Monthly Archive for: ‘August, 2010’

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  • on August 29, 2010 -

This Painted Lady is getting WILD!

Our Painted Lady ukuleles use an unusual layered paint scheme in which we build up very thin coats of different colors that we will eventually sand through to reveal the layers hidden beneath. This process creates a sort of distressed look that gets better with age. We are nearing completion and the layers are going [...]

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  • on August 26, 2010 -

Hey, it’s me!

So here I am ready to do battle! I’ve got my new high-zoot mask which is supposed to stop even paint fumes. Of course I don’t have to worry about paint fumes because I use milk paint but this stops all the dust. I put it on before I enter the shop and I don’t [...]

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  • on August 24, 2010 -

Break out the milk paint!

Well the sanding is finally done and it’s time to start finishing #005. We’re planning to do a checkerboard pattern on the ribs or sides but the first coat is going to be a deep, rich red. The red we are using is “Salem Red” from our friends at the Old Fashioned Milk Paint Company. [...]

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  • on August 22, 2010 -

iu#005 is ready for finishing

Spent all afternoon today sanding #005. This ukulele is simply beautiful. I may be biased but that doesn’t make it an less true. This one is a beauty. I’m so optimistic about this uke because the soundboard and box just sing. Is it the bracing? The redwood soundboard? It’s everything…including our passion to build them. [...]

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  • on August 15, 2010 -

An unforeseen complication…

So I’ve had a wicked cold for two and a half weeks…or so I thought. Two and a half weeks ago I also started working with my new plank of mahogany. My cold seemed to manifest itself sort of strangely, coming and going, some days almost gone and some days crazy severe. Then a pattern [...]

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  • on August 8, 2010 -

“X” marks the spot

This strange creature is not a flying spider, it’s actually another of our bracing experiments. This “X” brace supports the lower third of the soundboard and actually attaches directly to the bridge plate. It crosses as it passes under the center transverse brace and then attaches on either side of the soundhole. This unique brace [...]

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  • on August 5, 2010 -

Bracing for the future

We’re experimenting heavily in bracing our new ukes. We’re trying thinner, lighter braces in more rigid wood and trimming and relieving them as much as possible. Instead of 1/4 inch thick braces in poplar we are trying 1/8 inch in mahogany. This has reduced the overall weight of the bracing a bit and the change [...]

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  • on August 4, 2010 -

A wild hair

I’ve always liked the phrase “got a wild hair”. To act on impulse or a wild idea. It perfectly describes what happened when I saw this piece of mahogany. I thought, “I know, I’ll carve an archtop.” At that moment I had no idea what that would entail but that is the essence of a [...]

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