Woodcraft

Steps in the birth of a new instrument, a guitalele, with the body size and scale length of a baritone ukulele, but with 6 strings tuned A-A (same as a guitar with a capo at 5). Body is curly Redwood over bee's wing Black Cherry. All of the trim will be Black Walnut.

layout 042722.jpg
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)

mock up 042922.jpg
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)

guitalele top 050101.jpg
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)
 
It's not often that I finish multiple objects in one day, but this week three of my wood turnings have reached equilibrium moisture content after weeks of drying. This morning I finish sanded all 3 pieces and cleaned them thoroughly. This afternoon I applied a mixture of orange oil, bee's wax, and carnuba wax. All that's left is to sign the bottom and apply the finish to those areas, too, L-R: Black Locust, Sassafras, spalted White Ash.

DSCF4602.JPG
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)
 
I'm throwing this in here for a bit of light relief. I'm not sure it qualifies as "woodcraft", and it's certainly not in the same league as Tony's wonderful work, but I made it myself out of wood and it involved a degree of craft.

So, may I present my new compost bin (!) The previous one had rotted away - which is the fate of wooden compost bins - and it was time for a replacement. I pinched the design from a neighbour on the allotment garden I used to tend, and added a few improvements of my own. The slats at the front can be removed so I don't break my back when digging out compost from down low, and the removable bar across the top stops the whole thing slowing gaping apart at the front.

Because the compost bin is in full view of the house I couldn't use rough old pallets like you see on TV gardening shows. I also looked into using recycled materials instead of new timber, but it turned out that salvaged floorboards etc cost as much as new, treated timber and they tend to be available for 'collection only' from 200 miles away, which rather defeats the object of saving some money and the planet.

So, this one is only about 25% repurposed wood, the rest all came from the store. This afternoon's job is to fill it with the crap valuable organic material I took out of the old bin, so I took a quick photo while it looks pristine.

-R

IMG_3298.JPG
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)


(I made the bee hotel on the back fence too. It's been there six years or so, and no bee has ever checked in)
 
Richard said:
I'm throwing this in here for a bit of light relief. I'm not sure it qualifies as "woodcraft", and it's certainly not in the same league as Tony's wonderful work, but I made it myself out of wood and it involved a degree of craft.

So, may I present my new compost bin (!) The previous one had rotted away - which is the fate of wooden compost bins - and it was time for a replacement. I pinched the design from a neighbour on the allotment garden I used to tend, and added a few improvements of my own. The slats at the front can be removed so I don't break my back when digging out compost from down low, and the removable bar across the top stops the whole thing slowing gaping apart at the front.

Because the compost bin is in full view of the house I couldn't use rough old pallets like you see on TV gardening shows. I also looked into using recycled materials instead of new timber, but it turned out that salvaged floorboards etc cost as much as new, treated timber and they tend to be available for 'collection only' from 200 miles away, which rather defeats the object of saving some money and the planet.

So, this one is only about 25% repurposed wood, the rest all came from the store. This afternoon's job is to fill it with the crap valuable organic material I took out of the old bin, so I took a quick photo while it looks pristine.

-R

View attachment 310286

(I made the bee hotel on the back fence too. It's been there six years or so, and no bee has ever checked in)
Click to expand...
Nice work on the new bin, Richard.

As for the apiary, have you tried listing it on AirBeeNBee?

- K
 
I haven't been logging in much lately . . . in fact, I've been recording very few photos. Mainly I've been cutting the fast growing grass in our yard and my mom's much larger yard, and spending a lot of time in the workshop. Here's the latest progress on a Kasha baritone ukulele I'm building from all locally harvested woods, including reclaimed 100+ year old American Chestnut for the neck. Today I finished cutting and binding the main sound hole. Next is the side sound port and end graft. Last pic is a dry fit of the top, fretboard and bridge to the body.

sound hole 1.jpg
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)

sound hole 2.jpg
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)

progress 052022.jpg
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)
 
Back from burying myself in wood shavings again. First pic is a laser-engraved pen I made from a piece of Hawthorn branch, the remainder of which is shown holding the pen. I've also been working on some bowls, including a Black Oak crotch bowl that had been drying for 4 months; a live edge Black Cherry bowl that is now drying in a box of shavings; and a lidded pot from spalted Black Cherry and Sweet Cherry, with Black Walnut accents. The Black Cherry for that project came from a partially rotted log I came across a dozen or so years ago.

DD1F0306.JPG
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)

DD1F0300.jpg
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)

DSCF4608D.JPG
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)

DD1F0307.JPG
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)

DD1F0308.JPG
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)
 
After 7 weeks in a drying box, I've finished my larger live edge Apple crotch bowl. My stock of unfinished turnings is now down to one, the Black Cherry bowl in the middle image above. I need to start cycling through my store of wood turning blanks, but my garage gets downright sweltering in the summer. Working hours in there are short.

DD1F0309.JPG
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)
 
tonyturley said:
Steps in the birth of a new instrument, a guitalele, with the body size and scale length of a baritone ukulele, but with 6 strings tuned A-A (same as a guitar with a capo at 5). Body is curly Redwood over bee's wing Black Cherry. All of the trim will be Black Walnut.

View attachment 307536
View attachment 307537
View attachment 307538
Click to expand...
This sounds and looks extremerly interesting, Tony. Would be the right toy for me as I don't know the Uku chords.
Looking forward to the sound of this new baby of yours.
 
wee-pics said:
This sounds and looks extremerly interesting, Tony. Would be the right toy for me as I don't know the Uku chords.
Looking forward to the sound of this new baby of yours.
Click to expand...
Switching between uke and guitar or baritone ukulele is easy to grasp. A ukulele is tuned the same as the top 4 strings of a guitar with a capo on the 5th fret, so a 6 string instrument tuned to ukulele pitch would be ADGCEA from low to high. You can play the same chord shapes on both guitar and ukulele, they just have a different chord name. G on guitar becomes C on a standard uke, C on a guitar becomes F, and so on. I alternate between baritone ukulele and tenor ukulele often, playing many of the same arrangements, just in different keys.
 
This is a chunk of spalted Hackberry for one of my upcoming woodturning projects. The piece was rather rough and uneven, so I spent some time working it with a hand plane and scraper. I can tell from the feel of the wood that the piece will require stabilizing before chucking it on the lathe, so I've started treating it with wood hardener.

DD1F0325.JPG
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)
 
Back in November 2021, I found a huge fallen Silver Maple log in the woods not far from our house. It turned out to be heavily spalted . . . the first stage of a tree rotting, but if caught early enough, beautiful wood can be harvested. I cut several pieces and lugged them huffing and puffing to my car. For the past several days, I’ve been turning the largest of those pieces into a natural edge pedestal bowl. This has been my largest and most difficult piece yet. Lots of end grain tear-out, lots of stabilizing with wood hardener and filling end grain with sawdust and wood glue. Lots of sanding. Let me repeat: LOTS of sanding. It’s still not done, but I’m satisfied enough with the progress to show a peek at the piece before I stuck it in a drying bag. I think it’s going to be a stunning piece.

327A.jpg
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)

328A.jpg
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)

330A.jpg
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)

331A.jpg
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)
 
Major wood score this morning. I started out early, planning to revisit the huge spalted Silver Maple log from which I got the wood for the large bowl in my previous post. I had to bushwhack my way through the ravine with my machete due to the extensive growth, but at least I didn't encounter either of our native pit vipers. I used my chainsaw to cut the log into more manageable slices, then took them home and spent the rest of the day planing and thickness sanding a few of the pieces. It will take 6 months to a year of drying before I can use the wood, but part of it will go into a spalted Maple ukulele body. The basic shape is indicated on a couple of the pieces in the final image. I also took home the last big chunk from that log segment. Not sure what I will do with it yet.

While I was there, I noticed someone had cut up and dumped a large Bradford Pear tree, one of my Holy Grail trees. Bradfords grow all over the place, but I've never found one that had been cut. The wood makes beautiful bowls, and the two pieces I got will be enough for 5 or 6 nice bowls. Cha-ching!

DD1F0333.JPG
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)

DD1F0334.JPG
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)

DD1F0338.JPG
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)

DD1F0339.JPG
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)

DD1F0341.JPG
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)

DD1F0342.JPG
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)
 
My latest wood project is neither a bowl nor a musical instrument, but a wooden bench plane. Since good wooden planes can fetch a fair bit of $$$, I decided to build one using a hardware kit and some Cherry and Black Walnut I had laying around the shop. I just finished sharpening and polishing the iron this afternoon. The curls of Black Walnut and American Chestnut indicate I've got it dialed to my satisfaction. A very satisfying project indeed. 17 3/4" long with a 2 1/4" wide iron. Next is a 7" #2 low angle block plane using the iron from a cheap old plane I have on my workbench. I also sharpened and polished that blade this afternoon, getting it ready for my project. I use power tools all the time, but I truly enjoy using hand planes, as well.


plane 080622.jpg
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)
 

Similar threads

KillRamsey
    • Like
Fuji X100 And Guitars
Replies
7
Views
2K
Landshark
Landshark
tonyturley
    • Like
    • Winner
    • Wow
We have a guitar!
2
Replies
23
Views
1K
tonyturley
tonyturley
P0rkh4m3r
    • Like
The guitar
Replies
10
Views
2K
P0rkh4m3r
P0rkh4m3r
Back
Top