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Try the Official Luthier's Forum - quite a few there have built laminated sides. They press them in a mould, and might use heat as well. My only attempt at laminating as an experiment failed because I couldn't get the veneers to lie flat. Silly thought, but have you considered 1.5mm plywood as...

As a further thought, I'm wondering whether this might be the application for liquid hide glue. That reactivates with damp heat, so if the ply curls you can steam iron it flat (some domestic negotiation required) and then press it until cool, when it should keep its shape. Might be worth...

I'd say glue them damp and they'll flatten. But ... When you take them out of the press, watch for them curling. If so, back in the press until fully dry. As the wood dries it will shrink across the grain (and a little along, though much less). And there are no guarantees that it won't move...

I think that must be right. This thread set me off searching for cow knobs in a domestic setting, but all I could find were decorative knobs on butter dishes and things like that. I was hoping for brass curtain rails with a splendid cast cow at each end, but no luck!

In spite of all your help I wasn't making progress, so I put this aside to research and think. But I've found my problem! I first sharpened the saw at its original rake, assuming that would be about right. The teeth had a rake of around 25 degrees. Yes, the saw cut, but it gently persuaded the...

The OP has two separate questions: 1. How to price for the future. 2. What to charge for this particular job. There has been plenty of advice about 1, but not much about 2. I think on this job, all he can do is to go to his neighbour and explain what the materials cost and how long the work...

Good point. I've planed spruce and cedar successfully at 45 degrees, and rarely use pine. Test on scrap ...

For difficult grain, planing at 45 degrees is often effective. That's what I'd have done here.

Running a saw along a straight edge needs practice. I do it to cut fret slots, and it's easy to skid off line. Also, I bet this notional straight piece of wood isn't that straight! I'd start by checking that the substrate to which the veneer is glued won't fall apart when cut. To make the cut...

Mahoganoid woods are pretty easy, unlike that spruce whose stripes make things very difficult. My uke back is two or three unrelated boards (well, they might all be from one board but cut cross grain). I think (this was a couple of years back) I just trimmed the boards to a close visual match...

Just in case a picture helps reinforce the point, the back of this uke is either two or three pieces and I can't remember which. Planed until no light visible when held together, then glued up. And really not at all difficult, honest!

The hand Rawltool (#1) is conceptually simple. For making holes in plaster, brick, even concrete, in lieu of a power drill and masonry bit. 1. Place bit where the hole should go, hit it with a hammer. [User notes: it jumps around like hell on anything hard, so your hole will only end up...

Thin on the ground round here. So I just leave my chisels under a pyramid overnight. A big one, obviously.

As an interim step you might try whether your wipe-on poly will take a better shine. I'm assuming your current finish is what you get once the wipe-on finish has dried. Once the poly is fully cured (7 days +), wet sand using wet and dry paper until the surface is uniformly matt - I use P600...

My first and only attempt at laminating 0.6mm veneers resulted in a crinkled mess, though I was using water based glue. For a high quality pickguard you need perfect flatness, so I think you'll need to make a press. I'd be tempted to try liquid hide glue, moistening the outer surfaces with...

A turnbuckle between two blocks is a possible solution.

You have an unusual set of Chinese uke pegs. The 20+ sets I've bought over the last few years are all 5mm shafts. I use the big drill/little drill method, eyeballing my eggbeater drill against a square placed upright on the peghead. Rather than trying to find the exact size drill for the...

I've just been reading online about filing the saw with the file at 45 degrees to the vertical. This gives the same rip profile, but the gullets are far deeper (opposite sides on alternating teeth). In theory they remove more sawdust. I might just resharpen, trying this out. It can't hurt, and...

My mate Sven of Argapa Ukuleles in Sweden has made himself a kerning saw and frame saw, based on the Fidgen designs, so I'm up to speed on that (apart from the blade - I think he spent quite a lot on his blade, buying from he US, but then he's a tool addict!). I'm trying Custard's three facet...

I had in mind something like a piece of M8 threaded rod, slotted and drilled to pin the blade, and using a socket wrench in the nut to tension it. Does that sound up to the job? I guess the main drawback is the weight of a stout frame. Never any free lunches :(