Fun Build

Matt Clara said:
Here's the fretboard thus far:


View attachment 12886

As you can see, I've got the holes drilled for the MOP. As you can't see, I've slotted it, too, and think it came out well. I won't know how well the holes came out until I lift the template, and I want to shape it some more before I do that. If the holes did not come out well, I'll start a new one.

The red arrows point to the design edge. How close should I take it to those lines? I would want the neck present before I tried to take it down to final size; barring that, I would want to ship it on to whomever is gluing it down for final shaping (I could do the bottom, and the nut end is set).
Click to expand...
Gotta tell you; I looked at the pic before I read the rest of your note and I thought, well that's certainly interesting. A fret board made to look like ? masking tape? With red arrows? Very creative.
And it was something you said the other day that set me up for that. Then I thought, maybe I should read the note.
Of course, we don't know what you've got lurking behind the template.
 
Hey, we've got two offers for strings on the table. One is for a set of Martin Gold, the other, Aquila Nylgut Concerto.

On three, everybody vote: 1, 2, ... !
 
It amazes me that all this stuff is being made in different shops yet at some point it is going to all fit together .
Who is doing final assy. ?
 
Keef said:
It amazes me that all this stuff is being made in different shops yet at some point it is going to all fit together .
Who is doing final assy. ?
Click to expand...
It will be amazing if it all goes together.
Brad is going to button up the body and attach the neck.... so that will be the first test.
Just thinking out loud here, since Vic is doing the headstock inlay he will probably add the tuners. That may be the first opportunity to string it up (so to speak).
We need to conference in on Skype when he does that.

Matt, we may need both sets of strings. Which ones will go best with your masking tape inlay?
 
Matt Clara said:
Hey, we've got two offers for strings on the table. One is for a set of Martin Gold, the other, Aquila Nylgut Concerto.
Click to expand...

We have the Martins (fluorocarbons) in soprano and concert - which would you folks prefer? Pete Howlett was saying recently that he now preferred concert gauge for all his ukes. Let me know...

Erich - from the beach beyond the bend
 
Problem With The Plan

Tragedy! While I double checked that the fretboard template in the plan had the correct slot placement, I didn't check the pearl marker's placement, and as it turns out, the two dots on the 7th fret are not equidistant from the center line. The other two dots are dead center. Do I scrap it and start over? It is noticeable, though it doesn't draw one's attention in and of itself.
 
Matt Clara said:
Tragedy! While I double checked that the fretboard template in the plan had the correct slot placement, I didn't check the pearl marker's placement, and as it turns out, the two dots on the 7th fret are not equidistant from the center line. The other two dots are dead center. Do I scrap it and start over? It is noticeable, though it doesn't draw one's attention in and of itself.
Click to expand...
Bummer Matt.
What do you think you should do?
 
Heck, who gets their dots on center? Lol man it's up to you and the gang but you mainly. How noticeable is it?
 
Ideas?
1 - just leave it. This whole uke is about asymmetry anyway. I mean we have a slanted joint on the front and back and different woods on the two sides...
2 - someone could do a little inlay on the seventh instead of the two pearl dots

Personally, I'm for just leaving it, but if it really bothers you or the others then maybe an inlay would do the trick.

I just remembered that we once did a fix-up on a guitar where the fret markers had gotten really dinged up - so here's what we did: first we pulled the frets, then we shaved down the surface of the 5th, 7th, 10th and 12th about 1mm, cut pieces of flamed maple exactly to size for those frets, glued them on and sanded down to level. Voilà - two-toned fretboard.

EDIT: Correction - it must have been the 9th, not the 10th.
 
Last edited:
Excellent... leave it. Of course a bar of pearl with something engraved on it (Uke Soup 2010?) or some other inlay might be cool too.
 
Matt Clara said:
Here's the fretboard thus far:


View attachment 12886

As you can see, I've got the holes drilled for the MOP. As you can't see, I've slotted it, too, and think it came out well. I won't know how well the holes came out until I lift the template, and I want to shape it some more before I do that. If the holes did not come out well, I'll start a new one.

The red arrows point to the design edge. How close should I take it to those lines? I would want the neck present before I tried to take it down to final size; barring that, I would want to ship it on to whomever is gluing it down for final shaping (I could do the bottom, and the nut end is set).
Click to expand...

Good thinkin'. Without a template it just takes a few minutes and some finesse on a benchtop belt sander or a shooting board to dimension the fretboard but the all the final dimensions need to be taken into consideration. I'm betting the neck is spot on to the Antes plan with just a scosche left to bring down to the fretboard, but not having it in front of you of course makes ya cautious.
 
Last edited:
Matt Clara said:
Tragedy! While I double checked that the fretboard template in the plan had the correct slot placement, I didn't check the pearl marker's placement, and as it turns out, the two dots on the 7th fret are not equidistant from the center line. The other two dots are dead center. Do I scrap it and start over? It is noticeable, though it doesn't draw one's attention in and of itself.
Click to expand...
Erich made a couple of very good points.
"This whole uke is about asymmetry anyway" which is true but at the same time, and I think Erich mentioned this in an earlier post, we want this to be a thing of beauty. Something we can look at, point to and be proud of. Each of us has to look at our part and decide; Do I want to put my name on this for others to see (and judge)?
Hope that doesn't sound too harsh. It's not meant to be.
The other idea Erich implied; See if you can find a creative solution. Turn that whole space between the frets into a LP type marker or some kind of inlay. I know you to be a creative and talented person. Relax, take your time with it and I bet you can come up with something. Remove the pressure for a bit and see what comes up. This is suppose to be fun and as Vic has said many times, no time constraints.
 
I think for this Franken-uke to be a thing of beauty, it would have had to have been more carefully designed. As it is, there's no telling how the top will look with the side will look with the back, will look with the fretboard, etc. I'll just send it on as is.
 
Bad news, very bad...

We had just finished joining the maple and walnut and just wanted to do the joint on the other side of the maple with the mahogany. Anyway the jointed piece fell off the table and landed on the tile floor and... you guessed it - took a split right into the walnut. :( :( :( I still cannot believe it. We've had pieces fall down before, even a ding here and there, but nothing ever split!

Very depressed now, so I'm going to call it quits for the day and watch the Champions League final.
 
Are the front and back..one piece or two ??....
"Erich" don't get depressed about a small piece of wood splitting I've smashed up loads of stuff that went wrong ..including several completed ukes..I've even made them into bird boxes just for fun...I find that "destroying the mistake and making another part" is sometimes less frustrating and quicker than trying to repair the damage.
C.jpg

A.jpg
I felt a lot better after that.;)
 
Last edited:
You take great photos Timbuck. If you toss back a few and squint your eyes the bottom pic looks like a castle on fire.

It'll all come together... in time.
 
Erich, in my mind, I see runout in the walnut. Try a different piece. We have all the time in the world.
 
Matt Clara said:
I think for this Franken-uke to be a thing of beauty, it would have had to have been more carefully designed. As it is, there's no telling how the top will look with the side will look with the back, will look with the fretboard, etc. I'll just send it on as is.
Click to expand...

The project's result will be beautiful either way.
 
Last edited:
Hey Erich, sorry about your accident, but it may have been a blessing. If it split that easily the wood probably had a defect in it and it is a whole lot better that it split on you than me.

Brad
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

BuzzBD
New 10th Anniversary Fun Build
Replies
15
Views
1K
ksiegel
ksiegel
mendel
Fun Build 2011???
Replies
1
Views
377
erich@muttcrew.net
erich@muttcrew.net
Vic D
Fun Build 2011
3 4 5
Replies
96
Views
13K
ADD
ADD
B
Reprising the Fun Build for mendel
2 3 4
Replies
68
Views
8K
mendel
mendel
U
My progress on the uke - u/ukudancer aka Arvin's Electric Ukulele Land (which I thought was a fun play on the Hendrix album)
Replies
4
Views
223
ukudancer
U
Top Bottom