Glyph Update!

It's been a while since I've been able to post the progress of my Glyph, but today I received another set of pictures from Dave Means, so I can finally make another post.

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!