Deck, Sides in Mold, and Blocks

Still Wednesday, July 14th, 2010:

It's about 5:00 p.m. right now. The deck builders have gone home for the day (Day 3), so here are a couple more photos. Yesterday, they had set the lower deck lower than our original plans (luckily, they had not fastened it to the house yet) — we needed it about 2" higher, to enable us to re-route the water from a gutter down underneath and across the deck, and to enable a more comfortable height for the step from the upper deck to the lower deck.

  

 

 

Today, they raised the lower deck, poured a couple of new footings, and propped it all up with more pressure-treated 4" by 4" beams. Now it's all done, and, boy, is this going to be a SOLID, SOLID deck!!!! I am really impressed with how meticulous and thorough these two workers have been. I am so, so excited about this new deck!!!

  

INDEX:

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  13. Scatterbrained — Odds 'n' Ends
  14. Soundport and Closing Up the Box
  15. On to the Binding
  16. Beginning the Neck
  17. The Neck, Day 2
  18. The Neck, Day 3
  19. The Allen Wrench Dilemma and the Peghead
  20. Bridge Shaping and Neck Fitting
  21. The Deck is Finished! The Fingerboard is Glued!
  22. Neck Carved, Finish Sanding, Wash Coat, Pore-Filling, Sanding, Sealing, Tru-Oil
  23. Paraffin Oil Polishing and Finishing it All Up!
  24. Saddle Compensation Jig
  25. REALLY Finishing It Up Now!!!

 

 

 
         

Thursday, July 15th, 2010:

Well, I bent the other side this morning, took it out of the bender this afternoon, and trimmed them up to go into the mold. Here it is:

  

I also made the neck and tail blocks this morning. I'm going to use a bolt-on neck for this uke. This time, however, I will not be using a threaded insert; instead, I will be using a barrel nut, inserted vertically in the heel (thanks go to Pete Howlett for this idea!). This is what the connection will look like:

  

I drill a 3/4" hole first, using a Forstner bit, about halfway through the neck block. Then I drill a 9/32" hole through the middle of that, all the way through. The hole is slightly larger than the bolt, to allow a little room for adjustment.

         

 

Saturday, July 17th, 2010:

It's around 7:30 a.m. right now. Just a couple of photos of what the deck guys finished yesterday. I LOVE THIS DECK!! It's so solid and clean-looking! There is still a bunch to do, but the major portion is finally done. What's left to do are the skirtings covering the sides of the deck, the steps, the railings, and the arbor. I think they're coming again today, so I'll post more photos tomorrow.

Last night, my sister and I saw Ed Gerhard play at the new Freight and Salvage in Berkeley. This will be our third time seeing him, but our first time in this new venue. As usual, Ed was wonderful!!!

Now it's time for more building! My bloodwood binding and peghead wood (I'm using this to make the soundhole ring) finally arrived yesterday, so after I finish up attaching the neck and tail blocks to the sides, I will get started on that top!

   
         

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