Fun Build 2011

Hi Chuck, yes that dreaded grain tear is one of my concerns - I tried routing a channel in a piece of cedar yesterday and the first go was pretty awful, and I don't think the spruce is going to be any easier, so I'll really need to put in a few sparring rounds before I do the first real channel.

I did put a few spit coats of shellac (thinned 1:1 with alcohol) on the rosette wheel first and I guess it helped some, though the underside of maple was alarmingly ragged, but it cleaned up just fine.

I was thinking about making a tip for the Dremel that acts as a knife blade to just score the surface before routing - not a rotating blade, just a sharpened bit that would fit into the Dremel for optimum placement, which you would then use with the soundhole thingy to trace the circle. Might be worth a try and not a lot of effort to make.

We started out doing all the pieces at the same angle - there were 18 pieces so 20 degrees each. I cut a little template out of beech wood and used it both for the initial tracing and the preliminary shaping. Then when all the pieces were done we laid them together and there were some slight imperfections in the fit, so I just took a few of the pieces and corrected them individually this way and that and kept checking and re-checking until the fit was perfect. It wasn't really all that hard to do, but of course the manual corrections mean that the rays are no longer all the same angle, so they look a little "random".
 
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Is anyone doing the bridge, or I could include a matching bridge blank.

Sven

Sven, are you doing the bridge? Depending on whether it's string-through or not I might use different wood for the bridge plate. I cut one out of mahogany, which I would normally use for a tie-on bridge, but with a string-through it might be a little too soft. The mahogany is excellent for stiffness compared to the weight, but it's not really that hard. Maybe I should go with a piece of rosewood instead?
 
This has completely escaped my memory. I could make a bridge. I always make string through bridges. I don't think mahogany would be too soft, I have used spruce and beads over the knots when I put the strings on.
 
Rosette edges

Hi folks, well I guess I should have put some more time into learning inlay technique before putting the rosette in.

The channel turned out just a tad too big on the inside and outside, really just a tiny bit but noticeable. So I added a little ring of mahogany on the inside and outside of the rosette. I used CA to glue them in place and then sanded everything smooth with 240/400 grit. But after gluing the rosette into place and letting it dry it looked like this:

P1020312_sm.jpg

I can live with the outside edge, but the inside edge is totally uneven :( Not good, not good....

Any ideas or help would be appreciated. Thanks.
 
Hi all you Fun Builders :) What's happening with our build.

Sven, you were going to make the bridge, right? We ended up using a piece of IRW for the bridge patch, just to be on the safe side - a nice piece of cut-off from another build - so, no problem with a string-through bridge.

Dumb me forgot to take pictures of the top before I sent it to Brad, but I guess it turned out OK.

Do we actually have all the other pieces lined up? I guess Vic did the headstock veneer (before he got asked to the door), and Brad posted picks of the back, but what about the sides and the neck.......
 
Sorry Erich for not replying to this thread, or the pm. I've been thinking about this. And my heart isn't in it. I have a reasonably good flow in the shop right now with many half finished ukes lined up. All the steps before me fit together like a puzzle in my head. It's a feeling I don't get often and I like it.

So I can't step out of it now. Sure, a bridge is a small thing to make. But it doesn't fit. Wouldn't be fun.

Sorry.
 
Hey Tim,
I have the parts in a box waiting for me to assemble and finish. Erich's top is a work of art, the European spruce is superb, with some bear claw figure and wonderful silking. I want to get it done in the next couple of months. As the second prize is spending a few days with me building a uke for the winner; summer or fall are the best times to visit Cannon Beach.

Brad
 
Wow...I personally would like the second prize much more than the first prize!!!
 
I am also following this thread with great interest. I was so bummed that I didn't win last year!!! Anyway, I guess this will end up being the Fun Build 2013!!! Regardless, waiting is a small price to pay for such a fun experience.

Any ideas on how the lucky winner will be chosen this time around????

mendel
 
any pics of the progress of this. looked so cool.
Hope it keeps going.
 
I saw the pieces of the fun build in person this weekend! They are beautiful! This is going to be pretty cool...
 
You lucky dog, you. Living so close. Hope pictures will be posted soon. Like your new avatar/profile pic - whatever it's called. See you at UWC 2013?
 
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