Thin hardwood stock

[cathouse willy]

A bit of progress on my second attempt.



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[Gary Davis]

Looks like you're getting the hang of it. Beautiful

[cathouse willy]

A bout of the flu/bronchitis has kept me out of the shop fora couple of weeks so progress has slowed. I'm just getting back at it and I've got a few coats of shellac on,Things are looking better.





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[Gary Davis]

Your finish is looking very nice. Glad you are feeling better.

No update for me. I've been dealing with other projects/issues lately.

[cathouse willy]

A bit further along.


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[Gary Davis]

That's very pretty. Our daughter is getting married in July in our garden so all my fun projects have been put on hold. Next step in my mandolin build is bending the sides which is a very daunting feeling.

[cathouse willy]

Thanks Gary, side bending keeps me awake at night but I've gotten a bit more comfy with it through bending practice pieces...lots of them. I use a home made bender involving a disposable propane cylinder and a 150w light bulb, it works well enough.I found an internet recipe for a wood softener that helps with the gnarly pieces.

4 parts distilled water
2 parts glycerin
1 part denatured alcohol.
apply generously and let sit, then wrap with paper towels and weigh down to keep the pieces flat until dry.It's safe with a shellac finish

[Gary Davis]

Thanks for that cat. I'm working with figured cherry. Really concerned about scorching and burning. Luckily I do have a few bits with which to practice. But first things first . . .

[Jay Greer]

I use a sled and two sided tape for surfacing thin stock in my surface planer for working on boat models, ukulele's and other instruments. I find that if I want wood thinner than 3mm, the wood can explode if stock is not carefully chosen! Some Tuesday next week, I hope to get a thickness surfacing sander that will allow thinner stock to be run. Your work is very nice Willy!
Jay

[cathouse willy]

Thanks Jay I've lost some nicely figured side pieces trying to surface plane them thin enough. I made a drum sander attachment for my wood lathe and while it did the job it was a painful process, bending over and pushing the stock through, I replaced it with a proper drum sander. Getting highly figured stock down to 2mm for sides and 1.8 mm for tops is much easier now.This is the sander I ended up with, there is just enough room in my small overcrowded shop.

Shopfox 12 in drumsander.

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[Jay Greer]

Who makes that sander Willy? Oops, I saw it in your post. "Shop Fox".
Jay

[cathouse willy]

While "just browsing" I found this on the local hardwood/lutheir supply web site.It's in my cart and I'm sooo close to clicking.Its only $70 and it's beautiful.


Quilted maple

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[Gary Davis]

That is a beautiful set. Good luck with your next project.

[cathouse willy]

Thanks Gary,any progress on the mandolin?

[Gary Davis]

No progress. Daughter getting married in three weeks. Two properties to get ready for the event. Not sure I will survive. If I do, work on the mandolin and Wee Lassie II will have to wait until fall to allow me some time on the Salish after the wedding.

Am very interested in seeing how you transform that beautiful wood into a beautiful instrument. And we want to know about all of the mistakes that you mange to cover up.

Good luck.

[cathouse willy]

Some photos of the first two tries.

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[Gary Davis]

They're beautiful. What did you use for rosettes?

[cathouse willy]

Thanks Gary,the rosettes are cut from thin black walnut using a LV circle cutter and a dremel.

[cathouse willy]

I'm going to use cedar for the sound board on number three. "just browsing" again I found a pair of cedar top sets. They're quite striking and are really close grained.I think they will contrast well with the maple back and sides.Reading about sound board woods suggests cedar makes a good top with a softer sound than spruce or hardwood.

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[Gary Davis]

Just back in town from some boat time in the San Juans. The ukulele I built for my granddaughter had a AYC top. I don't play but those that have played it say it sounds wonderful. FYI

[cathouse willy]

Thanks Gary. The top sides and back are all sanded/planed to thickness. The twisted grain maple back and sides had to be worried down on the drum sander at tiny bits per many many passes while the straight grained cedar went thru the planer down to 2mm without any tear out. I'm trying to improve my side bending skills so I'm working on an idea for a heated form for bending them. I'm looking forward to seeing your mandolin build.

[Gary Davis]

I'd be curious to see your thoughts on bending. The mandolin sides will be figured cherry and it burns so awfully quick.

Daughter's wedding is done so I'm slowly getting back on the canoe and mandolin.

Thanks - Gary

[cathouse willy]

I'd be curious to see your thoughts on bending. The mandolin sides will be figured cherry and it burns so awfully quick.



Thanks - Gary

My first thoughts on side bending are usually "Hoo boy how am I going to do this" I've done more reading than actual bending but some suggestions have included sandwiching the side between two metal straps and spritzing the stock with water just before starting.
Here's a link to a stew mac tutorial on the subject. There's a few good ideas here.

https://www.stewmac.com/How-To/Onlin...ding_Iron.html

I've also got some home made veneer softener that I'm going to try.Good luck

[cathouse willy]

A different approach to bending the sides. I have some very pretty quilted maple for the sides of uke # three.It's highly figured and will be harder to bend so I'm hoping this setup will be better than the "hot pipe" I used for the first two.A mold with a 400w heating blanket. I'm using a simple light dimmer switch to regulate the heater,I've bent a couple of scraps for practice and it works well.


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[cathouse willy]

A bit of progress on number three. The sides are bent and have the end blocks and linings glued up.It's sitting on the stock for the cedar top and I'm pleased with the colours and figure.



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[Gary Davis]

Beautiful wood. No progress on the mandolin.

[cathouse willy]

Some more pictures of the build, some of the more mundane steps.

The top with a seal coat of shellac.The top is rough cut and will be trimmed to shape after it's glued on,just before the binding ledge is routed.


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the top bracing glued up with the back bracing glue up in progress.


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[Jay Greer]

You do some very nice work my friend! That quilted maple you used is stunning to say the least!

Here is the back of a Martin Tenor Uke I am saving. The owner was teaching school in Columbia SA, an earthquake hit and a book case collapsed on it and the case it was in. We managed to glue the pieces back in place which, I hope will not involve dampening the tone. Next comes a cosmetic air brush job to hide the damage when I can get a day off to do it! Dark joinery glue is pre-stained to match the finish when done.
Jay

[cathouse willy]

Thanks Jay. It's a fascinating hobby for me and since my back won't let me handle large heavy material and my shop is small and crowded it suits me well. You did a nice job of refitting those broken pieces,post a picture when you get it finished.

This is a good spot for wood and luthier supplies
https://www.woodtoworks.com
Bill

[Jay Greer]

Willy, you and are rowing the same boat with back pain! I am held together with scotch tape and old clarinet reeds!
Jay

[cathouse willy]

So I was futzing around in the shop today trying to find something to do that didn't involve any work and took these pics.

These are the choices for the fingerboard and the bridge
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This is the combination I decided on

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[Gary Davis]

Looking good Mr. Willy

[cathouse willy]

I'm trying out a new binding material on this ukulele. The trade name is "rocklite". It's a composite but it looks,feels and works like the real stuff.


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[Jay Greer]

Nice material that binding Willy!
Jay

[cathouse willy]

I went window shopping on the hardwood site I buy from and found this. They're calling it peruvian walnut,anyway I couldn't resist.This set will hopefully become part of an accoustic guitar

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