Day #12

Aloha!

     So today, you get to assemble most of the ukulele! The first things you want to grab are your neck, soundboard, and sides. Clamp the soundboard and neck to your assembly jig. Adjust the waist blocks to lock into place. The sides should fit into the heel slots easily. If they don't sand them down until they fit nicely. Be careful when working with the sides because they'll break very easily. After they've been put in, inspect the butt joint of the tail ends and sand a little if it doesn't fit together.

     Mask to the bottom ends together with long pieces of masking tape. Take your tail block and glue and clamp it to the tail end of the sides. Apply a bead of glue onto all of the flat edge of the sides. Take two veneer shims (1/4" wide and 3/4" long) and insert them into the heel slots against the heel block. Be sure to put them in the inside so they won't be visible when finished which should make a clean fit with the neck and sides.

     Using clamps (spool clamps are preferred) work your way from the heel to the tail end and clamp the sides, one side at a time. Then let them dry for two hours. After they have dried you will install the tentalones into the uke. You can start from either end and work your way down the sides. The flat side should be glued to the sides (It's okay if the tentalones crack or break). It helps if you clamp the tentalones in place with pieces of plywood that can fit over the sides of the uke and down to the tentalones. When you reach a horizontal bar, cut the tentalone flush with the bar. After installing the rest of the tentalones, glue one tentalone block on top of the brace bar ends.

     After your bottom tentalones have dried, you have to do the same thing at the top edge of your sides. Once you have glued them to the sides, a great clamp to use if PVC pipe clamps. Just take some PVC pipe and cut it into small circles. Then, cut a slot through one end of the circle and you have PVC clamps. If you can't make the clamps. then clothes pines will work too. Leave the clamps on for about an hour until the glue dries.

(Word of the day: Mokupuni/Island)

Mahalo!