And...

here I am playing the u-bass.. Flat cap and all ;-)

Glued up!

I'm very happy with the way this has gone together, the HOURS AND HOURS of planing to get these bits to fit so perfectly were well worth it... The join is absolutely perfect...

Right! Glue time.

Having sanded all the areas I needed it's now time to stop thinking and start gluing...

Can't resist.

Met one of my favourite people @campbestival this year! Mr B Gentleman Rhymer, (@GentlemanRhymer on twitter) top guy, loves scallops, awesome moustache and this dude really knows how to put on a great show...

The neck.

It's time to get the enormous rasp out again to take this neck closer to the shape I want it to be.. I really can't tell you how much fun this bit is, and how you combine your eyes and the feel of the thing to create a finished item.. Big rasp, then sand back to see where you're at, also I like to and back to see if there's any grain that needs enhancing...

Sooooo....

With a little more cutting and planing I'm starting to get these wings to fit to the neck properly, and to get an idea of what it's going to look like, I've cut out the bits next to the next as they wood be insanely difficult to cut out when glued. Neck shaping next!

The next step.

Ive made the leap and cut out from my 'plans' as a template, and marked out the walnut wings, notice the way ive slanted the template to make sure those beautiful grain features are shown... And finally the two marked out sides with the neck.

First things first.

I've decided on a scale, and have marked the neck out fairly accurately.. So I've started cutting away alot of the spare timber so I can get a feel of where the balance of the instrument is going to be.. I've also made sure that the best face of the 'flame' in the maple is presented on the headstock..

And the wood..

You're looking at a lump of flamed maple which is the lighter wood for the neck.. And two chunks of walnut for the body wings.. This is where the thinking cap goes on..

The new project.

I've been asked by rob (owner of the southern Uke store) to make him a solid u-bass, in the style of a musicman stingray bass... It's gonna be called the 'musicboy stingerlele' so here are my incredibly complex plans for the build.

The Lacewood Soprano.

That's it really... It was finished, and here it is getting a good nights rest at a premier inn. (ker-ching)