Building A Tenor Ukelele

I got the idea to build a tenor ukelele from Matthias Wandel's YouTube channel.  For many years now, I had thought about building a guitar, but never took action on it.  With a ukelele, the project seemed less intimidating.  I decided to do it starting in November 2016.  I had a nice piece of close grained redwood for the top which I was able to quarter saw into nice bookmatched panels.  I used walnut for the sides where I glued to thin laminations.  Cherry was used for the neck and walnut for the fingerboard.  It was a fun project and I am glad I did it.  It is quite an art to build a nice sounding instrument though.  With all the work to build a ukelele from scratch, it did not compare as well in sound as a Makala Dolphin ukelele I bought for under $50.  I am not sure if I will build a guitar now, but I would not rule it out.  I have construction photos of the whole ukelele build here.

Making Shop Cabinets

I came across a website that had information on building shop cabinets by Tom Clark.  He had lots of cabinets that he has made over the years and they looked great.  He was selling a book on how he did it and I really liked his style so I purchased it.
Practical Shop Cabinets
Since I got the book, I have built two bench cabinets.  One is 10 drawers and the other is 8.  The first one took me about 30 hours over 14 days at about $80.   It has a 3/4" plywood top.  The second one I just finished in about 24 hours over 8 days for about the same cost.  I had built a Ron Paulk style workbench which I cut down and used for the top on this cabinet.  I must say these cabinets are rock solid and should last a long time.  It is nice to have lots of space for organized storage where things have a home.  I also fixed up an old small 2 drawer dresser and replaced it with 4 brand new drawers with drawer slides.  It used to have drawers that just slid in on wood rails.  I painted it black and left the drawer fronts natural.  I just used polyurethane satin for the finish on the red oak plywood.  The 8 drawer cabinet was finished with boiled linseed oil, then 1 coat of satin poly and it looks a bit better than the straight poly.
I made the wooden drawer handles out of bits of cherry and maple.  Some were cut by my cnc machine but most were cut out on the bandsaw.  The handle design is from Matthias Wandel and the ones on the 4 drawer unit are designed by John Heisz.  These handles are much more solid than what you can buy.

Martin Guitars Factory Tour

I went to Martin Guitars in Nazareth, PA on 9/30/2016 for a factory tour.  Martin offers daily plant tours so I was excited to get a chance to see how their guitars are made.  CF Martin started in 1833. Once you enter the lobby of Martin Guitars there are lots of things to see while you wait for the tour to start.  There is a museum on the left which beautifully showcases the history of the company back to its start in 1833.  There are guitars there that are 180+ years old! You could spend a long time in this museum as it is as high quality as any museum you will visit. There is also a gift shop and a guitar playing area where you can actually play several Martin’s hanging on the wall.

The tour starts with a tour guide handing out wireless earphones so you get to hear every word during the tour.  This is a great idea!  They are set up for daily tours and have it down to a science.  There are display boards everywhere in the factory showing what the workcell does and what the equipment does.  There are many cnc machines and robotic equipment but there still is lots of work that is hand done by craftspeople. 

There are about 600 employees in this 200,000 square foot facility.  It is a marvel that this company has survived all these years.  It is a privately owned company and the Martin family is now in its 6^th generation.  For anyone who is a woodworker or guitar player or both, this factory tour is really a special treat.  Even if you are not either, it is still one of the best plant tours you will see.  It is really interesting how the factory and walking tour are set up to showcase the employees and product.  There was careful thought to not make just a factory to build guitars but to market the high quality of the Martin product right in the factory itself.  When you are walking through and seeing the many different styles of guitars in process, you definitely want one!  It is really clever how this was thought out and something you will not see in other factories.  After the tour you receive a laser engraved sound hole cut out.

It is a bit of a ride from Philadelphia, PA but well worth it.

More pictures from the tour are here = Martin Guitar photos.

Chessboard Made With Only Hand Tools

I just finished this chessboard and I used only hand tools to make it (about 95% hand tools).  I did use a circular saw to rip cut 72" piece off a board of cherry for the edging.  The squares are 1/4" thick and thickness planed by hand using a #4 plane.  I was amazed at the precision you can get with a shooting board, hand planes, and a sharp tenon rip saw.  This was a great learning process for me and I really like how it turned out.  The finish is 3 coats of shellac, 2 coats boiled linseed oil/lemon oil/helmsman varnish/mineral spirits mix, then finished off with furniture wax.  I used cherry and curly maple for the squares, cherry for the edge pieces and ash for the dovetail splines at each corner
For more information on how this project is made, see woodworking masterclasses with Paul Sellers.

Hand Cut Dovetails

I have been making hand cut dovetail boxes over the past 2 months.  My goal is to practice making 100 dovetail corners, so that would amount to 25 boxes.  I have 7 various boxes made so far, but I am gaining more confidence with my dovetail saw, chisel and hand plane skills.  No routers, jigs or templates used.  It is amazing what you can do with some sharp hand tools.  In many instances it is faster and much safer than machines.  No loud noise, kickbacks or dust collection.  I can do at any time also and not bother my neighbors.  

Hand Tool Woodworking Bench

Here is my new hand tool woodworking bench that I built earlier this year using plans from Working Wood 1&2: The Artisan Course with Paul Sellers book.  It is made from construction grade wood from Lowes.  The legs are all hand cut mortise and tenon joinery.  It is a great bench and very solid.

Glued Lapstrake Canoe Completed

I completed the Tom Hill designed canoe for my friend at work.  He commissioned me to built it for him in August 2015, so it took about 10 months.  It usually takes about 1 year to build a boat.  Having the new insulated back room in the garage helped me to maintain progress even during the wintertime.  I will deliver it to him the first week of June 2016.

For boat construction photos, click here.
Boat Plans = Charlotte, from Thomas J. Hill Boat Designs
Plywood = 4mm Sapele mahogany from Harbor Sales
Epoxy for all joints, fillets and sealing = 105 resin and 205 hardener by West System
Old Town diamond head brass bolts and 3/8" brass stem bands = Northwoods Canoe Co.
Top Coat Paint = TotalBoat oil based from Jamestown Distributors.
Burl wood for breasthooks = Pocono mountain grown supplied by customer Dave G.