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Looking at this set of pictures, it dawned on my just how custom this one is going to be. It has the Chinese character of my last name in two places (headstock & tail graft) and my initial on the fretboard. It's safe to say that even if I wanted to sell it someday (which is, of course, not an option!) , I most likely won't be able to. But that's OK, because this ukulele is meant to be a family heirloom anyway.
Dave mentioned that he is starting work on slotted headstock. Once that's done, I think all the parts of the ukulele will be complete. Then it will be onto finishing. Since Dave uses French polish for the finish on his ukes, it will take quite some time before it is done. I guess I'll be lucky to see this uke by the fall. But I'm nothing if not patient. Besides, I've waited over 3 years for this uke, what's another few months?
Anyway, without further ado, here are the pics:
Preparing to rout the binding/purfling ledges
Inlaying the abalone purfling
Spraying the ebony binding with water in preparation for bending
The bindings coming out of the bender
Installing the top bindings
The body after sanding and wiping with one coat of shellac to reveal spots requiring more sanding
Slotting the fretboard
Thicknessing the fretboard
Cutting out the Glyph inlay with a jeweler’s saw
Cutting out the custom inlay for the headstock
Experimenting with positioning the inlays on the ebony headstock overlay
Binding the fretboard
The fretboard after binding
Experimenting with the position of the monogram inlay (I must say, Dave did a great job with this inlay design. I wanted something similar to Jake Shimabukuro's "JS" logo on the fretboard but with my initials and I had no idea what it should look like. I really like what Dave came up with here)
Routing the inlay cavity
Radiusing the fretboard
The fretboard after inlaying the position markers and sanding them flush
Well, that's it for this round of Glyph progress pictures. Looks like my mini-Jake Shimabukuro homage ukulele is now coming along nicely. It will be cool when it is finally completed. When the next round of progress pics show up, I'll be sure to post it right away. Stay tuned! I know I am!
