Posts

Purely Platinum

I'd like to think that that term describes the curly, blond Myrtle wood top on this new Hawaiian tenor ukulele and not a gentleman's club.  Oh well, I'm doing it anyway.  This is another of my mixed wood creations:  curly black walnut back…

Killer Koa and Bear Claw Sitka

Here's a new instrument with very specific requests.  The Koa is absolutely killer.   The shape is my Hula Hips Tenor with a lower bout at approximately 10.5 inches.   Stephen selected this cool bear claw top wood of Alaskan Sitka Spruce.…

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…

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…

Got Bear!

Here's a new completion:  tenor Koa ukulele (see Cut, Color and Curl post) with a nice bear claw Sitka Spruce top with Paua Abalone purfling.  Accents are Vanuatu Maidou burl--love the burl.  Binding is curly maple and that theme is replicated…

Curly Maple and Curly Redwood

Freshly glued up here's another unusual combination:  Old growth curly redwood sound board, curly spalted maple back and sides.  All accents are curly Hawaiian Koa.  The neck is also curly maple with internal carbon fiber truss rod.  The…

Bonzer!

This amber/golden wood is Narra (a pterocarpus species)  from northern Australia and Southeast Asia.  It is rarely  seen here in the US and even more rare to be used for a musical instrument.  The tap tone is very similar to rosewood…