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BIUG News
BIUG display at the 20th Annual Great Waikoloa ‘Ukulele Festival - Chris Stewart
Terry Davis, Roger Johnson, Alfonso Gutierrez, Dave Stokes, Tad Humble, Gary and Pat Cassel joined me at our Big Island Ukulele Guild booth during Saturday’s 20th Annual Great Waikoloa ‘Ukulele Festival. A number of other guild members dropped by to visit, plus we had a continuous stream of curious folks drop by to learn about building ukulele. A great day!
(Click to enlarge photos)
BIUG 2020 Calendar of Events - Tom Russell
Trying something different…I’ve created a calendar of all BIUG events planned for the year right up front. Hopefully that may avoid members being unaware of future happenings. Please see the BIUG Calendar along the right column for full details.
Workshop dates will be announced along with a questionnaire/survey closer to the month listed in the calendar. I’d rather know what’s of interest to the group so the survey responses will dictate what workshop we do.
Hope the full calendar helps. If you have additional suggestions or additions, please let me know.
Orfeo Magazine - Bob Gleason
I recently came across this online publication, which is mostly guitar related, but is absolutely stunning. Orfeo Magazine Click the link and scroll down until you find one of the issues that says English version, click on it, when it comes up go to full screen, use the arrows on the screen margins to turn the pages.
It’s amazing what dedicated lutherie craftspeople are doing today. Just food for thought. Enjoy your building
Isaacs Show Wrap-up - Chris Stewart
All 27 of our show instruments have been safely returned to their builders/owners following the closing of our 2019 exhibit at the Isaacs Art Center in Waimea - and we’ve been invited back next year! (
A steady stream of visitors checked out the show; Tom Russell’s ukulele ensemble was a big hit during the reception and one woman asked us if the band had recorded a CD!
Again, mahalo nui loa to everyone who contributed instruments, helped set up and take down the show, babysat it and warmly and patiently answered the questions posed by the visitors. See you at the next meeting. Chris
Getting sticky with glue
Roger Johnson found this nice blog about the use of different types of glue in lutherie.
BIUG in the NEWS and Luthiers going green
Check out these two articles courtesy of Chris!
Luthier’s Page Revisited
Keep an eye on this page as I’ll be adding the more interesting tidbits from the BIUG Forum...
Nice Work!
New member Barbara Bach created this nice soundport on her latest Tenor ukulele. Nice work Barbara!
Waikoloa Ukulele Festival
BIUG was well represented at the 18th Annual Great Waikoloa Ukulele Festival this past Saturday. Mahalo nui loa to Carlos Newcomb (left), Gary Cassel (red shirt) and Terry Davis (far right) all for their time and effort!
1/4/18: Chris has an idea!
I was recently drilling pilot holes for the tiny wood screws that position the tuning machines on my latest project when I broke off a drill bit in the last hole. Did I panic? Well, maybe a little, but then I remembered a tip about making a hollow drill bit to cut around an embedded piece of bit or broken off screw.
I cut about two inches of aluminum tubing just larger than the bit and filed several small slot on one end (in reality I could have made do with just a couple slots), stuck the tubing in my drill press, lined up the tubing to cut around the broken bit and drilled deep enough to remove a plug of wood before pulling the drill bit out with needle nose pliers.
I lacked a wood dowel of the right diameter to fill the hole so I stuck a short piece of dowel in my drill press and filed/sanded it down to size as it spun. Glued it in place and sawed it flush before re-drilling the hole. Viola!
Tonewood Database
Check out this site to learn about different tone woods: THE TONEWOOD DATABASE.
Slotted Headstock Jig
Here's a clever jig for routing slotted headstocks and drilling the tuning machine holes. The online link is: http://www.luthiertool.com/slot_head_fixture.html. Look for the Slot head Ukulele jig
Craftsman’s deft, skilled touch helped ukulele sing
Julian Hipolito was the last of what Fred Kamaka Jr. calls “The Dream Team” — four master craftsmen who for decades made the world-renowned Kamaka ukuleles. Those four — Julian, his brother Jose, their cousin Kenneth McFeeley and George Morita — were hearing-impaired but able to tune each piece of the ukulele to precise standards just by tapping on the wood and feeling the vibrations. (from www.staradvertiser.com)
Holualoa Gallery
Voicing Video
One of the better ones I’ve seen…
Another interesting video, this one on bracing. Are your chisels this sharp?
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