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Sidi
Oud Maniac
Posts: 94
Registered: 2-6-2004
Member Is Offline
Mood: Very Sad...
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Folks you are probably looking at the next Jameel Georges in action here...awesome stuff Jameel.
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Jameel
Oud Junkie
Posts: 1672
Registered: 12-5-2002
Member Is Offline
Mood: No Mood
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Sidi,
That's just going too far! 
My ouds are at most wall-hangers. I know pretty-much nada when it comes to good sound.
Ok, back to construction. Here's some shots of the mosaic inlay around the soundholes. After I cut the sound hole out, I'll glue another line of
veneer on the inside of the tiles. I have an interesting way of clamping this in place.
In the second shot I laid some of the inlay that will surround the soundhole. These diamonds will have a thin circular line of veneer that connects
them at their points.
I was looking back at the beginning of this thread. It's been an entire year, minus a week, since I started this oud. Whew! Frankly, I'm ready to
string it up!
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Mike
Super Administrator
Posts: 1568
Registered: 12-3-2002
Location: California, USA
Member Is Offline
Mood: Happy
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Hey Jameelo,
Looks like you are at he final stretch here my man.
Needless to say, it looks incredible so far.
Keep up the good work, and keep us posted.
Take care,
Mike
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Jameel
Oud Junkie
Posts: 1672
Registered: 12-5-2002
Member Is Offline
Mood: No Mood
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Face Inlay complete
Thanks as usual everybody. It's coming along well now. Not much left.....
I finished up the face inlay and cut out one of the qamriyya. After cutting out the holes, I glued in a line of purfling (walnut veneer) to cover the
inside edge of the hole. To clamp it firmly in place, I inflated ballons to act as clamps while the glue dried. About 10 minutes after the balloons
were inflated, while I was cutting the qamriyya, one of them popped, giving me a good scare. I thought perhaps something disastrous had happened! I
quickly filled another and got back to work. Next step: bracing the top.
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Jameel
Oud Junkie
Posts: 1672
Registered: 12-5-2002
Member Is Offline
Mood: No Mood
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Cutting the rose
Using a 2/0 jeweler's blade in a variable-speed scroll saw...
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Mike
Super Administrator
Posts: 1568
Registered: 12-3-2002
Location: California, USA
Member Is Offline
Mood: Happy
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Jameel,
The soundboard is looking beautiful. I can't wait to see it on the oud. Oh, and the balloons cracked me up my man!
Keep up the great work,
Mike
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syrianoud
Oud Junkie
Posts: 631
Registered: 7-22-2005
Member Is Offline
Mood: No Mood
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What a beutiful Oud , I never seen such a nice way to build a oud.I congratulate you, Cant wait to see it done. Very good Job . salamat
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Jameel
Oud Junkie
Posts: 1672
Registered: 12-5-2002
Member Is Offline
Mood: No Mood
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Raqma
Thanks again for the nice comments. You guys make this project a lot more fun. After a long time of not being able to work on the oud, I finally got some free moments this weekend. I made the raqma today. It's
Indian Rosewood with maple, walnut, and bone inlay. I also started the bridge, but didn't get a chance to photograph it.
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mavrothis
Oud Junkie
Posts: 1674
Registered: 6-5-2003
Location: NJ/NYC
Member Is Offline
Mood: big band envy
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Bravo Jameel,
The working you are doing on your new oud and the restorations you've done are simply gorgeous. Thanks for sharing your art with us.
Take care,
mavrothis
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Jameel
Oud Junkie
Posts: 1672
Registered: 12-5-2002
Member Is Offline
Mood: No Mood
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Bridge
Thanks, Mav! Welcome back. Sounds like you had a great time in Greece.
The bridge has bone strips on the edges to prevent the strings from wearing into the wood. The bridge is made from walnut.
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Peyman
Oud Junkie
Posts: 496
Registered: 7-22-2005
Member Is Offline
Mood: Mahoor
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truly amazing (and practical)
Are those the same bone strips you prepared yourself?
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Jay
Oud Lover
Posts: 23
Registered: 5-22-2005
Location: Clemson, SC USA
Member Is Offline
Mood: Feelin' Good
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That's beautiful, Jameel... I bet you're just itching to play this one! Looking forward to seeing the shamsiyya.
Jay
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bcearthtones
Oud Addict
Posts: 35
Registered: 8-19-2005
Location: Canada
Member Is Offline
Mood: No Mood
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I hope you are turning pro after this one !
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Dr. Oud
Oud Junkie
Posts: 1370
Registered: 12-18-2002
Location: Sacramento, CA, USA
Member Is Offline
Mood: better than before
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| Quote: | Originally posted by bcearthtones
I hope you are turning pro after this one ! |
I think Jameel is a master luthier already, turning pro is a business decision, and living in the USA with the oud prices attainable is not a living
income. To put it in perspective, the very best makers are selling ouds for $2,500-$4,000. The best guitar makers are getting $10,000-$30,000. and the
best violin makers are selling for $20,000-$50,000. Peter Keveylos, who is a grand master oud maker relies on his instrument repair business to make
a living. The only oud maker I know of actually making a living from his craft is Viken Najarian, and he is doing it by selling electric solid body
ouds. This is a labor of love, and Jameel shows us how much he loves to make beautiful ouds.
BTW, Jameel the bridge cap looks familiar, no? Very nice work all around, I want to hear it - no - I want to play it!
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bcearthtones
Oud Addict
Posts: 35
Registered: 8-19-2005
Location: Canada
Member Is Offline
Mood: No Mood
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Your absolutley right Doc, it's the skill that makes the master, not the money. Beautiful stuff Jameel! A labour of love well worrth the effort.
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Peyman
Oud Junkie
Posts: 496
Registered: 7-22-2005
Member Is Offline
Mood: Mahoor
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Jameel,
I am very curious as what kind of wood the soundboard is. Is it possible to build the ribs from the same material or is it too tough for bending?
I can't wait till it all comes together...
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carpenter
Oud Junkie
Posts: 248
Registered: 8-30-2005
Location: Eugene OR
Member Is Offline
Mood: brimming with hope
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Speaking of using a mold, take a peek at Rob't Lundberg's "Historical Lute Construction," Guild of American Luthiers, 2002. Dy-no-mite detail
construction photos all around. A solid mold used there, but I'm behind the bulkhead notion. Lots of European-flavored roses, too, many based on
Arabic originals. A $65 price tag, but I dig it. www.luth.org , if interested.
Looks like lutes use an an elliptical/catenary cross-section, instead of a pure circle, but still...contains valuable information and pictures.
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Jameel
Oud Junkie
Posts: 1672
Registered: 12-5-2002
Member Is Offline
Mood: No Mood
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Thanks everybody.
I used a guitar saddle for the bone strips.
Doc, I appreciate the compliment, but I'm no master. Your're the master! Turning pro? Who ever made a living making ouds in the US? I'll keep my day
job, thanks! Besides, the fun would disappear at that point.
Peyman, it's Englemann Spruce. I've heard of backs made from Cedar or Cypress, never saw one, but I think walnut is the most traditional. Softwoods
generally don't bend so well.
carpenter, I had that book but sold it. It had some interesting stuff in it, but I found it not too helpful for oud making. I learned more bending my
first rib than reading about it for a week.
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Mike
Super Administrator
Posts: 1568
Registered: 12-3-2002
Location: California, USA
Member Is Offline
Mood: Happy
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What can we say Jameelo! The soundboard looks just as amazing as the body. Incredible attention to detail and craftsmanship my friend. Getting closer
and closer to stringing this bad boy up. I can't wait to see the finished instrument.
Take care,
Mike
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Jameel
Oud Junkie
Posts: 1672
Registered: 12-5-2002
Member Is Offline
Mood: No Mood
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If you can't wait Mike, think about how I feel! I'ts almost there!
Ok, I'm fitting the braces now, and I discovered a new method that makes the fitting go about 100x faster. I'm not kidding. I was blown away when I
discovered it this morning. So I cut the brace to rough length as usual, using the small bevel gauge as I normally do. The next step is to fit each
end of the brace to match the curvature of the top rib in both planes. Not an easy task if you want it to be accurate. I usually do this with a fine
wood rasp and file. So, it popped into my head: use the inside surface of the rib itself to shape the end of the brace to match perfectly. And how is
this done? By slipping a piece of medium sandpaper (100grit) between the end of the brace and the rib, holding the brace in its exact position against
the rib and pulling the sandpaper up, thereby conforming the sandpaper to the exact shape of the inside surface of the rib and shaping the end of the
brace to that exact shape. I was able to fit each brace this way, and I had all the braces perfectly fit in about 2 hours! To me this is very fast. So
as I'm writing this I have the first rib clamped up and the glue curing. This was a significant discovery for me, and sped up and simplified what is
normally a long tedious job. Check the video in the next message.
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Jameel
Oud Junkie
Posts: 1672
Registered: 12-5-2002
Member Is Offline
Mood: No Mood
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Brace fitting
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Dr. Oud
Oud Junkie
Posts: 1370
Registered: 12-18-2002
Location: Sacramento, CA, USA
Member Is Offline
Mood: better than before
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Lap sanding! why didn't I think of that. Great idea, Jameel, I'm gonna use it myself from now on.
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Alan
Oud Junkie
Posts: 118
Registered: 9-30-2003
Location: Tampa Bay Florida
Member Is Offline
Mood: Mellow Yellow
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Jameel, once again I am blown away by your oud making ability. Man you are doing a fantastic job. Your ouds are beautiful. A labor of love for
sure. Truely amazing
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Jameel
Oud Junkie
Posts: 1672
Registered: 12-5-2002
Member Is Offline
Mood: No Mood
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Rose/Shamsiyya
Alan,
Thanks for the nice comments. You are very kind to say so.
After coming up with a design I wanted to use for the rose (it's a common Nahat desgn), I decided I needed some help designing the calligraphy in the
center circle. First, I asked fellow board member and friend Spyros C., who was kind enough to provide me with several designs. Although I ended up
not using any of these, his input is greatly appreciated, and I am greatly indebted to him for his time and effort. Thank you Spyros!  I'd also like to thank Mike and Wael K. for providing me with some Arabic
computer-generated versions of the calligraphy.
While corresponding with another highly valued board member, Sidi, I discovered that he had studied Arabic Calligraphy at university. After some
correspondence and discussion, we settled on a design. Due to the refined nature of Sidi's design, we decided to increase the size of the center
calligraphy, to showcase his work, and make it easier to cut (the primary reason---this has some seriously tiny parts to cut). I'm including an image
of the original calligraphic design, and the form it took in the context of the rose itself, which I am in the process of cutting. Like the qamriyya,
it's a layer of bone laminated to a layer of thin plywood.
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mavrothis
Oud Junkie
Posts: 1674
Registered: 6-5-2003
Location: NJ/NYC
Member Is Offline
Mood: big band envy
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Beautiful!
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