Newsletter Mike’s Corner - Mike Chock Aloha all, as the searing summer heat indicates September has indeed brought the true Hawaiian humid summer heat to us all! Although the prevailing trades are still around that doesn’t make such an impression when you be working inside in the muggy heat and avoiding the constant droplets of perspiration on the ukuleles and or subsequent work pieces are a major irritating and aggravating factors. Well people I was thinking we have all been somewhat amiss in our electronic newsletter communication. Judging from the attendance of this past Sunday’s shop get together here at the shop; I thought I would use this space to convey what an amazing opportunity you have continually failed to take advantage of when you miss our “Last Sunday”, get functions. As a ukulele maker I am usually working in solitary conditions and mostly hang out with my uke projects and workshop activities. Years ago, another lifetime as a contractor and part and parcel of a team of fellow workers what I miss most was the buzz when all of us were working on a project together just cranking, although at differing phases, with various tools or trades, we were still together and at the day’s end, always progressing toward a finish. I still waddle in the flow when I am teaching ukulele making and we are all busy pursuing a specific task. This past Sunday as Daniel and Manny were making a bridge saddle and nut radiusing jig and I just finished a demonstration of my neck heel nibbler on the uni-saw with Manny, Emil, Daniel and Gordon this is the scenario that you my fellow ukulele making members in absentee are missing. The pupus and drinks are spot on and we all whip out our ‘ukuleles and jam along with Manny, with Emil pounding out bass lines on his broomstick and (continued pg2 Septeber 2013 Inside this issue: - Mikes Corner 1 - President’s Message 1 - Mikes Corner (cont) 2 - Membership Info 2 - Shooting Board 3-4 - Builders Workshop 5 - Neck Heel Sander 6-14 - Song of the Month 15 - Big Island Exhibition 16 - Uke Builder Info 17 - Future Events 18 President’s Message - Manny Halican Aloha Everyone, Aloha Everyone, This month I would like to send a big Mahalo out to our new treasurer. In a very short time he has brought our financial legalities up to current status. A very big task and we are truly blessed to have David Lawrence on our team. Secondly, our web site and news letter. The guy responsible for that department is Dan Westphal. We are also blessed to have Dan on our team. He has revamped the web site and our Face book page with fresh pictures and reading material that I really enjoy. I would like to Mahalo all the contributor's, all their idea's and jig's that help make our building process hopefully a little easier. This month's message is "great job guy's and we do appreciate". "Have A Beautiful Ukulele Day" Aloha, Manny Board of Directors President: Manuel Halican Vice President: Gil Olayan Secretary: Howard Tanaka Treasurer: David Lawrence Exec. Director: Mike Chock Dan Ryerson Larry Hagmann Steve Jones Jim Alcain Daniel Westphal Kimo Hussey Clarence Uesato Doug Long Emil Bader (Nominated) ‘Ukulele Guild of Hawaii Newsletter Page 2 Mike’s Corner—Mike Chock (cont) gas can, one string bass. Like many of you my ‘ukulele playing is usually solo, I play for myself and my doggies, and I like to practice on what I so lovingly built. Cool Beans! HOWEVER : People, playing with fellow members with 4 or 5 ‘ukuleles keeping the beat and a pounding baseline is bamboola kine fun! No doubt, by the third or fourth song you be singing along too. Alright, when was the last time you did that, like not only play but actually sing in public and actually laugh about it too? This in itself is WHY you should make it a POINT to get your butts down to the shop on our LAST SUNDAY of the month event. Everythings all good; worthwhile and inventive projects to aid you in your ‘ukulele making skills and kanakapila to end each work session. The Board wants to make Last Sunday of the Month akin to a monthly membership meeting in the flesh, with a chance for all of us to hang out, talk story and do a hands on project or a simple demonstration of a building process; and ahem always bring along your ‘ukuleles. Pupus and Play what more can I say and we be missing this? The Board will ensure that advanced electronic notice via e-mail will announce the specific project or demonstration that will be scheduled. What we need from MEMBERSHIP are topics, projects, procedures whatever of what you would like to see or learn in any phase of the ‘ukulele building process. YOU determine our end of the month agenda and we will compile a materials list of what to bring and we will get hands on busy. That sounds like a plan. Now you can come down on a monthly basis and see what ‘ukulele projects I am currently working on, the progress, the procedure the trails and errors. No need for the dialogue. So wid dat, nuff said! Laters Mike Membership Info—David Lawrence We have quite a few renewing as well as new members this past couple of months thanks to all of you that have recently donated funds to our cause. Emil Bader John and Evelyn Chandler Roy Cone Laura and Rick Cribbins Leland Hansen David Heaukulani Edward Hoopii Jr. Dan Lagronio Ronald Lau Dudley Makahanaloa Dominic Pieranunzio Robert and Tita Read Ken Roberts Rod Ruggiero Dan Ryerson Anthony Calabrese Jr. Ronald Ajemian (with a small J) Terrance Corcoran David Lawrence Gordon Morris Chuck Moore Stuart Dicker Karen Mun Len Kojima Corrine Marchoke Eric Watterud Luther Kahoalii Pete Hilton Norma Parker Anthony Horgan Michael Perdue Jonathan Zweig ‘Ukulele Guild of Hawaii Newsletter Page 3 Router Based Shooting Board — Jack C. Clark Having experienced minor setbacks while trying to join tops and backs, perhaps due to a not so perfectly aligned jointer, I decided to see if I could come up with a fool-proof way to trim the pieces so that I would get a perfect fit every time. Figure 1 is the result. The unit holds the sides of the top or back while you pass the jig past a table mounted flush trim router bit. The secret to the accuracy of the cut is the steel guide. I purchased a 24” Veritas Steel Straightedge from Lee Valley (www.leevalley.com - item 05N62.01 for $49.50). The blade is flat to within 0.001” over its length. The straightedge comes with a hole on one end and I drilled a matching hole on the opposite end. The cam clamps I used are from Woodcraft however, if you decide to build the jig, I recommend using knobs vice the cam clamps. The cams end up hanging over the cutting edge at times requiring you to loosen them a bit or tighten them more than necessary. I now use knobs vice the cam clamps in the photo. I have glued a strip of cork under the bar to raise it safely away from the cutting blade. Figure 2 shows the geometry between the base, the top/back wood, the cork, the straightedge and router bit. A thin wooden strip could be used if you don’t have access to cork. If you use a wooden strip, you might want to glue a strip of sandpaper on to it to help hold the top/back wood secure. I have installed two half sheets of 150 grit sandpaper on the base of the jig to ensure the wood doesn’t slip while cutting. ‘Ukulele Guild of Hawaii Newsletter Page 4 Router Based Shooting Board — Jack C. Clark (cont) Figure 3 is the three router bits that I tested. The bit on the left is a common straight flush trim blade. In one test, it took a very small chip out of the wood making it an un-acceptable cut. The blade on the right is a down shear flush trim bit (EagleAmerica.com item 117-0842 - $20.95) that performed perfectly in each test. My favorite though is the center bit that is a spiral flush trim bit (Eagle 120-0412 - $39.95) which I use exclusively. It makes an extremely clean cut with no chipping or tearing. Figure 4 shows the jig with a set of top wood installed ready to cut. All you need is 1/32’ to 1/16” of wood exposed to make the one and only cut required. Pass the jig from the right to left past the router bit one pass and you will have a perfect fit every time. If you have had frustrations getting your tops or backs ready to glue-up due to not so perfect fits, you will love this setup! If you have question you can find contact info for Jack at http://jcclarkukuleles.com/ ‘Ukulele Guild of Hawaii Newsletter Page 5 August UGH Builders Workshop — Daniel Westphal UGH Members, as Mike said there were a few of us here on Oahu that gathered for the monthly builders workshop and this month picked up a few “tricks of the trade” from our sitting President. Manny provided his “secret” saddle, nut, and bridge radiusing jig for us to replicate. This jig will take the hand sanding process that I have been using to my archive of historical ways to get these jobs done. Anyway, here are a few pictures of the subject jig that is designed to be used with a spindle sander. In order to make this jig you have to leave the woodworking realm a bit and go into some metal working requirements but I found this pretty easy for the most part. Manny’s metal working skills are demonstrated in the clamping pieces of this jig and with his tapping tools I was able to make these parts too. See you at next month’s Builders Workshop? ‘Ukulele Guild of Hawaii Newsletter Page 6 Neck Heel Joint Sander —Edmond Tavares and David Lawrence By Edmond Tavares and David Lawrence Kula, Maui, July 2013 Our sanding jig was created to fit our bolt-on Ukulele neck to the body. This jig is powered by an old Makita belt sander. The 60 inch by 3 inch belt is 100 grit and is custom made to order by Klingspor. The white rollers are 2 ¼ inch O.D. PVC pipe with Kiawe wood hubs using ¼ inch brass rods as axels with threaded ends and lock nuts. See Photo #1 Top Roller and Photo #2 Bottom Roller. Photo#1 ‘Ukulele Guild of Hawaii Newsletter Page 7 Neck Heel Joint Sander —Edmond Tavares and David Lawrence Photo #2 The sander switch has been removed and is direct wired through a router variable speed control with an on/off switch. In photo #3 the sander is shown mounted vertically to the jig table by a custom welded plate with two angled rods welded directly onto the metal sander shoe. See Photo #3. The plate has 3 slots where the plate bolts to the jig table allowing for adjustments in belt tension and tracking. ‘Ukulele Guild of Hawaii Newsletter Page 8 Neck Heel Joint Sander —Edmond Tavares and David Lawrence Photo #3 The top roller tension and tracking can be adjusted by moving the roller bases on each side of the roller using the bolt and slot where the base attaches to the jig table. See Photo #4. ‘Ukulele Guild of Hawaii Newsletter Page 9 Neck Heel Joint Sander —Edmond Tavares and David Lawrence Photo #4 The bottom roller in Photo #2 is also adjusted with the slotted roller mount and bolts. Installing or changing the belt is done by first removing the wood frame bottom back close to the sander drive wheel, then removing the 2 screws and shaft lock nut on the roller mount at the top of Photo #7 and also removing 2 bolts and roller frame on top in Photo #1. This is similar to replacing a band saw blade. The body and the neck are clamped to a sled which has a groove in the center of both top and bottom to register the neck and body on center, and the sled slides on a kiawe spline in the groove in the surface of the jig. See photos 4,5,8, 10, and 11. Photo#5 ‘Ukulele Guild of Hawaii Newsletter Page 10 Neck Heel Joint Sander —Edmond Tavares and David Lawrence Photo #6 ‘Ukulele Guild of Hawaii Newsletter Page 11 Neck Heel Joint Sander —Edmond Tavares and David Lawrence Photo #7 ‘Ukulele Guild of Hawaii Newsletter Page 12 Neck Heel Joint Sander —Edmond Tavares and David Lawrence Photo #8 ‘Ukulele Guild of Hawaii Newsletter Page 13 Neck Heel Joint Sander —Edmond Tavares and David Lawrence Photo #9 We have had no problem with belt drift or alignment. The only set up and tension required is handled by the tension adjustment in the belt sander. To fit the neck to the body, with the sander turned on and the belt circulating, the body should be pushed up against the belt to force belt into the curved shape of the body. The neck is then lightly touched against the belt to confirm to the body shape. This takes just a few seconds. Our old jig took us about 20 minutes of hand operation of a sanding belt jig with a wing nut on top that would usually wear a hole in the palm of your hand by the time you were done. See picture of old jig.\ Photo #10 ‘Ukulele Guild of Hawaii Newsletter Page 14 Neck Heel Joint Sander —Edmond Tavares and David Lawrence The sander drive roller is worn smooth and occasionally slips because only ¼ of the roller contacts the belt. Originally the belt contacted 50% of the roller. We could add an Idler roller next to the drive roller but is easier to spray some automotive belt dressing on the roller to increase the grip. Be careful doing this as we found out the hard way that some of the belt dressing ends up on the wood of the instrument contact points and surrounding surfaces. We now use masking tape to mask off the surrounding surfaces to keep them clean. After mating the neck and body with the jig we temporarily clamp the bridge to the top and the fret board to the neck. Placing shims at the 1st and 12th fret, we use a straight edge check the bridge height and back angle. Angle adjustments are easily made by layering masking tape on either the neck or body side of the sleds to give the desired angle. Repeat the neck to jig sanding and make the angle adjustment. We have found that we use anywhere from 4 to 10 strips of tape. If you have any questions you may contact me at akupalu@gmail.com. David Lawrence with Edmond Tavares. ‘Ukulele Guild of Hawaii Newsletter Page 15 Song Selection of the Month — UGH Kanikapila Moments Some of the Guild members have been having fun with this following song taken from the He Mele Aloha songbook and thought you too might enjoy playing this oldie but goodie. See the video if you need some help or just want to play along with a famous Hawaiian entertainment group, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zeOA1prY3Kg or a simple version at, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c83dhoPke9c ‘Ukulele Guild of Hawaii Newsletter Page 16 Big Island Ukulele Show—Bob Gleason 9th Annual Big Island Ukulele Show In October, 2013 the Big Island Ukulele Guild will hold it’s 9 th Annual Ukulele Handmade Instrument Exhibit. Entries must be received by Sept. 28th and the show dates are Oct. 4-Oct. 24. Last year we had 45 instruments on display. Entries came from Oahu, Washington State, Oregon, Alaska, Kauai, and the Big Island. There were 5 sales during the show. The show is held in conjunction with the Annual Wailoa Center Invitational Wooder’s Exhibit and it has the best attendance record of any of the shows held during the year. The show is held in Wailoa Center, Hilo. It is a State Building and one of the finest display venues in the State of Hawaii. In addition to the display, the Guild will hold Kanikapila and ukulele building workshops on Saturdays during the month. Last year we had drawings for 5 ukuleles that were generously donated by Kala, Hilo Guitars, and Hilo Music Exchange. We will be doing that again this year. Instruments need not be for sale. To display you must be a Guild member. Memberships are $20.00 per year and they expire at the end of the calendar year, no matter when you join. Membership is open to all instrument makers and enthusiasts everywhere. The Guild has 4 annual meetings throughout the island, as well as occasional regional meetings. Once you are a member, you will be informed by e-mail of any upcoming events or get togethers. We also have a great new website that will be up by the 4th of July. It will use our same current web address www.bigislandukuleleguild.org , but the content will be entirely changed and will feature a forum for members, calendars of upcoming events, and show member’s work. This is not a juried show, however the Guild does reserve the right to reject entries if they don’t meet minimum instrument making standards. We have not rejected any entries to date in our 9 years of shows. There will be a People’s Choice award, and possibly an Artisan’s Choice award this year. All instruments entered in the show must be present at the beginning and remain on display until the show’s end. There is no charge to display, but if you sell an instrument during the show there is a 10% commission to the Guild and an additional suggested donation of 10% to the Friends of Wailoa Center Committee to defray costs of the installation and supplies that we use. Builder’s set their own sales price and are responsible for dealing with taxes and shipping costs in the advent of a sale. Instruments can be shipped to us if you cannot attend in person. We will return them at the end of the show. You will be responsible for the actual shipping cost, but there is no charge for preparing the package for shipping. U.S. Mail is normally the most cost effective way to ship. For further info contact show coordinator Bob Gleason at pegasusguitars@hawaiiantel.net or (808)966-6323 ‘Ukulele Guild of Hawaii Newsletter Page 17 Pahu Kani Ukuleles—Manny Halican Handmade Custom Ukes Made by the Master Luthier himself Phone: 808-387-1703 Email pahukaniukes@yahoo.com See another of his ukes at http://pahukaniukes.tripod.com/ Pegasus Guitars & Ukuleles —Bob Gleason Custom Made Ukes Made by Bob Gleason Email: pegasusgutars@hawaiiantel.net See his ukes at, http://www.pegasusguitars.com/ Hana Lima ‘Ia Ukes—Mike Chock Custom Made Ukes Made by the Master Luthier himself Phone: (808) 847-1541 See additional info at, http://www.hanalima.com/ Long Ukuleles —Doug Long Hand Crafted Custom Made Ukes Made by Doug in his mobile uke shop Email: ubws@ukebuildersworkshop.com See additional info on his Facebook page Olomana Ukulele Company — Daniel Westphal Custom Handcrafted Ukuleles Made to Order Made by Daniel Westphal 808-261-6907 Email: olomana_ukes@hawaiiantel.net See additional info on the Olomana Ukulele Facebook page ™ ‘Ukulele Guild of Hawaii Newsletter Page 18 Website links of Interest—Manny Hanican Below are some website links that might be of interest to the Guild’s ukulele the enthusiast. Click away! http://ukulele-tabs.com http://gotaukulele.com http://ukulelehunt.com http://easyukulele.com http://kimohussey.com/events http://geocities.com If you know of a website link that might be useful to the rest of the membership, pleas send it to our newsletter editor Daniel at: editor@ukuleleguild.org Future Events —Daniel Westphal 18 Sep 2013 - Monthly UGH Board meeting, held at Hana Lima ‘Ia in Kalihi. Please join us as we work our 2013 Exhibition plans, eat some local grinds and play an ukulele or two. 29 Sep 2013 - Ukulele Guild of Hawaii Builders Workshop. To be held a Mike’s Shop in Kalihi at 12 Noon, bring your humor, local grinds to share, something to drunk, and of course your uke. 13 Oct 2013 - Maui Ukulele Festival 4-24 Oct 2013 - 9th Annual Big Island Ukulele Show, held in the Wailoa Center, Hilo Hawaii 16 Nov 2013 - Ukulele Guild of Hawaii will hold its ANNUAL EXHIBITION in Waikiki at the Sheraton Princess Kaiulani Hotel. More to follow as we finalize this event and the many aspects that will be on display regarding the ukulele. Mahalo for your continued support of the Ukulele Guild of Hawaii. Please pass this newsletter on to someone else who might be interested in supporting our cause. I have taken it upon myself to make an attempt to post a long needed and awaited updated website. For now it will provide basic UGH info and enable interested uke enthusiasts to join, provide funds for our Ukes for Keiki and make nonspecific donations. See our site at the website URL listed below. Please send comments and recommendations regarding the website to editor@ukuleleguild.org. Happy building and playing. Your newsletter Editor, Daniel W. Ukulele Guild of Hawaii — Web/FaceBook To see more about the Guilds’ members and their handcrafted ukuleles. Go to: https://www.facebook.com/ukuleleguildofhawaii or www.ukuleleguild.org Ukulele Guild of Hawaii P.O. Box 372201 Honolulu, Hawaii 96837