Front and Back

I thought this was a good idea, but it turned out less than great.

They say the back side is for the player.

Those are three little rare-earth magnets on the cover, and nails in the body for them to stick to. Which they do, but not very well. A sharp tap on the front side of the body pops the cover off. So I’ll probably end up adding a screw to hold it in place.

It took three tries to get the magnets to stick to the wood. CA glue soaks into the wood, even though there was a light coat of shellac on it. Epoxy woks, but only if the sides of the magnets are covered with it to make a little pocket for it to sit in.

Interesting fact – JB Weld has steel filings in it, or something. Magnets stick to it. (I mean, of course they do, it’s glue, but even after it’s dry and not sticky any more a magnet will be attracted to it.)

Here’s the back with the cover in place. Looks okay.

Closed back. Like a banjo. Only not.

There is a ding or two, and it’s not super-smooth, but it’s level enough.

Unlike this:

Lumpy McLumpface.

I’ve given up for now. There’s a lot of shellac there, and I’d have to sand the whole thing back to bare wood to get it to come out where I’d be happy with it. Since this is for my own use, I’ll consider it a practice piece and just live with it. It’s possible that it could get refinished in the future; I’ve done that with a couple of ukes.

Headstock decal is on and coated with a clear acrylic sealant (aka Pledge Floor Care with Future Shine.)

Headstock.

Classy, no? No. No, it isn’t. It’s sort of wanna-be classy with a big dose of tasteless right in the middle of it. Which is exactly the vibe I’m going for.

So far I’ve decided against a truss rod access cover because it would be too large to look good. (And after the magnet problems on the back, I’d have to put a screw to hold it in place, further busying up the look.)

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