GS Mini 13

Still Monday . . .

LAST PHOTO OF THE DAY . . . .

Just got back from the second Monday-after-school cigar box uke kit session with the students. This time we had three students working on their kits (two new kids who hadn't been able to attend last week), the woodshop teacher & his brother (another teacher) working on their kits, and me.

Before I had left for the school, I had made a caul shaped to the upper bout where the soundport will be cut out. I also cut out three sheets of veneer to serve as the reinforcement for the soundport area.

Here I have glued and clamped the veneers. Tomorrow I will cut out the soundport. I plan to make this soundport an oval 2-1/2" long and 1-5/8" wide.

  

Tuesday, March 4th, 2014:

Routing the Soundport

Now that the veneer reinforcement has been glued on the inside, I can rout out the soundport. Here I have glued my paper template onto the blue masking tape stuck on the upper bout; I have also taped the edges of the template, just to make sure it doesn't start to curl up as I am routing.

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

Here I have the side set clamped securely in my guitar vise.

 

To the right is the 1/8" downcut spiral bit I am using with the Dremel, to rout out the soundport.  

 

        

Here I have started to rout out the hole.

 

  

About halfway there . . . .

  

When I get this far, I stop using the router bit . . . .

  

And I switch to a sanding drum in the Dremel, to sand the oval right up to the line.
         

Here is the final result. I have removed all the tape and paper, and have rounded over the sharp edges of the soundport.

 

 

  

Later that evening . . .

I have made and glued in the spruce side braces (1/8" thick and 1/4" wide):

 

  

 

Removed the clamps, and here is the side set, with the side supports installed:

 

Can't do anything on the top yet, since my bloodwood has not arrived (for the rosette), so I think I will do a little work on the fingerboard tomorrow.