Circles Not Lines

New Cigar Box ukulele off the production line

2010-10-29T01:15:00.000-07:00

It's been slow going in the workshop lately but having a new baby is a good excuse. Here is homemade ukulele number three nearly all done except a final polish. This is back to the trusted cigar box body - this time a double tray but smaller face which in theory helps with the low tones. The neck is the same piece of recycled Kauri with the purple heart fretboard. So far sounds good - not as mellow as number 1 but even more twangy - it might settle down after a few plays.

Building up the pantry!

2010-04-08T02:45:00.000-07:00

I have the preserving bug right now. I've never canned anything before but in the past couple of months I've bottled everything in sight ... It started with Rhubarb and Strawberry Jam from our garden and that got me going, pickled garlic (quite mild straight from the jar) also from our garden, garlic sauce - garden again, rhubarb chutney - parent's garden, blueberry sauce (kind of like cranberry) with PYO blueberries from the very excellent Blueberry Farm up Akatarawa Valley, Hazel nut syrup, and dabbling in liqueurs with a hazelnut liqueur start up, and a blueberry liqueur in the works as well.

This has all been easy and fun so far and really tasty. The hardest bit was trying to find an actual book on preserving. There was very little around: theory A is that it's so basic, why bother telling anyone how to do it?; theory B - no one does it anymore, so no point in producing this type of cookbook.

Anyway I did find an excellent book from the 1980s - Digby Law's Pickle and Chutney Cookbook - which is a dumb name because it's far more comprehensive than pickles (not my favorite) and chutneys (yum). In fact pick any fruit or vegetable and go to the index and there will be some sauce or vinegar, relish etc to drop it into.

It's great to be weaning ourselves more sections in the supermarket - Paul Newman, you're going down next...

Go by bike day breakfast Wellington

2010-02-17T00:45:00.000-08:00

With coworkers in tow the bike blender got an outing at Wellington's annual celebration of bike commuting. I've been to this breakfast a few times over the years and it seems to be getting more popular and the number of freebies ever more excellent. Awesome. I've always found it the event little bit like going to church - a solidarity with the biking congregation, a bit of an uplifting ritual, but a bit humourless and polite as well. So it was great to be there with the blender to inject a bit of bike culture into the morning. There were heaps of people interested in how it all worked and impressed with the fun of it and the results. We gave away heaps of smoothies which many hard case cyclists simply mixed with their coffee or cereal.

For the record we blended up a straight blueberry banana smoothie with honey, yogurt and milk - really nice, a perfect biker's breakfast.

It was also neat to see Frocks on Bikes folk at the event and one frocker blended a smoothie, red heels and all. On leaving I found a Frocks on Bikes calling card in my riding glove with an instruction to pass it on - so that's pasted above as well.

Tea Chest Bass

2010-02-15T00:42:00.000-08:00

Even Skiffle Music relies on a solid bass line - enter the tea chest bass. I've been thinking about ways to add some bottom end to all the treble-y instruments I've been getting into lately. Followers of the Wellington International Ukulele Orchestra or the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain will notice that the bass is the only 'foreign instrument allowed in these groups.

Sourcing a tea chest was the hardest part of this project - they are by nature pretty flimsy - kind of the equivalent of those plywood cargo pallets that get smashed up. Like the cargo pallet, the tea chest has been largely replaced by plastic and other less resonant materials. So I was very lucky to find one from a friend, in pretty good shape and with some tea still floating around the cobwebs inside.

The construction was the easiest instrument making job so far - one broom handle, some pretty thick cord, a piece of dowel and a wooden rod - not quite a broom handle but close enough.

I followed this guys instructions and the whole thing took about 20 minutes (my tea chest is exactly the same as his! - strange). After a bit of playing with the cord length she was ready to go.

I have to say that the sound was much much better than I expected. I had spent some demoralising moments 'listening' to tea chest bass infused (note pun) music - basically it was impossible to hear behind the other instruments or sounded like a dull thud. Why would I want to make a tea chest bass that sounded no better than smacking cardboard? But I had an inkling that these instruments would be hard to record faithfully because of their low frequency range, and my tiny laptop speakers would not carry much bass at all.

It really does sound great, very booming but soft and thick, and loud enough to thicken a mix. You can kind of get some notes going as well which should improve with practice. And you don't need to look as uptight as me when you're playing it.

Under construction - canjolele

2010-01-06T23:59:00.000-08:00

First there was a ukulele, then someone made a ukulele that looked and sounded like a banjo - banjo-lele, then came the homemade version with a can of sorts - hence can-jo-lele.

Here is an early picture of my own go at a canjolele - tenor with a kauri neck and fancy former fancy biscuit tin hex body (top left in the photo). I wanted to try a tenor to give the podgy fingers a bit more fret space and it is a fair bit bigger than the concert size cigar box uke. The key design difference apart from the body type, is the neck running straight through the body to take string pressure of the flimsy tin. More to come on this one soon as I iron out some wrinkles with the sound.

Bike blended margarita

2010-01-06T23:20:00.000-08:00

Bike blenders are a bit of a party piece. Someone can roll up, set up the blender and get Margaritas going. To put this to the southern hemisphere test the bike blender was an addition to my cool (weather) evening birthday. The bike and Margarita ingredients, basic instructions and measurement tabs on the pitcher were all set up and guests really, really got into it - even the non-drinkers helped things along. Each Margarita was about a one minute pedal - pretty easy going and just as well. The first photo shows the fill lines for the mix (Cointreau & tequila mix, lime juice and ice).

Polymer Clay Uke Prototype

2009-10-15T01:07:00.000-07:00

Here's a first go at unifying my love of all things small, Ukulele's and polymer clay. A miniature uke which will probably become a badge (I can't bring myself to say broach). Not a bad little number about 2.5 inches. Looks a little cartoonish which I like. Note the wood grain finish on the body and the nylon looking strings. Frets were a bit tricky but overall I think it's a good start. I learned about 10 things to do differently next time so that's success.

Cigar Box Ukulele

2009-09-23T02:46:00.000-07:00

Over the last year I've been getting back to playing guitar and have thought about making some simple instruments from wood. It was while surfing for home made instruments that I came across the world of the cigar box ukulele and the related cigar box guitar, cookie tin banjo etc... These folk instruments have been traditionally made by those lacking money or, I guess, access to the 'real' thing but in recent times they have become something of a craft object and all round cool instrument.

I decided to give it a go and make myself a cigar box uke from scratch. Because I did not know anything about making instruments, let alone the finer points of being a luthier and not having tools, the construction was fairly gradual. First I looked through the web and Wellington library for some simple instructions. I got three sets of plans and they all suggested different ideas which was good at my stage of understanding. Next Charity set me up with two cigar boxes from Moore Wilsons. I visited Alister's Music and got some great advice about getting the measurements right and they sent me on to Weta Guitars in Newtown who were really helpful in explaining the basics of fretting, and kitting me out with some Jarrah for the fretboard.

I decided on a Kauri neck and sourced that from Capital City timber on Thorndon Quay. Getting the bridge, nut and tuning pegs from Alister's completed the basic parts needed (Oh yeah - I got a bit of pine to strengthen the box).

I should point out that I did not know what any of the above words meant two months ago so please don't be intimidated by stuff like bridge and fret.

I had to source some tools as I went but the only specialist tool I purchased was a fretting saw from iconic USA luthier supplier Stewart MacDonald. I totally recommend this tool.

I also ordered a heap of ukulele fret wire from Australian Luthiers Suppliers. I don't think there is a luthier supply store as such in N Z

Friends and contacts were crucial, especially Jeff and his excellent bandsawing of the neck and John for his precision drilling of the neck joint.

As the photos show, the finished instrument is stunning (to me anyway) to look at and I'm happy to report that it plays really well too - a bit more twangy and light than the other ukuleles I've played. I'm definitely going to make some more and keep trying new ideas and designs. Down the track I want to build some sort of banjo and mandolin as well. I'm not sure if I will have a go at a hand made body.

I am really interested to know if there are any cigar box instrument makers out there in Wellington or further afield or even people wanting to give it a go. I can't believe that in the Ukulele capital of New Zealand there aren't a few DIY cigar box luthiers out there! Meanwhile my next project is a patch up of a $3 ukulele found at the tip shop.

Blending in

2009-08-17T23:00:00.000-07:00

One of the questions I get about the blender is along the lines of "is this a gimic?; are you actually going to use this as a legit appliance?" I'm happy to report that so far the blender has become part of the appliance scene in the Stuart household. So far there have been afternoon smoothies and grinding peanuts for a satay sauce. In summer when outdoor dining and cool foods become more the go, I'm expecting even more every day use. The blender has turned out to be really

One of the great things has been taking friends at the house 'out the back for a blend'. It's just fun and I think most of the neighbours like living next to someone who is a bit eccentric.

The blender is a lot quicker to set up than I thought which is making it realistic to pop out to the shed for a few revs.

On the drawing board for the blender are some shared lunches, street party and birthday party margaritas

This way up

2009-07-24T17:57:00.000-07:00

Micah and I had a wonderful afternoon (what is it about the bike blender that brings out the winter sun?) hosting dedicated cyclist Simon Morton of National Radio's this way up show, making an afternoon tea of salsa, hummus and Lassi - all beautiful again. There is a podcast of the blending session at their website.

The show also featured an interview with Tamara Dean who has published a book about the potential of human power including bike power: the human powered home.

Blending up a storm

2009-07-17T23:41:00.000-07:00

A great blending day! We gave the bike blender and food processor a good work out on cole slaw, beetroot hummus and salsa. All washed down with a mint lassi. It performed really great and everything tasted and looked fantastic as you can see above.

Birth of the smoothie revolution

2009-07-13T01:40:00.000-07:00

This site is a hitching post for thoughts and projects aimed at making my thinking and actions less straight and more round(ed). For starters that means a bike blender .

Here are some opening clips of the bike blender getting set up and in action for its inaugural smoothies (berries, banana, milk), which were pretty flash for the middle of winter. All said the blender works great even on the lower revs of the mountain bike. The smoothies were nicely thick without being too chunky and I really think the taste could be superior to an in the wall blender. Can anyone argue against me that non-electric smoothies taste better?