Omega

A final buffing with some 0000 steel wool and a final coat of Tru-oil. Then rub it out with a terry cloth.

I put in the label that lists all the wonderful folks that are a part of this gift to Pav then put the strings back on....

I guess I missed blogging about doing the setup. A few days ago I strung it up and fit the nut and saddle to get the action right.

So here's a bunch of pics of the finished uke. I'll be delivering it to Stew tomorrow.

Strung out

Over the past few days the uke got a couple more coats of finish and buffed out... now its got a nice shine.

So I put strings on the uke last night. Played a few chords, made some noise, realized I don't know how to play the ukulele. Different fingerings than guitar and bass but i figured a few things out. I have some adjustments to do but we're getting close.

It's 95 degrees, do we need another coat?

So it was time for the assistants to come out and help. Both had not seen the uke in a while and were very excited to come out to the man cave and get to work.

Junia worked on the fretboard and front.


Ethan took care of the back.


After it dried for a couple of hours I gave it a rub down with steel wool then another coat.

Here's how it looked tonight before the next coat.


Nice and shiny.

That's not a violin in the case

Ok, it's October 28th and it was 95 degrees out today who needs a coat? I was able to stop at Big 5 today to pick up some Tru-Oil Gun Stock Finish. It's what I've used to finish guitars, there are a few things I like about it: it's easy to apply, just rub on a few coats with a soft cloth; it makes a good strong finish; and it can produce either a matte or glossy finish.... really the reason I like it is that it's easy.


Here's the front with the first coat.


Side and front.


The contrast of the koa and the ebony binding really comes out nice.

What's the deal?

Pav, you're probably wondering what the progress is..... I need to go to a gun shop...........

Don't fret

Now we clean up the frets.

first I used this file block to make the ends smooth with the side of the fretboard and put an angle on them to get rid of the sharp edges.


Now to make them all level. I used a blue marker to color the tops of the frets and put some self stick 320 sand paper on a level and sand lightly.


It leaves the blue at the low spots.


I sanded just till the blue disappeaed then tested it with a straight edge. Then small pieces of sandpaper with my fingers progressively from 220, 320 and up to 1000 to make them shiny and smooth. The tape is there to protect the wood.

Smack Down

Last night I finished sanding. I did the whole thing up to 1000 grit. Beyond 600 didn't seem to do much except make it shiny.

The next step is to either start the finish or put in the frets. Well, I don't have any of the finish so I started on the frets.

The first part is pretty simple, cut the fretwire to length then use a special took to cut off the tang so the wire can go right over the binding. Then carefully put it in place, tap in the ends then smack it down... ok, hammer it lightly into place.


Here they all are in place.


Here's the cool tang cutting tool and a sample of what it does. I didn't have this when I made the last guitar and went through the trouble of cutting the frets with side cutters then using a file to make it smooth. This is a whole lot easier.


I then used some flush cutters to trim the ends.