Australian/New Zealand Luthiers Forum

Thanks for the advice Martin, Allen, Eric and 'hard road'. It is reassuring to know how to mask effectively against heat. I will plane down the bridge, mask around it and apply heat. Luckily as the back section is broken I can gently pry away from there without worrying about damage as it will be un...

Hi, The tie-on part of my bridge cracked off from the front section. It cracked in the channel between the ramp and the block the strings tie-on to. On closer inspection, I didn't mask enough area for spraying and the failed section was glued onto the lacquer - bugger. I want to remove the remaining...

Thanks guys - I could use all those ideas and will get some white pencils. Pretty obvious idea now I have heard it!!

Part of the problem was the advent of needing reading glasses, made worse with a not-so-bright shed.

Thanks again

Andrew

Hi, I have been working on a uke with Walnut as the neck and Zircote for the body, but it was really hard to see pencil marks. This was a problem when cutting and filing, as I struggled to see the lines to guide my work. Made things a lot harder as it made me leave more margin in sawing, which let m...

Hey Frank, your posts are so well thought out and clear, thanks for your thoughts, it all makes good sense. The photos show my version of a Jim Williams jig. I made a board for the trimmer to sit in to clamp to the vice. I then used the edge attachment of the trimmer as a back plate and screwed the ...

Thanks Martin. I checked out the Jim Williams binding jig and can make something like that for my trimmer. I like one idea I found of fixing the trimmer upside down in the vice which allows your focus to be on keeping the side firmly against the jig.

Thanks
Andrew

Thanks Wayne. A picture is worth a thousand words. I get the idea now that it is the cutter/router that needs to be held vertical. I should be able to sort something out.
Thanks
Andrew

Thanks for the detailed reply and photos Frank. It is reassuring to hear what other people have done and faced the same problems - and overcome them! I am presently ready to trim down the tapered sides and glue on the plates, which left me with two queries: 1) Kerfing: due to the side-to-side arched...

Thanks for the tips Miguel and the advice Martin. And thanks col, I'll check the bolts out

Thanks John. I think your advice settles the issue. At my practice level, or lack of, I prefer to have all bindings completed before attaching the neck. So mortise and tenon it is. I checked on the internet and saw two types of bolts setups. One was with a timber screw end to screw into the neck fac...

Thanks for the reply Martin. My main concern is hand finishing the rebate for binding. So with a mortise and tenon joint, do you attach the neck with the back off? Or can you do it when both soundboard and back are glued on? The important point here being that if you have to bolt the neck on with th...

Thanks for the response John. I'm re-thinking the Spanish heel.
Thanks for your reply Allen. Other than a preferred choice - is there an advantage to the Spanish heel as you see it??

Andrew

Hi, I have previously made two soprano ukes with dowelling to join the neck to the body. I am now building a tenor uke. I thought I would try the Spanish guitar method to join the neck for practice in case I make a guitar one day. Although the plans I purchased for this build use a mortise and tenon...

Hi Rob, I decided to get a Chinese motor from Conon Motors. It was listed on eBay but found they were located in Glen Waverley (Melbourne) - only 20 mins from me. So I went down and got a 2Hp motor for $140 (a 1.5HP motor was less $$). Hopefully it doesn't give me any trouble. I had trouble matching...

Post script.
Thanks to Wayne for the link to the plans for a drum sander, and thanks to Fred for his photos of his model.
I got the courage to build one and here it is. It now has a dust cover and the hook-and-loop sandpaper on it. It worked well thinning my boards from 5mm downwards.

Andrew

Thanks Miguel for your explanation and encouragement - it helps.
Thanks John for the photos. I agree the side taper looks more elegant.

I can see from the replies that a side taper is a choice rather than a standard, whereas a back arch is probably standard.

Thanks guys

Andrew

Thanks guys. :cl The consensus is clear that the heel-to-neck arch won't be an issue for the back plate to conform to. Thanks Nick for the detailed reply - it was very reassuring that there won't be a problem. A follow-up query: I understand the side-to-side back arch helps the wood adjust to humidi...

Hi, I brought tenor uke plans from Georgia Luthier Supply and their construction manual - I've only previously made two non-arched soprano ukes. The plans use arched back braces to form the arch of the back plate. They also have a template to use so that the sides taper from the heel block to the ne...

Thanks Rob, looks like a good lead. Will check it out further.

Also, big thanks to Frank who laboured y'day to thin my boards down. It was good to meet you, see your guitars. I'll get gluing!

Thanks Chris, for the detailed hand planing tips. I think I will get some practice in. Thanks printer2 (sorry don't know your first name) for the photos and detail for the build. Think it is the way to go as a home made drum sander can be used for so many other projects I am sure. Anyone know the be...

Thanks Col. Good to know it isn't as hard as I thought provided you have the right equipment.

That's great Frank. thanks Heaps.

I just joined this forum and am grateful for all your responses - really generous of you all. Many of you have confirmed that a thicknesser is definitely the wrong approach and will create expensive wood chips as Bob/Alan/Steve suggested, but Paul, I don't have a lovely female student to console me!...

Hi, Got a query on thinning back/sides and top boards with a thicknesser. I have made two soprano ukes, but the first set I got given boards - all good. With my second set I purchased them, not realising they are supplied over-thickness. Hence my sides cracked on bending, but managed to patch things...