Australian/New Zealand Luthiers Forum

Hi all I have a ukulele with a crack in soundboard see ukulele - Crack in Sound Board and help required . I am wanting to stablise the crack. 1. Glue: Thin super glue. Not fussed if it affects the varnished finish. What type do you recomend? 2. Bracing: Locally in Auckland i can only find cheep thin...

Hi I have an old ukulele that has a crack that is not fixable see help required . It is not worth fixing I may brace it underneath and probably will paint a funky design on it. So before I do anything I want to know the easiest way to remove the varnish, or dominant have to do it by hand. I also hav...

Admins why did my images vanish from this post now ?

Well this is great I was needing something I could make a custom pick guard from. Was thinking of using an old thin ohp (overhead projector) sheet. The tablet protector will work a treat for my purpose see my post pick guard glue . Thanks for sharing the idea. Note: With the tablet protectors (ipad,...

Out of all people that viewed this no replies. Mmmmm mm did i ask tne wrong question or in the wrong place?

The uke still seems to play ok. Well, if it is not worth fixing up properly, just keep playing the thing - until it doesn't work any more. Quite right though I have already brought a Johnson JK-20 baritone one at christmass time which was in a resonance playing shape for a $100 uke (reduced for sal...

Thanks for all your decent replies. I thought it would cost way more than its worth to fix. The back, sides, neck, frets tuners etc are all still in fairly good nick. Although I have time I don't have tools or a garage etc to do any work on this. Would you guys recomend any use for the parts or even...

Thanks to all who have viewed this so far. Appricate any help you can offer. Not asking for a total free be or anything G I will pay what I can.

Hi I have a slightly thick sheet of clear aceate think old ohp sheet. I want to make a pick guard out of it what glue would you recomend. I want to be able to see the finish. Ukulele specks are paint with several layers od diy wipe on poli (varnish,linseed oil terps mix) I found from this site. To a...

Hi all a while ago I posted about my Baritone ukelele here http://www.anzlf.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=6054#p69117 It has a crack in the soundboard. Currently the crack has gone right to the edge of the sound board cracked the binding and into the side. https://ibin.co/2iY1xLxMhSHz.jpg https://ibin.co/...

Ok I have been looking for info about how to clean a guitar. I did not find much on this, which seems strange. So after the instrument is built how do you clean it. For old guitars any things to note. Also if anyone could provide a link to any content already here it would help me and others thanks....

If it's affecting the fretboard then it's definitely not good. What's in the stuff? I suspect it's mainly mineral oil like alot of fretboard products. It says on tne container "contains white mineral oil" http://www.ghsstrings.com/products/11464-fast-fret?category_id=1964826-lubricants-cleaners htt...

I have been using fast fret string cleaner for some time as it keeps the strings clean, and playing at their best. Imusuallynapplynit once a week to my guitars. Recently I heard that although fast fret is great for strings over time the residue on the fretboard starts to soften the wood which means ...

Carbatec normally stock it. I got mine here but they wont post out the accelerator because it's in an aerosol. They also have the spare tips and micropipettes. http://www.thewoodsmith.com.au/thewoodsmith/hotstuff01.htm Also stocked in carbatec nz, they are on Harris road east tamaki. They have a go...

What does one wick in glue? Use a low viscosity CA glue (eg Hot Stuff in the red bottle). HS-4.jpg The tip that comes with the bottle is thin enough to use as is but you can also buy micropipettes that plug onto the normal bottle nozzle. Gently squeeze the bottle so the glue fills the nozzle and th...

CA is cyanoacrylate or superglue It is the best in this situation since you can install a strip of veneer(may need to be cut curved) protruding slightly above the surface and then wick in the CA from both sides. after trimming down and sanding flush you can also wipe on the CA to give a fairly hard...

Thanks for the excellent advice so far. So from what you have said I have some more questions. 1. Find some 0.5mm or 0.6mm vaneer or binding. I would prefer dark to black colored wood to hide the frets from a distance. 1a. Can I pick this up in Bunnings here in Aucklan, Or is there a better place? 1...

jeffhigh wrote:0.6mm veneer works well. set it in place and then flood with thin CA.
Putty or filler will be weak and may leave the neck a bit floppy as well as tending to wear.
CA also works well as a finish for the board.

Ok what is CA?

Mickey, a tip i got from Irving Sloane's book is to buy some old nail pullers/pincers at a garage sale or op shop and then grind the top level to form a flat top and get a single bevel where the jaws meet. This helps get the jaws under the edge of the frets and minimises chipping of the fret board....

Hi all I have a karina 4 string J/P p assume bass https://drive.google.com/thumbnail?id=0B0UnwZ7o3QLGR1NvVThpV0Z3TzA&authuser=0&v=1416234003613&sz=w251-h188-p-k-nu https://drive.google.com/thumbnail?id=0B0UnwZ7o3QLGUGxWek5WbjA3Sk0&authuser=0&v=1416230063000&sz=w251-h188-p-k-nu https://drive.google.c...

Hi Mickey Here's my opinion fwiw Cheaper and easier....?? 1. No 2. No 3. No 4. Maybe, but might be more trouble than it's worth 5. Yes. You can get a reasonably good 2h guitar for a few hundred bucks. 6. Maybe. Depends on what your budget is Don't forget you will need an amp, leads and prob a few e...

Hi sometime in the future I would like to get an electric guitar. Doing some research as to my options. Is it really cheaper, easier, and worth fhe time to build your own electric guitar/bass. 1. From scratch (not really an option for me atm) 2. Premade body, neck and parts (brought seperatly) 3. A ...

First thing I'd clarify is that you only mean the fretboard? Your title says fretboard, but your post says neck. yep a typo I am talking about fretboard/fingerboard. 8 As above. Not olive oil. Not Danish. Products like the one Martin mentions are often mineral oil or synthetic based, which I'm usua...

Oops double post.

Different timbers I use different products. I tend to stay away from oil on a fingerboard, my favorite product is an Australian Wax. (some waxes are good, others will make a big sticky mess) Some timbers are best not waxed and I'll buff them with a furniture polish. So what is this wax product you ...