Koa and Mango

Here's a Hawaiian Ukulele with a Koa/Mango combination.  I've used some of my spalted mango for the back strip and sound hole rosette.  I was going to use mango binding but opted for a curly off-color maple which matched well.  The neck…

Oregon Wood 2015

Aloha Ya'll, Just thought you might like  to see a couple of pictures of a wood mill that I stopped at in my search for some new bearclaw Sitka tops.  Sound Board Inc. cuts for some of the biggest American guitar makers as well as for…

Front and Back Petroglyph

On this Hawaiian tenor ukulele I have taken an old theme and applied it to the front and back.  This is the last full set of this  particular Koa that I have and the laser cut petroglyph design really shows up well in the sap wood.  In case…

Kompression Kurl Koa Kauai

Just in:  premium compression curl Koa from the island of Kauai.   Couldn't wait to clean it up a bit and show ya'll.  It is really interesting to see how this wood grows in the different environments of the islands.  This particular Koa…

Keep’n it Simple

Here's a recently completed "shop" tenor ukulele.  The body is solid curly Koa.  The neck is also Koa but with a curly maple stringer to match the curly maple binding.  I've accented with Vanuatu Maidou burl.  The fret board and bridge are…

Tiger Stripe Myrtle

Here's a pic of some new premium wood that I have received.  This is called "Tiger Stripe ".  This particular back and side set also exhibits some pretty good curl.  This look in Myrtle is rare.  I'm going to pair it with a bear claw Sitka…

New Premium Koa

Two weeks ago I purchased this Koa from a local wood supplier who had been storing this wood for the last 15-20 years.  Who knows how old it was before this individual purchased it.   The billet was a bit pricey but what quality Koa isn't…

Ron Seno

Ron Seno takes a break from a recent gig in San Diego to show off his Myrtle Ukulele (see blog post "Oh Myrtle").   You go Ron!

Sassy Sassafras

This wood is Tasmanian Black Heart Sassafras.  I've been looking for some to use on an ukulele for some time and scored this piece from an unmatched guitar set.  The spalting (dark colored wood) is created by a fungus, giving very piece…

Tribal Gecko

Here's a Hawaiian Koa tenor ukulele with my "Tribal Gecko" laser cut on the back of the instrument.  The laser cut is pretty subtle since the laser did not burn this particular Koa as much as in other projects.   The instrument is bound…