortunately the patch to fix the router gouge is a noticeably different colour. I'll probably try staining first and see if that hides the difference well enough.
ioRrwtzb.jpg


Other than colour, the patch went in well. In retrospect I should have expanded the problem spot a bit so I could have fixed it with a single patch that went to the end block, but it worked well enough with a couple of smaller ones and I'll fix the gap at the tail end with an end graph. I was starting to plan that out last night when I was chased in by a thunderstorm. There was just enough time between the initial thunderclap and the rain starting for me to get all of my tools packed up and under cover in the garage instead of out on the driveway.

Unfortunately, when I got back out to work this morning I discovered that my top glue-down wasn't nearly so good as I'd thought. I'm not sure if it was the storm
(I wasn't bright enough to bring the uke inside for the night)
or just a bad job catching up with me or something else but the top had cupped and popped off on the end.
NUi0mkVb.jpg


There was enough room in the gap for me to clean up the glue there without removing the whole thing. Since I'd already routed the binding I didn't have a lot of wiggle room to get it back on lined up exactly if I removed the whole thing. I'm concerned that forcing it into place with clamps won't be a long term fix, but this one's supposed to be experimental so went with it. The edge binding went on much better than the soundport binding did.
yDNt8vrb.jpg


I had already popped the dots out of the fretboard and went at it with the Dremel to inlay some maple ovals at 5, 7, and 10, and a rabbit at 12. The ovals went well. The rabbit went ok, but not as well as in my test piece. Nerves! Then thunderstorm round two chased me back inside.

The storm died down and I went out after dinner to start on the frets, but ran into a killer problem: I can't find the inlaid fretboard. It's not on the bench that I'd been keeping the WIP or in the box of kit supplies. It's not on the benches of any of the tools that I had out. I'm pretty sure neither a rabbit nor the neighbor's dog snuck in and stole it. I'm going to give another search in a few minutes. I had hoped to finish this before next weekend's uke retreat, but that's not looking so likely right now.

--Rob
 
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That is a common problem with me. It seems that when some important small piece hits the shop floor, it goes to another dimension. I hope the other me has a use for. it.
 
Well, the good news is that I found the fretboard. It hadn't hopped to another dimension. Or if it did it came back. Unfortunately, I found it in a bush outside where it had been enjoying the rain. It looks somewhat like one of the wacky but cool ergonomically twisted necks. Not what I was aiming for on my first build. Hmmm..... or maybe the corkscrew is a result of a trip through a dimensional rift?

Either way, I'm going to raid my other kit for its much nicer fretboard and order a replacement for that one. I think I'll skip redoing the fretboard inlay and binding and try to start installing the frets tonight.
 
This does beg the question: How does a fretboard end up outside in a bush? Odd.
I don't have a permanently set up wood shop. I was working with tools and workbenches pulled out on to the driveway, and I got chased in by a thunderstorm. Things went sideways and didn't get put away in their proper places. By the time the storm had died down and I could restow everything properly it was dark out and the fretboard was missing.
 
I did see yours, and it indirectly inspired some of the customizations I made - more in the concept of doing so than the details, as mine are mostly relatively simple cosmetic changes. Thanks!

I managed to pick up a cold this weekend so didn't get much progress done. I did change my mind on binding the fretboard and got it bound in white ABS and radiused.

​​
UhrJPxSb.jpg


I started on the frets and realized that I'd need to nip the tangs to fit over the binding. The tools I have squished more than cut, so I put together a Dremel jig more or less like this one I found on the interwebs by Highline Guitars. I didn't have an appropriate bit and wasn't feeling well enough to run out to the Big Orange Place to pick one up, so that'll have to wait. Rewatching it, I probably have a diamond grinder like he used in my glass kit so I may be able to give this a try after some tea
 
I think the jig thing is over engineered. It is nice and probably good for someone kicking out lots of ukes in a manufacturing situation but if you are just doing a one-off you don't need that sort of involved tool. You can just nip off the tang overhang with some wire cutters and then grind off the residual with a cutoff wheel on your dremel or even file them off by hand using a file. I use the cutoff wheel attachment and jack the dremel into a vise and grind off the residual until it is flat. Pretty fast but tedious I will admit.
 
It was a pretty trivial jig (mine's not as pretty as in the video - just three pieces of scrap glued together, two holes, a cut, and a fret slot). It took significantly more time to watch the video than it did to make the jig (discounting glue drying). Unfortunately I've been out sick and haven't had time and energy to work on this. I hope to get back up to speed soon so I can finish before the weather turns. Winter is coming :(
 
The jig worked well, but I've only been able to get a couple of frets cut, de-tanged, and installed at a time before my back's given up on me. I'm about halfway there, I'm making steady-if-slow progress, and the weather forecast looks good for the next two weekends. I may pull this off.
 
Huge progress today: got the fingerboard finished up to leveling the frets, for which I need more sandpaper. I skipped over that and got the neck assembled, and everything else sanded to 150. Dry fit everything and it now looks like a ukulele! Ended with a wipe down to raise the grain and letting that dry overnight. Tomorrow morning 320 and 400 for the frets will be waiting in a locker at the Orange place. I'll make the frets pretty, sand the body and neck to 220 and then on to the finish!

No pictures because today's epic run went just past my phone battery dying and the music stopping. It's past my bedtime, but I'm too jazzed to head up yet.

A few things I learned:
  • Getting the frets in evenly with a hammer is a PITA. I ended up pressing them with the drill press. I had been warned of this so was prepared (If you're watching here: Thanks Phil!)
  • You have to get the entire tang off. Especially for the first several I did I left a stub of the tang with the dremel and jig. It was very easy to file off once I figured out that I needed to. Unfortunately I didn't realize this on a few until I had them pressed in and got some chipping when I pulled them out. Noted for the next one!
  • The frets looked kind of garbagey before I got them filed flush and bevelled. I was really worried. Turned out to be no big deal.
  • I was really careless with the CA when I did the binding. There was a lot of splash damage and some finger prints. I over did it trying to scrape that off and ended up doing more damage than fixing in a few places. Leaving it for the sanding step would have been a better idea - the spots that I did cleaned up pretty easily
  • Conversely, scraping the binding flush was essential, especially on the veneer sides. I managed to sand through the veneer in one spot while trying to sand the binding flush.
  • I forgot to sand the inside edges of the side-sound port flush before closing everything up. I can't reasonably reach that, so it's going to stay. Oh well.
  • I never got around to doing my headstock inlay. Making some drawings based on my initials tonight. Will decide in the morning how enthusiastic I am to do so. I have my name lasered on the inside and inlay around the sound hole. Another may be too much, but the goal here is to experiment and learn.
 
Yup... A learning experience alright. We learn through failure oddly enough. One tip I would pass along: Before using CA to glue binding, put a couple coats of dilute shellac on the top and sides. This way the CA will sit on top of the shellac, won't soak in and is easily sanded off if there is any splashing, fingerprints, etc. which there always is.

As for the final step: Finishing. Go simple with something like an oil finish which is pretty much foolproof. If you want to get more ambitious, do your homework and experiment before you put it on your ukulele. Finishing can get tricky.
 
Thanks! Great tip on protecting the surroundings with shellac. I'll give that a try with my test blocks.

I fiddled a bunch yesterday with a headstock inlay but wasn't able to come up with anything I liked. Everything big enough for me to route successfully was bulkier than looked good to me. Barring a second wind I'm going to skip that and leave it blank. A chisel may be better than the router here. That's what I've been using to finish the sound-hole inlay cavity after the initial laser carving. I didn't want to cut through so etched on low power and pulled out my carving tools to bring it deeper.

I got the frets all level and the first couple crowned. More on that tonight.

Finishing plans were to stain blue and then use a wipe-on poly, pretty much straight down StewMac's plans, except that I am/was going to sand back the stain in the center for a denimy look. This was partly because I like that look and partly to make it easy to keep the stain off of the inlay: I was going to stain first, glue in the inlay, then simultaneously sand the inlay flush and the center stained section.

I'm also going to test saturating the inlay with CA after protecting the surroundings with shellac and then stain to see if that'll work.

It's starting to really look like a uke now:
zpJp2wuh.jpg


Huh. The colour looks a lot better in the picture than when it's in front of me. I should take another look at it wet before staining.
 
Love the rabbit running inlay around the sound hole. What about one running rabbit on the peghead? Would tie the theme together...
 
Love the rabbit running inlay around the sound hole. What about one running rabbit on the peghead? Would tie the theme together...
Thanks! The argument against it on the peghead is fear ;) I should probably get over that.

I inlaid a bunny at the 12th fret on the fingerboard that rabbited into the bushes and it was a bit of a mess routing (I did much better on the test piece, then stressed on the real one), and it would have to shrink to fit on the peghead. It might be more doable with hand tools for the fine parts now that I've remembered that I used to know how to carve ;) A simpler bunny may work out oriented differently too. Or a safer option would be to inlay it in a peghead veneer. I think some design work will be on tonight's plan if I can get home early enough. I was going to do my CA saturation test on a simple square inlay, but this will be more fun!

One of the big themes I've run into here is how long it's been since I've done any serious wood working and how much better I was a few years ago! Most of that was scrollsaw and lathe: 5-10 years ago I could've zipped these rabbits out on the scrollsaw without hardly thinking it. On the other hand, I'm nigh-infinitely better at music than I was then! It's all in what you spend the time on!
 
Thanks! The argument against it on the peghead is fear .... Or a safer option would be to inlay it in a peghead veneer.

That is what I do. If you mess it up (you won't), simply throw on scrap heap and go again. When you get it right, glue down and go... Can put some contrasting thin strips of veneer underneath for strips along the side for a little extra bling. One possible problem: Too thick a peghead for your tuners. Fixable with adjustable tuners or making headstock thinner.
 
Headstock mostly done. I probably ought to redrill the holes for the tuners....
bdP1kfel.jpg


Still undecided on the color. I really don't like the look of this particular wood naked. Blue test turned out awful on the mahogany test block (looked great on my maple test block!). Red or black are possibilities, or despite my desire for this one to be wild I may track down something more natural. Inlay then stain didn't work out without more complicated masking than I want to do. Once I sanded the inlay flush I lost any protection and the inlay soaked up the stain better than the surroundings. Stain then inlay looks like it'll work so long as I want to sand back the stain (which I do).
 
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