Preparation can be a form of procrastination.  As long as I was planning to make a ukulele, I didn’t actually ever have to start doing it.  There were a few points along the way where I was hesitant to take the next step.  Drilling into the wood for the first time.  Trying to cut tight curves with the coping saw.  Raising the grain by wetting the entire plank and sand it back down.  The step I’ve been looking forward to the least so far is gluing down the frets.

I haven’t used super glue in a very long time.  I used it in building my MakerBot Cupcake CNC more than 12 years ago, but not since.  Once the first bit of super glue goes down, that’s it, there’s no turning back.  So, of course, I plancrastinated just a little more.

1. In re-watching Daniel’s video for his hand tool ukulele, I saw he glued the frets down over pencil lines.  I was worried about trying to do this – concerned the pencil graphite would prevent the frets from adhering.  However, if it worked for Daniel, perhaps it would work for me too.
2. I re-re-printed the pattern, cut out some thin slots so I could quadruple check the fret spacing.  I made pencil marks through the slots, then used a metal straight edge to draw the lines back in.  By holding the ruler at an angle, I was able to put the pencil right against the straight edge.

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3. I ran blue tape along both sides of the neck, so that I could extend the pencil lines to ensure the frets were straight.
4. I wanted to test how well the super glue held down the frets, whether I should sand the board a little more, and whether I should sand / shine the underside of the frets.  The answers were:  very well, no, and no.

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   1. I tested the glue and frets with some cotter pin cutoffs and scraps of wood.  I took four cotter pin pieces and sanded two so the underside was shiny.  The flat side of each cotter pin half had this gray residue underneath.  One scrap of wood was a lot rougher than the other.  I figured by mixing these variables, I could get a sense for how quickly the glue would set, whether it was better to glue to a rough or smooth surface, and whether it was better to glue to a raw cotter pin underside or one I had sanded to a shine.
   2. In order of best to worst it was:  unsanded cotter pin on rough wood, sanded cotter pin on rough wood, unsanded cotter pin on smoother wood, and last sanded cotter pin on sanded wood.  An important factor in each was to put the glued frets under pressure.
5. I put several rubber bands around the neck, then slipped popsicle sticks underneath.  My hope is these would help hold the frets in place and keep them under pressure as the super glue dried / cured.
6. I was finally out of runway.  I was finally at the point where I needed to put glue on the plank I’ve been working on for six weeks.
7. I pulled out the zero fret and 15 cut, filed, rounded frets and stuck them into a piece of closed cell foam to keep them organized and easy to reach.  I put down three lines of super glue, dropped the first three frets, then held them down with the rubber band popsicle stick combo.  Then another three frets.  Held those down with popsicle sticks.  Then another 4 and the last 5.
8. I used an extra bit of cotter pin and my pliers to nudge the frets in line.  Two frets flipped over when I tried to place them.  Explicatives were uttered.  I used the cotter pin and pliers to flip them over and nudge them into place.  However, this resulted in the super glue smearing over the wood and glue getting on the top of the fret.  The glue smear was particularly disappointing since it discolored the wood.  I’m hopeful that after I sand the frets to remove the glue gunk, smooth the spaces between frets, apply the finish and wax, the smear won’t be as noticeable.  Last of all, I glued the zero fret and used some more popsicle stick rubber band magic to hold it in place.  I think fret 15 is slightly crooked.

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9. I propped the plank against a warm window to let it cure.

Next up:

1. Sanding the fretboard and gummy glued frets
2. Wood finish and wet sand, dry, wood finish again.
3. Wax.
4. Design / print / install bracket holding bridge in place.
5. Install tuners (possibly with some 3D printed washers).
6. Sand, possibly paint, and install the turn around.
7. Add strings…
8. Play?!!?!?