Neck and Tail Blocks, Continued

 

Tuesday, June 26th, 2012, 10 a.m. :

Here is what I plan to do next (this is my third version):

  1. Trim tail ends of sides.
  2. Glue on tailblock.
  3. Trim peghead ends of harpbox sides.
  4. Lay out top against plans, and adjust harpbox peghead to harmonize with the neck peghead shape (maybe redesign this) and placement.
  5. Make harpbox peghead block (BUT DON’T GLUE TO SIDES YET).
  6. Make the harp box peghead (mahogany) and glue/screw to the end block.
  7. Glue the harp box end block (with attached peghead) to the sides.
  8. Glue on the kerfing strips on the top edge.
  9. Sand the top radius onto the top kerfing at lower bout of top. Sand all the rest flat.
  10. Mark the back profile on the sides, tail to neck block, using radius dish.
  11. Mark the taper from the neck end of harpbox to harpbox peghead end.
  12. Plane the sides taper (on the back side).
  13. Glue on the back kerfing.
  14. Glue in the side reinforcements.
  15. Glue veneers to soundport location.
  16. Cut out soundport and round edges.
  17. Put sideset into mold. Fit the top --- notch the top kerfing for the top braces.
  18. Final sand the top inside and sign it.
  19. Glue on the top.
  20. With sideset still in mold, sand the radius into the back kerfing, tail to neck block (not harp box).
  21. Sand the back inside.
  22. Make label for back and glue it on.
  23. Fit back, cut notches into back kerfing for braces, and glue on the back.

At that point, I will have a soundbox!!!! Then I can move on to the binding and the neck. . . .

 

 

 

UPPER RIGHT PHOTO: I have clamped up the treble side, top side down, in order to mark where to trim the tail end of the side.

LOWER RIGHT PHOTO: After clamping both sides in the mold, marking the tail ends, and using the clamping jig I had made yesterday to cut the ends, here is the result. The two ends meet perfectly at the tail end of the uke, and the sides are nice and tight against the walls of the mold!

 

  

 

 

  

INDEX:

Return to HOME PAGE

  2. Working on the Top and Back
  3. Finishing the Rosette, Harpbox Peghead Veneer
  4. Bracing
  5. Carving the Braces
  6. Bending the Sides
  7. Neck and Tail Blocks
  8. Pegheads & Top Kerfing
  9. Profiling the Sides for the Back
  10. Soundport and Side Reinforcements
  11. Gluing on the Top
  12. Gluing on the Back
  13. Trimming Overhang & Harpbox Peghead
  14. Routing for Binding
  15. End Wedge & Binding
  16. Scraping the Binding, Binding the Harpbox Peghead
  17. The Box is Done --- On to the Neck!!!
  18. Working on the Neck & Fingerboard
  19. The Neck is Finished!!! Now to the Bridge!!!
  20. Peghead Inlay, Final Sanding & Pore-Filling
  21. Shellac Seal Coats and Finishing!!!
  22. Finishing the Finish!!!
  23. The Final Steps
  24. It is Finished!!!

 

 

Next, I marked the centerline on the tail block gluing side, spread glue on that half of the block, and positioned the side's trimmed end right up against that centerline. I held it a little while as the glue set, and then clamped it in the jig.

  

Then I spread glue on the other half of the tail block, butted the two sides together, and clamped the other side down. I have wrapped the clamping blocks with waxed paper to make sure the blocks don't get stuck to the sides, should any glue seep out.

  
       

Last photos for today . . . After I made the end block for the harp box, I clamped up the side set into the mold again, so I could mark the ends of the harp box sides.

  

Then I trimmed the ends, again using the clamping jig.

  
       

Here is the end block --- a perfect fit! (You can see from this photo how much shallower the peghead end of the harp box is than the tail end of the uke. I will have to taper the sides down from the 73mm at the tail end, down to the 53mm at the neck block, and finally down to the 30mm at the harpbox end. The final measurements, after the top and back are glued on, will be 77mm to 57mm to 34mm.)

 

  

Finally, here are some makeshift spreaders to hold the sides against the mold --- just a block of wood, a piece of shim stock, and some spreaders from some previous instrument.