Recent content by Timbuck

Im sorting out timber for my next batch of sopranos ..more exotic stuff this time …including timber from “The Tree” + “Zebra Wood” + “Red Spruce Adirondack“+ “Western Red Cedar” “Sinker Red Cedar” to name a few. I hope I can do them all justice. :) _

You can make your own …all you need is a digital vernier gauge a calculator , The Stew Mac online calculation tables and a strip of plastic to mark out your ruler.

I never bothered with curved wire .. just straight long lengths … also I use a hammer and a press … it works ok most of the time but sometimes I get an awkward fret that dosn’t want to behave :(

This is a video I made some time back...I suggest you make the cutters out of old broken drill shanks , like a 1.5 mm drill should make a nice cutter ground down like a lathe parting tool.

I use a couple of boring heads in my drill press to cut sound holes and rosette channels they can be adjusted to suit whatever diameter you require. New ones are expensive but low cost S/H ones can be found on eBay like this one...

I remember some years ago David Hurd of “left brained lutherie“ book fame …wrote a page on fitting a neck to body butt joint with epoxy glue. and here it is. :) https://ukuleles.com/kawikas-shop-tips/joining-the-neck-to-the-body/

After watching Prof Chris singing and playing his wonderful humorous ditties I was fascinated by his vamping technique... You know what I mean “ The quick progression of chords 4 to a bar usually in intro’s …Also was done to great effect by Cliff Edwards in old videos... does anyone know any...

No I went for the Cam Clamps method in the end …simple to use and takes up hardly any space… I just hang the jig on the wall. 25C2AE138A8BAA82-5A66-475C-B814-F66CBB9FFC94 by Ken Timms, on Flickr-6C75-42D4-A200-DFA74B370FC2 by

I run a sharp scriber point down the slots to open them out a bit …if you stick a bit of tape on the end of a length of fret wire like a flag you can judge the orientation of the tang so you can tap it in at one end of the slot with a plastic hammer before you press it in.

Now in the shop window :)

Easier to fit and work just well …but look different.

New label design for new uke design .

I know most of you have seen vids from me like this before ... but I’ve done this one anyway , just to show that it works :)

Just a Quick Look at the modifications I made to my new soprano bender … A variable heat control fitted with a thermometer on the mould heater assembly and a push button starter in line with a relay….I seems to work fine ,so I’ll try it out on a couple of sides tomorrow And report back. :)

I found this video , it’s not luthier stuff but interesting …I like the idea of a template fixed on top of the set up instead of having to have the mould nearby,