Australian/New Zealand Luthiers Forum

Allen, your work has to be among (or atop) the list of the finest ukuleles made anywhere in the world. Stunningly beautiful!

Have any of your ukuleles been "anointed by" Jake Shimabukuro, yet?

Another option is to use Quebracho bark powder as the "tea" to add tannin to wood. Quebracho bark is very high in tannins. That powder is used in leather tanning, so check leather/tanning suppliers, or of course ebay. The ferrous acetate will often make the wood a dark charcoal gray, maybe with a hi...

Trevor, thanks for this info. Very useful! Two propane torches full bore! ... I wonder about MAPP gas?

asgilbert, can you elaborate on a tempering schedule, and will it work with chisels that have handles (and could not be oven roasted)?

So you can hit the high notes?

Allen, your work is always amazing, and this beauty is no exception.

How about "Liberon Finishing Oil?" ( http://www.liberon.co.uk/product/finishing-oil/ ) And, you can make your polymerizing oils (and probably just about any liquid finishing products) last longer if you eliminate the air in the bottle/can. Kim Hickey mentioned adding marbles to the can, displacing t...

Somewhere in a corner of the ANZLF vault you might find a hemispherical-end fret tutorial by Kim Hickey. (But, yes, the more the merrier.) {edit, to add:} OK, I went searching: Here's Kim's: http://www.anzlf.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=793 and one by Rod True: http://www.anzlf.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=2861

I have mentioned this before here, but if you get the chance, see if you can find "Elmer's Carpenter's Glue" and try it out. It does everything that Titebond I does, and does it better - and it dries harder.

Bob, Sorry to hear about the physical issues that were part of your decision to retire, but you're very intelligent and I'm sure you have thought this over carefully, and evidently it must be time. Besides providing the platform and the forum nuts-and-bolts, you've always given freely of your expert...

Way to go, Bob! Thanks for all your expertise behind the curtain!

Beautiful job, Martin!

I would never have thought of Blackwood as bindings against that curly Jarrah, but it really works.

I would add some more screws - but add them on the other side of the bridge.

Also, I hope that is hot hide glue - because as we all know, that makes everything OK.

Wow, that is beautiful, Trevor. What a set of wood, and you did it proud.

Allen, that is an incredibly gorgeous instrument. I look forward to sound samples.

"Large fret markers for Baby Boomer eyes. No extra charge!"

My first thought is " kintsugi ." Not necessarily gold, but something striking - like maybe copper or bronze powder, maybe even silver. I definitely would not try to hide the cracks in any way. I think your technique of laminating a veneer to the inside surface is perfect: stabilizer, epoxy dam, and...

Thanks, Markus. Stolen, and posted on the Luthiercom.org forum.

OK, thanks. Just thought I'd ask.

I played D'Addario phosphor bronze lights (12-53) for many years - nothing else I tried sounded as sweet and pure and articulate. Another luthier suggested I try John Pearse phosphor bronze strings, and I did. For the first time, I tried a string that sounded almost exactly the same as my favorite D...

I heard a rumor that there is a formula (spreadsheet?) for "guesstimating" the amount of nut compensation (and I assume also to determine the final compensation at the saddle, after nut compensation.) I suppose a test-jig would get pretty close, but with formulas, you could *start* with the nut and ...

Have a great Christmas, my ANZLF friends!

Dennis

Cheap: Supposedly, the tang of a typical file is usable as a pin hole reamer. May need to sharpen the edges a bit... with another file.

Dennis

Kim, I thought of you when I heard this kid rip through this solo with passion. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_P-t0idgqI Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_P-t0idgqI Fifteen year old Tina S plays her rendition of David Gilmour's solo from Pink Floyd's " Comfortably Numb " Goosebumps? Dennis

Thanks for that anecdote Rob. :lmao Poor girl! OK, Jeff, thanks. The study (the link in the previous discussion) says vibration is not the variable in "opening up." Maybe it is time (aging, even short-term "aging"?)... or hardening of glue?... or hardening of finish (less damping?) Hard to believe ...

Thanks for that anecdote Rob. :lmao Poor girl! OK, Jeff, thanks. The study (the link in the previous discussion) says vibration is not the variable in "opening up." Maybe it is time (aging, even short-term "aging"?)... or hardening of glue?... or hardening of finish (less damping?) Hard to believe t...