#1, Tenor Ukulele Supply of Hawaii kit Mahogany top/back/sides/neck Bubinga fretboard/bridge Walnut binding and rosette MOTS inlay on headstock; MOP on fretboard Gotoh white button SGM mini tuners body shape own design; supposed to be inspired by early guitars. 14 May 2004 jointed top & back pieces. Started with block plane; changed to sandpaper taped to level. Worked better. Would be better still if I'd lain the plates flat and put the level on a workbench or something. 15 May 2004 glued together back and top with Titebond. Toolbox as weight on top; vise-clamp with cauls (1x2s) on workbench for sides. Week ending 22 Aug 2004 Fretboard thicknessed to approx. 3/16". Had tearout with pretty sharp plane - mainly sanded with 60 grit to thickness. Edges straightened with plane & sandpaper. Marked fret locations using 17.817 rule, 17.25" scale (note - measurements in Denis Gilbert book do NOT match these calcs.) 12" ruler marked in 32nds clamped to board, marked with razor knife to nearest 1/64" interpolated. Scribed across board using small combo square and razor knife. Need more MOP dots (5mm) and coresponding brad point bit. Also 10mm bit for tuners. No side markers provided - will use 2mm (1/16") plastic rod. 23 Aug 2004 Corrected position of two fret lines (re-marked with knife) and straightened one more. Ordered parts from Constantine's. No side markers - 2mm is too large for a 3/16" thick fretboard, especially if I decide round the fretboard slightly. 24 Aug 2004 Built fret slot cutting miterbox. Cut out fret press caul (just a block of oak.) 25 Aug 2004 Cut fretboard slots in miter box. Mark positions of dots, mark fretboard taper. (Probably best to mark center line first, then taper, then locate dots.) 27 Aug 2004 Tapered fretboard on scroll saw, with sanding and planing. Rechecked dot locations and drilled holes (brad point bit.) Slightly undersized; enlarge with X-Acto. 29 Aug 2004 Glued in MOP dots with epoxy. Cut and filed fretboard end pattern. Cut 15-degree angle on headstock with scroll saw (worked fine.) 06 Sept 2004 Pressed frets with drill press and homemade caul; worked very well. Trimmed with end nippers and belt sander. (Tried Dremel with cutoff wheel; too risky.) Cheap Stanley pull saw cuts slots just the right size for frets. Fret slots were tapered at top edge with triangular needle file. 19 Sept 2004 Finished dressing fret ends (wrap with vinyl tape, triangular file an angle, detail and rounding with flat needle file.) Sand sides to 220 to even the ends up. (Probably best to do that before filing.) Thinned headstock piece to 1/2" on scroll saw and block plane. Clean up angle using method in C&N using block plane. Glued scarf joint (see photo.) 26 Sept 2004 Glued heel blocks to neck blank (prob. on 23rd.) Preliminary shaping of headstock-to-neck joint. Preliminary tapering of neck. Marked rough neck outline based on Hilo 2652 soprano profile. Thinned sides to approx. .06" (+/- .005" or more) using #3 plane. Polished frets a bit with 2000 grit paper. Had been used for plane sharpening; now have some grey metal dust in fretboard. Drat. Thinned the fretboard to about 3/16" using plane and mostly sandpaper. 29 Sept 2004 Thinned one plate (front or back; either one) to approx. 0.080". Really about 0.075-0.085, but what the heck. Mostly used #3 plane. Sand to 150. Practically no tearout, except on the 'good' side where I used the block plane to even up the glue line. Not too bad, though. 02 Oct 2004 Thinned other plate, which will probably be the top to 0.080" +/- .005". Clamped two near corners to a piece of 1/4" hardboard using C-clamps, then planed to thickness on workbench (C-clamps act as bench dogs.) Works better than the plastic workbench. Sanded to 150. 03 Oct 2004 Made head block 2-1/16" high, 3/4" thick, 2" wide from mahogany. Tailblock trimmed to 2-23/32" h, 1-13/16" w, 3/4" thick. Clamped headblock to neck blank (positioned taking top thickness into account) and drilled holes in head block for neck bolts with hand drill. (Masking tape depth stop.) Countersunk using 3/8" Forstner bit. (In future, a single bolt is probably enough.) Beveled inside corners of blocks with block plane. Works best if block is laid on bench, then plane angled about 45 degrees and resting on bench top. Angles are not all exact, and don't really match, but I'll clean it up later. 06 Oct 2004 (last few days) rough-shaped neck with chisels and wood rasp after cutting main part of heel block curve with scroll saw. Plan on final shaping after body is done so I can test it for feel. Fretboard is still too thick, but I guess I'll leave it because it's already fretted. Glued headblock ears on. 10 Oct 2004 Bent one side using aluminum flashing backing strip. Worked okay, better with more water. (Not soaking, but a bit of dripping.) Some scorching at waist. Clamped into mold. 12 Oct 2004 Bent the other side without backing strip. Did a bit better. Clamped in mold with the other one. 16 Oct 2004 Touched up one side on the hot pipe (needed a bit of straightening at the neck.) Trimmed sides for neck and tail joins. Glued in head block after sanding to shape (sandpaper on insided of body; works okay but slow.) 17 Oct 2004? Glued in tail block the same way. 22 Oct 2004 Sanded top of sides level with 60 grit taped to workbench. Cut excess on back with Dremel using cutoff wheel. (Messy and slow but controllable.) Marked taper for back (5/16" taper over length of body, 12") and did most of the shaving with a chisel (better than Dremel). Sanded to 60 grit like the top edge. Body remains in mold. Ad hoc spreader clamps usable but not very good. 24 Oct 2004 Glued in most of the lining for the top. (Not enough clamps to do all of it at once.) Didn't get one upper bout. 1-1/4" binder clips are a bit too wide to work in sharp curves; used small c-clamps and mini bar clamps. Kerfed side of lining is towards the inside. Upper bout kerfs had to be widened to make the curve; the strip breaks just above the waist. No big deal. 25 Oct 2004 Glued in remainder of top lining. Binder clamps are not acceptable; changed a curve into a line. Had to match on the other side, guess I have to do the same on the back as well. Slight asymmetry at upper bout due to combination of clamps and bending error. 27-28 Oct 2004 Finished putting in lining. Small (2") spring clamps used; works much better. 29 Oct 2004 Sand lining flush to sides, top and back. (60 grit taped to worktable.) Thinned fretboard a bit more - block plane has too much tearout; used sandpaper. More filling of fret ends with CA and sanding dust. Traced outline of top onto paper. Should have made a template out of hardboard or something before starting; this way is awkward. 6 Nov 2004 Cut four walnut binding strips, approx. .080 x 0.25 x 24". Used plywood clamped to scroll saw table as a guide. Works okay, but not worth doing again. Also cut a shorter strip for rosette. 17 Nov 2004 (break for medical reasons) Split the shorter rosette strip lengthwise and sanded a bit to get approximately consistent thickness. Bent on hot pipe to about 2-1/2" diameter. Won't go over the end cap; turned off pipe until it cools enough for me to remove cap and then pull the rosette off. Bent nicely, though. Spritzed with water. 19 Nov 2004 Built a new Dremel router baseplate out of 3/4" plywood. Drilled a couple of holes for circle/rosette cutting. Stuck a cheap (resharpened?) 3/32" end mill of some kind in it and cut the rosette channel and soundhole. Worked pretty well. (I tested on scrap first.) Important stuff - the pin (nail or whatever) in the center must extend into a sacrificial baseplate. Pull the Dremel toward the center at all times to minimize play. Check depth before routing. Stuck my walnut ring in the channel and glued it with Titebond. Had to push a bit because of springback overnight. (Didn't have to remove pipe cap.) Chiseled and scraped flush to soundboard (which was protected with masking tape around the rosette for the chisel work.) Needs a tiny bit of sawdust and glue fill. Next time use flexible purfling or breakable Abalone or something. This is kind of a hassle. 27 Nov 2004 Cut out rough outline of plates and marked brace locations. (3-blade fan.) Rough cut top braces. Glued top plate upper bout brace. 28 Nov 2004 Glued lower bout brace and center fan brace on top plate. Glued center spline on back plate (three sections; gap at brace locations that will need to be cut to fit.) 29 Nov 2004 Glued bass side fan brace. 30 Nov 2004 Glued treble fan brace. Marked curvature (about 50" radius) on back braces. 04 Dec 2004 Glued back braces. Upper brace it too close to waist; should be closer to upper bout center. 05 Dec 2004 Trimmed braces to length. 06-20 Dec 2004 Shaped back and top braces. (Also went on a cruise for a week.) 21 Dec 2004 Made and glued bridge plate. (0.09" thick, mahogany, grain runs horizontally.) 22-23 Dec 2004 Notched linings for braces, top and back. (Some more brace shaving and trimming involved also.) Tried to make static compliance measurements on top, but too much play in the dry-fit joints so I'll redo it after gluing. Glued top to sides. Need about 2 more spool clamps. 26 Dec 2004 Glued back to sides. Had to force a bit at the tips of the lower bouts - best to do shaping of sides after removing them from the mold to get a more exact fit. Had to do some work with plane & sandpaper. Seems to hold okay. (Made 2 more spool clamps.) Forgot to drill holes in headblock all the way out to the neck attachment. Had to measure and drill from outside with itty bitty (like #40) bit. Main resonance of box is 40 cents sharp of G#. (Tested by thumping it near the tuner.) 29 Dec 2004 Opened up holes in neck block with Dremel. Light sanding (150 & 220 grit) and wash coat of shellac on body to prevent tearout when cutting binding ledge. Looks pretty good. 02 Jan 2005 Cut binding ledge on router table using homebuilt jig. (14" straight HSS bit.) Worked mostly okay; some tearout on upper bass bout on soundboard. Width of cut varies somewhat; not entirely sure why. Did some cleanup with chisel. Specialized binding cutter with a bearing would probably be easier. Overall not bad, though. 04 Jan 2005 Bent binding. (Taped all four pieces together with blue masking tape first.) Clamped in half the mold when done. Springback will be horrendous. Expect to rebend pairs before gluig them onto body. 08 Jan 2005 Rebent one pair of sides to fit better. Not perfect, but okay. Bit more cleanup of binding channels as well. 09 Jan 2005 Cut end wedge (well, it's straight) channel with chisel. Trimmed binding to length. Glued in end wedge. Glued in binding for top & bottom on bass side. Held in with blue masking tape; used Titebond. 14 Jan 2005 Glued the rest of the binding in place. 22 Jan 2005 Finished trimming binding overhang with chisel (mostly 1/2".) Scraped side binding overhand on one side pretty nearly flush. Thickness is, of course, uneven. Out of town 14 Feb - March Scraped & sanded binding flush. Lots of gaps, filled with sawdust & super glue. Too dark but I'm going with it anyway. Carved neck, mostly with wood rasp and chisels held upside-down. Sanded to about 100-150 grit, depending on exact location. Width is not yet trimmed exactly to fretboard; I'll wait until gluing it on for that. 19 Mar 2005 Fitting of neck to body. Mostly with chisel, hollowing out the center of the heel. Neck angle is pretty much zero; not measured exactly. Top of body isn't 100% flat in any case. (Dished inward near bridge location. Poor humidity control, I think.) 01 Apr 2005 Finalizing neck shape, sanding to 150 or 220 grit. Glued veneer (bookmatched mahogany) onto headstock. Shaped headstock, mostly with chisel. (Use a template next time; much easier.) Drilled headstock holes. One in the wrong spot, about 1mm off; needs to be plugged and redrilled. (Later - plugged and redrilled still slightly off, but I'm leaving it.) 17 May 2005 (and previous few days) Cut out inlay from Pyralin. Cuts easily, but gums up blade. Routed corresponding cavity on headstock. Stuffed it in, gooped some superglue on it, sanded flush. Looks good. Glued fretboard to neck after some final sanding/shaping. Used half-staples to hold in place. Didn't clamp quite hard enough, but overall okay. (May have a bit of backbow, but haven't checked it yet. Can't fix it anyway.) 19 May 2005 Trimmed heel flush with back. Covered fingerboard with blue masking tape. Sanded everything to 320 grit. Wash coat (well, 3# cut) of shellac. Let dry. Pore fill with water-thinned Elmers Wood Filler (Mahogany), smeared on with plastic card. Wiped off across grain with damp cloth. Light sanding (320 grit, I think) 20 May 2005 1.5# cut of shellac to seal it all up. Let dry. One coat Tru-Oil, wiped on very thin with cloth. 21 May 2005 Second coat oil, except for the back, because I ran out. 22 May 2005 Bought more Tru-Oil. Second coat on back, third on neck. I think the neck is about done; came out quite nice. up to 04 June 2005 Total of 3 coats Tru-Oil (4 on soundboard). Attached neck to body; no glue, just the bolts. Let cure a week or two, then smoothed and polished finish - 800 grit, 2000, then 6000-8000-12000 Micro-Mesh. Got a bit too enthusiastic with the 800 and had to Q-tip some more oil on the neck and part of the soundboard (couple of streaks.) 04 June 2005 Built compensation jig - two strings, floating bridge. 11 June 2005 or so Thicknessed bridge blank using Saf-T-Planer to 3/16" (or so.) Checked what the proper height should be for decent (3/32" or so) action at 12th fret. 18 June 2005 Finished bridge & saddle. Slots cut with Dremel in router base upside down clamped to table. 19 June 2005 Glued bridge on using Titebond after scraping finish off bridge area. Compensation checked using jig (about 1/4"). May be a bit sparse on glue; almost no squeeze-out. 20 June 2005 Strung up. No disaster, but back of bridge very slightly lifted. Strings still stretching; not up to final tension yet. 23 June 2005 Strings are pretty much settled. E string tends to slip out of nut slot; I've deepened it, but don't want to go further because I don't think I can lower it without creating a fret buzz. Bridge has lifted very slightly at the rear; I didn't get enough glue there, I guess. Seems stable. Distance from nut to front of saddle is 17 13/64". Sound is pretty good; rather jangly. Overall reasonably successful. The neck is a bit wide and a bit thick, but the string spacing is good. Fretboard feels pretty good otherwise - I didn't oil it. Probably could have rounded the corners of the body a bit more for comfort. Too many scratches under the finish; I didn't finish sand eoungh and protect it from scratches and dings.