Finished cutting, beveling & drilling control covers & pickguard today. Also applied sealer and a white lacquer basecoat before the 'Sublime' pearl finish on the body:
Painted the black accent on the headstock, tinted the neck amber, and started applying clear coats to both today:
Got it all assembled today. It sounds fine, the whammy works great, and it looks just like it's big brother. I had a pretty big setback though; the wood & finish split as I was installing the mini 3-way switch. My fault; I forgot to ream out the mounting hole to clear out the built up finish. 'Course, then a guy takes his fret hammer to it in a futile effort to pound the split back in place.....Someday I'll disassemble it, repair the split and refinish the front of the body.
I'm not sure how to do that; no iPhone, no YouTube account, just an old Canon camera that can take video. You know, Luddite.
So... we aren't going to see "beerbelly's electric ukulele channel" with Tiny Tim's greatest hits including ode to miss vicki? (thank god!)
Have you tried waterslide injet decals? This is a modern version of what Fender used to do (maybe still do). Basically you put down a clear on your part, make a decal with a decal paper coated with a lacquer on your inkjet printer, coat that with a clear lacquer to hold it together. Apply the decal and allow to dry and then spray a clear on top of that to seal it into the coatings. It is embedded into the finish of the object. Similar decals are used on instruments, furniture, motorcycle helmets, etc. You can buy the paper already coated and there are videos on the Youtubes with information.
Yes, I did try that on one of the guitars I built, and it worked & looked great. It's kind of a permanent deal though. A couple years later I put that guitar up for sale and had a buyer, but he didn't like the waterslide logo I used. I had to sand down the headstock & re-clear coat it for him. So now I use these removable stickers.
Something else you could try: selling the piece without any markings, but give the buyer the choice of what they want, whether it's unmarked, your logo, or something they want custom, and go from there. It gives them the choice, and gives them the feeling you've given it that last full measure of craftsmanship.
Thanks TD. This is the last ukulele build for me; it's almost the same amount of materials & labor as a full size guitar, and they sound like a toy. Just had to try it for fun. New project- changing my "Shark" body with a Telecaster neck to a full-fledged Telecaster. Gonna do it in Gibson cherry red & black colors, like this one I found online:
That's some amazing work. But that takes WAY more patience than I have. My wife could appreciate that work though; she has that kind of patience to make these life-size beaded critters:
