Australian/New Zealand Luthiers Forum

Big changes - always fun - best of luck with your new venture. I would be interested in hearing more about the creative hub in Bremen - sounds like a great idea.

Thanks Allen - much appreciated

I've built several Guitalele's on both the tenor and baritone body size. The more traditional one is on the tenor but I think the baritone size with a 21.5" scale suits the tuning of A-a better. All my necks get a CF truss rod no matter the size of the instrument. I use Requinto strings or alternat...

I am looking at building a small six string ukulele / guitar for personal use. I have a fused spine and find the ukulele form more comfortable than my old full size Yamaha steel string and, after building a couple of ukuleles that I have been happy with, am interested in further challenges. I have b...

I never leave a "layer" of epoxy. But it's a fine line of sanding so you are just leaving it in the pores or cutting timber off and exposing more pores. It's fascinating to see the differences in approaches - Gore and Gillet talk about trying to not only fill the grain but to leave a very thin cont...

Thanks!

Hi Allen - sorry to revive an old thread - I note you comment that you sand back with 220 grit after the initial application - can you advise what you do after further applications, and between the final application and moving on to applying a finish? I am just about to attempt pore sealing on a lac...

Thanks - its always valuable for a beginner like me to see what can help in taking results to a higher level.

Thanks again - I need to read my instructions more closely - Graham McDonald, whose book I have been referring to, agrees that a 2mm final thickness for the baritone top is desireble. I had been working to the tenor specifications, which described a 1.75 mm soundboard.

Thanks - the top is fairly light (1.75 mm) and the Sitka is fairly coarse and not particularly stiff. I will try to keep an eye on this. I suspect the coarseness and perhaps heavy handed sanding may have contributed to patches of ridging- thanks again

A lovely looking job - nicely restrained - I agree that the satin finish is a very pleasant point of departure from the usual! As a complete beginner, I appreciate the effort that people put into sharing their work - really gives someone something to look toward.

Hi - just sharing my fourth ukulele - a blackwood baritone with a sitka spruce top and jarah fretboard and bindings. After initial problems with the side bending, things have progressed fairly well. I have some issues with the top, where I have two problems: 1. There appears to be some subsidence be...

Very nicely balanced guitar.

Thanks - quite special being able to watch and listen to this

Coming along nicely now, I think.

I think your right there Mark - there was a bit of mixed grain toward the edge of both the sides

Well done, glad you were able to save it. Other may do it differently, but I don't bend that hot. I use a chinese bender from ebay that is in fahrenheit and I set it at 200f which is 93c. Even in the bending machine I normally only get to 300f/148c. I am not shy with water when bending by hand. Wat...

Looking a bit more promising. Slightly lower temperature, more spray water, move more quickly. I’ll let it thoroughly cool / dry and make sure surfaces are good

I think I can salvage the side at the expense of 5mm in depth to the baritone ukulele that it is intended for - the hole is toward one edge, with the sides being a lot deeper than needed at this stage. I have completely removed the hole and the wood is only 5 mm shallower than the plan specifies, so...

How thick were your sides? What temperature was your iron? I haven't seen bw crack like that before... Is the side to shape except for the break? If it is then you could possible salvage it. If you still have bending to do in that area, I wouldn't hold out much hope. Sides are 1.6 - 1.7 mm. Iron wa...

I am a very inexperienced maker, and this is my second time bending wood for a ukulele. First time was Australian maple and I got an outcome I was very happy with. Second attempt was with Tasmanian Blackwood. The photos show the results- from the inside and outside. The wood seemed to become very st...

Some lovely work, particularly the tail inlay. Something to aim for!

Very nice - love the rosette

That looks great. I started on kits too. If you are on your own i think its a good way to begin. Building from scratch isn't that much more difficult but you generally end up buying a lot more tools. Gives you much more freedom to experiment and opportunities for your personal creativity..imho. The...

My second uke - a 14 Fret Fan Tenor ukulele based on Hana Lima'ia plans. King Billy soundboard, Tiger Myrtle back and sides and bindings, minneritchi (acacia) fretboard, Queensland maple neck. Tru Oil finish. Keeping on learning. I mucked up one fretboard (chipped while resizing marker holes) and on...