Black is Beautiful Baby!

I just  finished this Black Limba ukulele.  It's a tenor, by the way.   Haven't made one from this wood in awhile since I have not had a reliable source for wood.  This wood has a  really pleasant tap tone and I especially like the varied…

New Black Walnut

Got this Claro Black Walnut from my good friends at Gilmer Woods in Oregon.  I've topped this uke with a 60+ year old Sitka Spruce that was rescued from the Gibson factory.  I left the age stain down the middle just to give it some credibility.…

Carbon Tone Bar/Neck Reinforcement

If you have been to the website, you might be asking yourself what is a carbon fiber tone bar.  In short it is a piece of pultruded carbon fiber bar that I have inlayed into the neck.  Honestly, this stuff is freaking stiff.  There  really…

My Favorite Wood II

I just purchased some Black Limba lumber and here are a few pictures of book matches from that piece.   Shhhhh! It's a secret so don't tell anyone-- this wood duplicates Koa and Black walnut in density and tonal quality.  The pattern of the…

Hold that Tiger!

Being a sucker for any new and different wood, I couldn't resist this recent offering from Luthier's Mercantile. It is called Tigrillo.  I don't know a whole lot more about the wood other than  LMI reports that it is from Peru and is responsibly…

My Favorite Time of the Build

I'm sure every luthier has a certain time in the build process that he enjoys the most.  For me, this would be after the instrument body comes out of the mold and at the first application of sealer.  If  I could just quit at this moment it…

Under Bridge String

Hey You all!  Nothing new but reworking old ideas.  This under-the-bridge string knot I copied from Nahenahe Ukulele of Maui over 20 years ago.  Don't let anybody tell you it's something new and different.  I see that a lot of custom builders…

Bob Goes Big!

As in Baritone, that is. Uncle Bob has been eyeing this Oregon Bastogne Black Walnut for most of a year now.  He finally pulled the trigger, but wanted a baritone instead of the usual tenor.  He wanted the instrument to be straight-forward…

Artwork Ukulele

This tenor ukulele was purchased by Olukai (www.olukai.com) as part of it's contribution  for this year's Surf Industry Manufacturers Association annual Waterman"s Ball (www.sima.com)l silent auction.  I was pleased to collaborate with ocean…

A Butterfly for Bonnie

Bonnie's ukulele has a Koa back and side but with an Australian Lacewood sound board.  The lacewood kicks--a unique composite of hard and soft wood that really has unique sound capabilities.  Binding is East India Rosewood with black/white/black…