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mike g's Discussions

gourd ukulele number 3

Started this discussion. Last reply by Order99 Sep 12, 2012. 2 Replies

here are a couple of pics of my latest ukulele made from homegrown gourds that I grew specifically for making ukuleles and other small stringed instruments. I use very few fixtures and mostly just…Continue

ukulele gourd build pics

Started this discussion. Last reply by MichaelS Country Boy Guitars Jun 27, 2012. 8 Replies

Hey all. i wanted to share with you my build pics from my latest gourd ukulele as shown below. here…Continue

Tags: pics, build, gourd, ukulele

 

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Sumner McLain commented on mike g's photo
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bobs partagas acoustic

"not cheesy- pretty sweet i think. and effect in what way? it covers the sound hole, yes, but are you implying that there are other benefits besides cosmetic?"
Sep 14, 2012
mike g commented on mike g's photo
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finished ukulele gourd number 2 tailpiece

"thanks. i was on the fence about the size of it and thought it might be too much but everyone that would visit my shop told me that they loved it so it stayed. i appreciate the kind words."
Sep 14, 2012
mike g commented on mike g's photo
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bobs partagas acoustic

"yeah cheesy  but effective. "
Sep 14, 2012
Sumner McLain commented on mike g's photo
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bobs partagas acoustic

"is that a sink strainer soundhole?  "
Sep 14, 2012
Sumner McLain commented on mike g's photo
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finished ukulele gourd number 2 tailpiece

"that bone tailpiece is awesome!"
Sep 14, 2012
Order99 replied to mike g's discussion gourd ukulele number 3
"Mike G, that is one of the most beautiful instruments I have seen this side of a hand-carved Medievil Citole...i'm a hige fan of the latter BTW. :) One question about the neck...that gourd type usually has a nice, long neck of its own-did you…"
Sep 12, 2012
Daniel Hulbert commented on mike g's photo
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SDC17961

"awesome!"
Sep 11, 2012
gabr1 commented on mike g's photo
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SDC17961

"It's a beautiful creation. Well done!"
Sep 11, 2012
gabr1 liked mike g's photo
Sep 11, 2012
mike g commented on mike g's photo
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SDC17961

"thanks folks"
Sep 11, 2012
wormil liked mike g's photo
Sep 10, 2012
Dave Lynas commented on mike g's photo
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SDC17961

"It's as cute as they get. Nice headstock and pegs!"
Sep 10, 2012
Dan Johnson commented on mike g's photo
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SDC17961

"That is super nifty! Very inspiring design."
Sep 10, 2012
Crimson Toad commented on mike g's photo
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SDC17961

"Purdee stuff !!!"
Sep 10, 2012
Randy S. Bretz commented on mike g's photo
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SDC17961

"I`m doin the gourd tunnel thing for growing them next year,,,i have some cattle fencing that will work great, just have to build frame work. Yeah i`m takin your advise and letting them lay out this winter."
Sep 10, 2012
mike g replied to Keith Stanford's discussion How high is too high for the Strings over the box? in the group Building a Cigar Box Guitar 101
"on the low side i shoot for at least .5" to give clearance for your pick or fingers. on the high side i would go probably no more than .75" at the bridge if you are making a raked back neck with a tailpiece. once you go higher you create…"
Sep 10, 2012

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Mike g's Blog

Making a four string neck part 5 (pressing the frets)

Posted on March 5, 2011 at 5:53pm 4 Comments

 

Once i sanded my fretboards how i like them I pressed and trimmed the frets

The pictures tell the story. I used to hammer the frets in  but that was a pain in the ass so I made this press. and Also made a few blocks and shims so I can press all the frets up to the high end.notice how I turned my kitchen table into my workshop. this makes my wife so happy.....not.        

 

dig the blurry pics…

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Making a four string neck part 4 (beveling the neck)

Posted on March 5, 2011 at 2:29pm 0 Comments

After I cut the frets I am ready to bevel the back sides of the neck on the bandsaw following some guide lines. the neck in cross section will look like the picture below.
 
I mark the neck .4 from the bottom and draw a line the whole length of the neck (lines with arrow… Continue

Making a four string guitar neck part 3 (marking and slotting the frets)

Posted on March 4, 2011 at 2:29pm 0 Comments



Now I am ready to mark and slot the frets. I square up the nut slot with a nice square file and clamp a dummy nut in to measure from so there is no guessing where I'm measuring from. I charted out my fret distances on a piece of paper and marked the neck with a nice sharp pencil. Mine is a 24" fret scale.…
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Home Made Fret Press

Posted on March 4, 2011 at 1:46pm 1 Comment

I made this fret press and thought I would share it before I finish the neck making posts. I need to fret three necks so I broke down and made this press. It features 2 inch thich quarter sawn white oak. The whole unit is 21" long by 7-1/2 wide and weighs about forty pounds or more. I used a brick chisel for the press head. first I flattened and shaped the face of the chisel to accept the groove and then I…
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At 9:42am on September 9, 2012, Randy S. Bretz said…

Got my bodies grown

 
 
 

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