I think we did just about everything today. We bent two sets of ribs, braced a soundboard, installed two pickups, slotted some fretboards, installed some frets, glued a fretboard, shaped two necks, glued a neck and worked on two semi-hollows. Not bad. And luckily it wasn’t that hot in the shop. Here’s some pix.
Chopsticks
Acoustic/electric Keystone tenor with experimental ‘chopsticks’ bracing that crosses in the soundhole.
Chopsticks got her fretboard today. She’ll be in final sanding this upcoming week and should be in finishing by mid-week. Very anxious to hear this experiment in bracing.
Savannah
Semi-hollow flattop electric tenor in Zebrawood and Padauk. Both of these woods are extremely hard and this box rings very loudly when you tap it.
Lots of progress on Savannah. We installed her pickup, closed up her box and did the final pre-attachment shaping on her neck.
She has the same ‘italic’ shape as the famous “F1” ukulele only her colors are reversed. Savannah is light on the back and red on the front.
Savannah’s asymmetric shape functions like a cutout… without the cutout.
Barely 2″ deep and nothing but smooth curves on the back. No sharp corners to dig into you. Savannah is going to be a dream to hold!
Good view of Savannah’s grain running over the edge. This is the unique nature of our semi-hollow bodies. It’s also what makes them so difficult to make. This Zebrawood is very hard and sounds like a ceramic bowl when you tap it.
Decadent
Semi-hollow flattop super soprano in Zerbrawood and Padauk. Very similar to Renata but in the same woods as Savannah. This is the electric version of Renata.
Decadent has a hard Maple neck. With Zebrawood, Padauk and Maple, this ukulele is no lightweight. She feels very solid in your hands and very compact.
Decadent’s neck is inset into her body 5mm so this joint is very strong and stable.
No sharp corners at all. Next we’ll round the edges even more and really give her some curves.
And that’s why we call it a “FatBottom” It’s like a butt-print in the sand.
A very productive day. We’re also putting the finishing touches on ukulele “Traveler”. It’s going to be a busy weekend so we won’t be in the shop, but we’ll be back at it on Monday.
Smile when you play that!™