Australian/New Zealand Luthiers Forum

Could these spots be small fungus areas as in Tiger Myrtle?
Tiger Myrtle as opposed to Red Myrtle is, as I believe, is an older Red Myrtle tree with fungus, this could have been on the verge before being felled and milled.

Cheers,

Alan

I met Tom last year ago and he is an absolute gentleman........retired English engineer and in the last 25 years has produced 100 violins, 15 violas and 15 cellos.

He has a big problem....he can't stop making them.

Cheers,

Alan

I though I would post these photos of the tenor ukulele I have recently finished. Sometime ago there was a discussion on the forum on the workability of Native Olive. The last thread mentioned it was very oily and needed cleaning before gluing, etc. During this build I found it no more difficult to ...

Best Bearclaw I've seen to date, my small Bearclaw stash doesn't cut the mustard compared to that one.

I have found with my 16-32" drum sander if you're getting those black burnt strips on the drum that make bad marks on the wood then you are using too fine a grit. As soon as the sander makes a "bumping" noise louder than usual, stop and change down a grit, especially with hardwood. With softwood top...

Thanks for the compliment Wayne. Hi Miguel, not too sure of how many ukes to the metre, I have one piece left and looks too nice to put into an instrument. Sorry, can't give you a soundclip as it now lives with it's new owner. The piece my two tops were cut from was about 2m long and the bloke put a...

A recently completed and commissioned tenor ukulele. Tiger Myrtle back and sides King Billy Pine soundboard (one piece top from a 100 year old painters scaffold plank) Ringed Gidgee headplate, fretboard and bridge Blackwood neck Headplate and fretboard MOP inlays by John Duff of Labels Extreme. The ...

To gpj1136,

I don't use any water at all with the micromesh, I think the water and shellac would not go too well together.

How many french polished tables have you seen with glass rings on them, or beer can marks, must the company I keep.

Cheers
Alan

Thanks all for the input.

I sanded back with 180 grit and then scraped, especially the smudgy spots, after which I flood coated with shellac 3 coats, a couple hand rubbed and finished with micro mesh pads to 12000. Finally a coat of orange oil.

Photographs attached on the final finish.

Yep, missed the "spruce" bit

Markus has got the correct address, http://adirondackspruce.com/

Sorry folks

Alan

Hi all, Not too sure of the numbers of Australian luthiers who have used this supplier: Old Standard Wood or http://www.adirondack.com They supply Adi Spruce to a lot of major US of A guitar makers. I used a soundboard of Adi Spruce on a ukulele which resulted in a nice tone and finish. I was after ...

Looks like I have cracked it today, I sanded back with 180 grit, then used a scraper over that and that got rid of the smears/smudges of whatever is was. I then used 0000 steel wool blown off with air, a couple of wipes with shellite and then a heavier or "flood" coat of shellac. I have put on 3 coa...

Not sure of the type of timber in church pews...oak?

Plenty going here:

https://www.facebook.com/CascadePrintRoomandArtGallery

Cheers

Alan

Hi Martin, I do own one of those meshy non slip mats and use it frequently but this is the first time I've had finishing problem, first time using Macassar Ebony too. Maybe time to look for an alternative. I will tackle it today and post a reply when I have a result. This uke might end up as my non ...

Thanks for the input Martin,

I will tackle it tomorrow and see what goes. Other forums suggest it could be oil so I'll try the shellite approach.

Cheers

Alan

Hi Martin,

Initially applying shellac with a super fine nylon artists brush then sanding back.

After 4 or 5 coats I do a few thin coats with a cloth pad

Alan

Anyone had troubles getting a finish on Macassar Ebony? I am at the stage of applying finish to a ukulele that has Macassar Ebony back and sides. The sides are pretty good but the back, after several coats of shellac, appear to have "flat" areas, like a satin finish while the rest of that area is ve...

Busy planning a new 9m x 4m workshop. Lost my old 40ft tin shed due to our latest subdivision. Good riddance as I have grown to hate how dirty they are. The new one will be insulated , timber framed and fitted with an old split system and clad in colourbond and rough sawn cedar. Can't wait to start ...

Hi Andrew, Before I started building ukuleles, now up to No. 9, I used a friend's thicknesser as a test on hardwood and softwood. The hardwood, which was a very small piece of Antarctic Beech, was very effectively chipped. The softwood, Sitka bracewood, was finished nicely. I now own a 16-32 drum sa...

Just finished number 6 Tenor ukulele. Back and sides - Ziricote Top - Adi spruce Neck - American Walnut Headplate, fretboard & bridge - Ringed Gidgee Tuners - Gitoh SG381 brushed black chrome Strings - Living Waters Finish - 6 coats white shellac, micromeshed to 12000 and 3 coats of orange oil. Pret...

I used distilled water from Supercheap.

After bending the sides I immediately put them into moulds and left them there until needed

Alan

Hi all, Thought I would post my latest build, a concert ukulele. I attended a Tim S. builders course in January this year and this is No. 5 and halfway through No.6 and just started No.7. I reckon this gets to be an obsession, a bit like the WAS problem. Back and sides - Tasmanian Tiger Myrtle Top -...

I like the "local pick up", wondering if it comes with an operator?

Alan

G'day, Just put down another home brew and the temperature has started dropping which is not a good thing. The home brew forums talk about heat belts, control units and all sorts of wonderful things to keep the brew fermenting. After thinking about it, I had a "der" moment and fitted my side bender ...

If you pull off the front vertical plate under the speed control knob (the plate facing you) there is a drive coupling there that has 2 grub screws that attach the drive motor shaft and the belt drive together. They may have come loose. When I bought my 16-32 I couldn't get the belt tracking correct...