Back in Bidness (Almost)
Back in Bidness (Almost) or Can I Build a Ukulele in a week | I have not posted in quite a while. In fact, I have not built anything in over 7 months! We have been working non-stop since January (we actually started work last summer) to get our house ready for sale. Looks like we just sold our house yesterday and so today and I am back building! How about a Baritone Uke to kick things off...
We are hoping to move soon and one of the big items on the list is finding a place where I can have a proper shop. Working on the carport is difficult in Memphis (to say the least) because the weather only permits narrow windows of time to work. In prep to show the house and move, I tore down me old workbench which has been with me for my first dozen instruments. Sad to see it go, but looking forward to something better ahead!
old_workbench_carport
My wife Jill's aunt Jill has wanted me to build a baritone uke for her for a while. Finally getting to it. The catch is: I want to get it made in about a week so I can drop it off as we pass through Oklahoma on the way to Colorado.
She picked out bearclaw spruce for the top and I was able to find a nice piece that would work well for the smaller body size of the uke. I have not worked with bearclaw before so I am interested to see how it looks in the end.
amon_uke_spruce_top
For the back and sides, good ole rosewood. Was able to find a set with nice striping:
amon_uke_back
Feels good to be bending some wood again and on a new simplified, lo-tech form.
amon_uke_sidebending2
Nothing like seeing the sides in the form. I tried a new technique (heat the wood to soft point, bend, bake on low heat for 15 mintues, let cool in form) on this one and the sides came out near perfect.
amon_uke_sidebending
The work mold is a new adjustable design that allows me to make all the different uke sizes with just this one mold. Thinking about making one for guitars as well. So far it is working nicely.
One last pic of all the wood laid out. I have already started working on the neck. It will be spanish cedar laminated with a rock maple core for stability.
amon_uke_woodstash
Now we'll see if I can build a baritone uke in a week...