Blocks!!!

Thursday, June 9th, 2011:

Today I worked on blocks — the harp box neck block, the tail block, and the neck block. A lot of my time today was spent just thinking and figuring and measuring.

First, I made the tailblock out of birch plywood, and glued it to the tail end of the sides (after I had trimmed the ends):

 

 

 

 

Next, I figured out the dimensions and angles of the block that joins the sides at the small end of the harp box. (I am not gluing this block in yet.)

 

 

  

 

 

 

  
         

Finally, I worked on the neck block. This one is a little bit more complicated than the other blocks, as it has a slot for the short side of the harp box. Figuring out the exact angle of that slot took a little bit of time. I made the slot using my bandsaw and a miter gauge. I made it a tad too wide, so I will just put a veneer shim in there to hold the side tight.

The photo below shows how it will be placed — it's not quite in its proper position yet, because I still need to trim the end of the upper bout to meet the harp box side.

 

 

Well, it's that time again . . . In every build, I inevitably start to feel a bit scatterbrained, and I need to make a list of the things I need to do next, and in what order. Here is what I plan to do next (I hope I have these steps in the right order!!!!) :

  1. Remove the clamps from the glued tailblock.
  2. Mark and cut the angled end of the upper bout where it will meet the short side of the harp box.
  3. Drill a hole (3/8" hole in a 3/4" Forstner hole about halfway through the block) in the neck block for the bolt I will use to attach the neck.
  4. Round the edges of the neck block.
  5. Glue the short side of the harp box into the slot in the neck block.
  6. Glue in the neck block.
  7. Trim the ends of the harp box sides.
  8. Make the harp box peghead (mahogany) and glue/screw to the end block.
  9. Glue the harp box end block (with attached peghead) to the sides.
  10. Glue on the kerfing strips.
  11. Sand the radius into the lower bout of the top and the entire back.
  12. Fit and glue on the back.
  13. Fit the top to the sides and glue on the top.

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

Well, that's all for today. It's now around 5 p.m. Tonight Hannah and I go to her very first Sirius "Puppy I" class!!!! I'm excited!

 

  

Saturday, June 11th, 2011:

Well, I didn't actually get started on the harp uke until the mid-afternoon, because I had a few things that came up with Hannah, my new puppy — I had to do some "remodeling" of my deck and I had to take care of a stray dog who came to visit. For the details, you can look HERE.

After all that was taken care of, I did start on my list of tasks on the left. I did steps 1-6. Here's the result:

Tomorrow after church, I'll probably tackle steps 7-9.

 
         

Monday, June 13th, 2011:

Well, I didn't do much on the uke yesterday or today. Other things came up (as they often do). Part of today was spent programming a new universal remote (a Harmony One), because I seem to have lost my previous one. I looked all over for it, inside and outside. I don't know if I misplaced it, or if, somehow, Hannah got a hold of it and hid it somewhere. It's a total mystery to me how it could just disappear like that; it seems to have just vanished into thin air!

I did, however, manage to work a little bit on the harp box peghead. I got some mahogany and cut out the peghead shape, the 10mm layer that will lie right beneath the 2mm veneer I'd already spliced into the spruce top. I just finished gluing together two more layers of mahogany that I will cut and glue to that 10mm layer, to form the peghead's "heel-like" section.

Hopefully, I'll post photos of it all tomorrow.

  

Tuesday, June 14th, 2011:

It just now occurred to me — referring to yesterday's post on losing the remote control — perhaps the remote is deep under the deck!!!