Newbie Stewmac Kit: adding upgrades/bling .. peghead veneer thickness?

[dofthesea]

You might also consider purchasing Tuners with a longer post once you add veneer You can get them at StewMac for uses. I know a guy who's had to order these a few times lol https://www.stewmac.com/parts-and-h.../grover-ukulele-tuners-with-long-string-posts

 

[LabRat_3k]

Creeping up on it.. while the 'other one' still has some sanding to go, I think I've got 'close enough' with this one.

 

[Timbuck]

I don't normally fit veneers to peg heads , but today I did on a special build the veneer is 1.5 mm thick so I sanded 1.5 mm off the back of the headstock... No problems with tuner length.

 

[LabRat_3k]

Without pictures it didn't happen!! (for the humour impaired -->)

 

[LabRat_3k]

1 mm later ...

..onwards to the scary bits. CA glue.. and drilling holes. For the holes I made up a jig to aid with alignment. So far so good.

and the results are promising... (yeah that bottom hole is tiny bit off, but there's some room fiddling when the glue up occurs)

 

[sequoia]

1 mm later ...

..onwards to the scary bits. CA glue.. and drilling holes. For the holes I made up a jig to aid with alignment. So far so good.

and the results are promising... (yeah that bottom hole is tiny bit off, but there's some room fiddling when the glue up occurs)

Nice tight neck join. That can be tricky sometimes.

 

[Timbuck]

Without pictures it didn't happen!! (for the humour impaired -->)

It ain't finished ...yet

IMG_5878 by Ken Timms,

 

[LabRat_3k]

Oooo... with "go faster" stripes as well!! ( )

That looks "verra nice!!"

 

[Michael Smith]

You could go with the Gotoh UK-700 tuners with adjustable post length. That way you can get it just the height you want. I see the nickel plated for around $40 some places the gold tend to be $20 more.

 

[LabRat_3k]

What's the protocol for continued questions about this build, but no longer related to the veneer on the pegged? Continue in this thread, or open a new one?

 

[ploverwing]

Your thread you decide!

 

[LabRat_3k]

Well.. it's still a question about the neck vs the body.. so I will post it here. Following the build directions I have completed the following: cut/installed the frets, applied a wax finish, CA glue (thin) all the frets, filed the ends of the frets, glued to the neck, and done a fret flattening on 320 & 400 grit flat surface. (how do you know when you are done?) The results of which is a whole bunch of tiny fret sanded particles accumulating in on/in the wax finish, and a fretboard that looks like it's been in use since the 1800's. (they completely glossed over this in the build how to and/or video series). I think I need to clean this off before I go any further. Reading up on how to clean/remove wax finishes, and it seems to be mineral spirits. Before I make that leap, I thought I would check here for any advice/warnings/wisdom. Here's an image that captures it's current state (along with my latest jig ... its the Bridge-locator-inator!! (bonus points if you read that with a Gimelstrumph-ian accent)).

 

[Michael Smith]

I think you are asking about when you are done leveling the frets. If that is the case the answer is close visual examination will indicate that every fret has been touched with the leveling beam. Often in repairs you mark the top of the frets with a black felt marker then when the marker is removed at the very crown of the fret in all frets you are level. That should not be necessary with new frets in your situation as you can see when the gloss is off the crown of new frets.

 

[LabRat_3k]

Thx .. so I may have overdone that step. (learning as I go) The results being all the metallic particles that came off, have landed on the fretboard and makes it look awful. What is the typical clean-up after doing fretboard levelling?

 

[sequoia]

Thx .. so I may have overdone that step. (learning as I go) The results being all the metallic particles that came off, have landed on the fretboard and makes it look awful. What is the typical clean-up after doing fretboard levelling?

I have never waxed or oiled a fretboard prior to leveling so have never had your problem. I can just blow/wipe off any metal particles... I would think any solvent that dissolves wax would work. It might dry out your fretboard so once you get it clean I would use glycerin (which is the stuff in fretboard "lemon oil") to protect the wood.

Sounds like you have a lot of fret crowning work ahead you.

 

[Michael Smith]

I use a shop vac with a brush attachment but then again my fingerboards are just dry wood at this point.

 

[LabRat_3k]

Picked up some blue shop towels (to avoid repeating a previous 'lesson learned' with paper towels), and plan to try and strip the wax with mineral spirits. Heres a couple of photos trying to capture what I was describing. (try not to scream too loud when you see them). The "grey bars" looks much more apparent to the naked eye.




and

 

[sequoia]

Remember that that look will go away once you oil the fretboard and it will look fine.

 

[LabRat_3k]

A good scrub of mineral spirits, and the grey is a thing of the past (phew). Onward to sanding the bodies, raising the grain, and more light sanding, while waiting for some fret board oil to arrive.

 

[ploverwing]

I have to say, I'm hugely enjoying this vicarious build. Thanks a lot for sharing with us!