Work on the bridge

I broke out the dremel (Aldi's version) and with the cut off disc, took to the bridge with gusto.

I cut off the wings simply for atheistic reasons, either breaking a lot of discs or wearing them down to a nub.

The aluminium got really hot, so some multi grips were a deity send. The worn out disc you can see was a sanding disc that lasted a few seconds.

I had to cut the aluminium down to suit the action which won't be finalised until the very end during setup. Broke quite a few cut off discs here as well, these thing break just by looking at the bloody things!!

Here the final product. The white dots and dabs you can see was my attempt to use a polishing pad with tooth paste as I don't have any metal polish. Had you been here you would have had a great laugh at this silly attempt. :-D In the end, some wet and dry 800 600 and 1200 paper was used.

This is the way around the bridge will probably be fitted.

It's wierwing season

Finally braved it and drilled the hole to take the strap jack/pickup jack. You wouldn't believe how many drill bits I used to do this. A small pilot bit, a stepped bit, a variety of other drill bits to enlarge the hole and finally a 1/2 in bit that would only fit in my brace which you can just see in the photo below. It isn't designed to go in the brace, but it did, but got stuck every time, mainly because I couldn't tighten it tight enough.....................so some multi grip pliers were used to remove it each time :-)

I used a long drill bit to extend the hole with a smaller bit for the pickup wire which will plug into the jack. That's the little hole to the right of the tuner peg holes.

Here's the pickup bridge and jack without all its nuts and strap button

Here's the pickup plugged into the jack.

The pickup will be resting on the bridge somehow.

I hope to show you a better photo that explains how this all fits together later, maybe even tomorrow.

Fretting done

I guess you'll have to click on the photos to embiggen them to see how the fretting turned out on the weekend. I've thrown a couple of coats of teak oil to see how things will turn out as well.

I'm cutting notches in the sides down to about 12mm for the friction tuners.
I've got another two holes to drill for where the string wraps around the tattoo
handle, I'm inserting a bolt in there (With its head and thread removed).
Drilling a hole in the end for the jack/strap button will be fun. I've got a lot of medical
appointments coming up along with a visit from the Census Aholes wanting to waste
my time with a shit load of irrelevant questions.
You'll excuse my paranoia but its probably really someone from housing or centrelink checking up
on me :-)

Going in to the Drs again for my confirmation on my SCC (Skin cancer) on Thursday. I hate

this time of year with a boat load of medical tests... Ultrasound, bone density scan, 6 monthly grease and oil change with the Transplant team at the local Hospital and a load of blood test for every visit.

Fretting

I did some sanding until my impatience got the better of me, so I decided to fret the thing. 

 A few drops of super glue to help hold things in.

Tada! filled in a couple of dents that magically appeared somehow. Managed to get glue all over my fingers in my rush to get things done............despite bringing some disposable gloves to the party. It would have been nice had I remembered to wear them hahaha

Powering ahead lol

Looking good after sanding the fret markers. It was a lot easier than I thought it would be. I'm now down to some 1200 sandpaper just to give the finish a fine polish.
Ooooohhhh shiny.  

I got around to cutting the cavity with the jigsaw. Now to sand the  cuts flat, and cut some recesses for the tuners to go into. ATM the sides thickness is over 16mm and ideally and according to Mr Daniel Hulbert 12mm or 1/2inch is preferable.

.

If you notice, the uke is leaning against two cylinders, one is a pepper container the other is a spice container both will be used to wrap sandpaper around for sanding the inside :-)

Fret Markers

Glued in the fret markers this evening 25/8/2015 @ 7.00pm.

Some of the Abalone shell is sitting a little (too) proud and I haven't sanded any to date so we'll 

see if I've fornicated it up in the morning.

The depth stop on the drill press wasn't used just a bit of masking tape which disintegrated

almost immediately.......of course!  

The side markers went well and din't expect any problems with that.

Some progress on the Travel Ukulele

Ok finally got around to cutting the corners on the TU.

Up next is some sanding to remove some of the splinters

my hand is full of them.

I'll probably use the jigsaw to remove the centre between 

the two holes soon. 

I have to drill a hole in the rear for the jack (that will be fun!)

I'll be installing some fret markers as well so some drilling for those as well

Rounding the neck with rasps and files and installing frets but frets first I think.

That thing removed from my hand is a

Squamous cell carcinoma

Squamous cell carcinomas (SCC) are less common than basal cell carcinomas (BCCs) and account for approximately 25 per cent of all skin cancers. They are not as dangerous as melanomas but can potentially spread to other parts of the body if left untreated. An SCC may appear as a thickened, red, scaly spot. It may bleed easily or be ulcerated. An SCC usually appears on areas of the body most often exposed to the sun and usually grows over some months.

They all speak in acronyms and have another appointment to see them soon to find out more