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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 [email protected].
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 [email protected] 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 [email protected]
See another of his ukes at http://pahukaniukes.tripod.com/
Pegasus Guitars & Ukuleles —Bob Gleason
Custom Made Ukes
Made by Bob Gleason
Email: [email protected]
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: [email protected]
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: [email protected]
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:
[email protected]
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 [email protected].
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