Stewart Golf ukulele kit, Assembly Instructions Manual

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makes a good tool for rounding the fret ends . Stroke the
ends where they meet the fretboard, rounding them until
they feel smooth .
Round the fret tops
Leveling the frets leaves flat surfaces on the fret tops . Round
off these flats using 400-grit sandpaper wrapped around
your fingers . Run the sandpaper up and down the fretboard
to smooth the frets . Follow this with 600-grit paper for a
nice satin surface .
Sand the body and neck
Sand with 180-grit
Sand the body using 180-grit sandpaper and a flat sanding
block . Make your sanding strokes with the grain direction,
not sideways across it . You’re looking for and removing any
scratches deeper than the grain itself, and a sideways or
circular motion will create small new scratches .
A stout wooden dowel makes a good sanding block for the
inner curves at the waist .
Smooth all sharp edges to make them slightly rounded .
When edges are too sharp, it’s easy to accidentally sand the
finish away at those points when you sand between coats .
Knock off all sharp edges so they receive and hold a good
coat of finish .
Smooth the fretboard/neck transition
The glue joint between the fretboard and neck needs to
be smoothed to get a comfortable transition between the
rounded neck and the flat edge of the fretboard .
Use a flat file and sandpaper to slightly round the fretboard
edge, blending it into the neck . At this stage, you’re shaping,
not final sanding . Final sanding comes later, as you prepare
for finishing .
While filing along the length of the neck, this is a good time
to double-check the bevel of your fret ends . When playing
the uke, you’ll appreciate the feel of the rounded neck
blending smoothly into the fretboard, with comfortably
beveled fret ends .
Level the frets with sandpaper
No matter how carefully you’ve installed the frets, some fret
tops will be higher than others .
To level the frets, tape 320- and 400-grit sandpaper to a flat
table top . Lay the frets face-down on the 320-grit and slide
back and forth to sand them . When all the fret tops have
been scuffed by the paper, the frets are level . Follow this
with 400-grit paper, sanding gently to remove scratches .
Round the fret ends
The beveled fret ends will have some roughness from fil-
ing . 400-grit sandpaper wrapped around a metal ruler to
Level the frets
Watch the video:
PART 5
LEVELING THE FRETS
Watch the video:
PART 6
SANDING THE BODY+NECK