A Repaired Uke and Some Mahogany

April 10, 2011

I’ve completed the bridge install for the “Fender” Uke.  The experiment with using beads as string ends worked well.  The strings are now fully stretched and stay in tune, and the intonation is quite fine, indicating I mounted the bridge properly.

110410fenderfinished

I ordered three different mahogany neck blanks to see them side by side and hopefully arrive at a favorite.

110410mahoganyneckblanks

From top to bottom:  Honduran, African and Sapele.

Fender Uke Gets a Bridge

March 27, 2011

The Fender Uke, which has been getting some headstock lacquer, came without a bridge.  I have a couple of preshaped uke bridges which I’ve drilled out to take bridge pins (very “not uke”).

I stripped away the lacquer with Stryp-Eze after positioning the bridge with masking tape.

110327fenderstripeze

Scraping and chiseling left a glue-able surface.  Since this bridge will use bridge pins, I drilled two screw holes through each outside pin hole, glued up and screwed down.  These screws are for clamping only, and will be removed after the glue dries.

110327fenderbridge

What is it?

March 19, 2011

Rachel returned from China/India Tuesday and she brought me a present.

110319chinainstrument_0

She’s not sure what it’s called, so what’s it called?  I need to restring, and I’m not sure what the bridge orientation should be.

Today I added more lacquer coats to the koa dreadnought (6 of 12) and the uke (9 of 12).  The uke is a disaster.  It became dislodged from the spray booth bracket and fell to the cement causing a reasonable amount of damage, including pebbles throughout the wet lacquer coat, a chip out of the headstock, and a segment of binding with road rash.  Oh well, file it down, keep going.  Thank god this is just a “test uke”.  I’m sure it will sound lovely, but it will look like shit.

I’m also refinishing a headstock on an eBay purchased Fender koa uke.

110319fenderhead

I have some aerosol nitrocellulose that I am using to refinish this headstock.  It’s got 4 coats now, and I’ll probably go as far as 10.

I devised a little jig for drilling holes in my uke bridges.  I’m going to use bridge pins with strings secured inside the body with bone beads.  I’ll get a picture up later of the string beads.

110319bridgejig