Use dentist mirror!

ktuurna

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I bought ukulele (Ohana CK-28 Vintage Style Solid Mahogany Concert Ukulele) last April. It looks nice and sounds good. I am curious person and hobbist luthier and I want so see what is inside and I wanted to know how bracketing is made. When I look inside I realized that one brace is broken. I took the ukulele back to shop and I get my money back.
Couple weeks ago my frien went to same shop. I told she that take mirror with her and look inside before buy anything. I don't know if there is still that same Ohana in that shop (they told me that they send it back to manufacture) , but when my friend look inside, there was again broken brace. She try several ukuleles before buy one, and two has broken brace. Let's be careful out there!
 
Good shop to stay away from
 
I spend forty years doing airworthiness inspections on aircraft. They now have small inspection mirrors with telescoping handles and a little LED lite attached to them. You could get into every nook with one of those. It might be worth getting one if that is the case. I don't think that they cost a lot. I have two or three of them in different sizes.
 
I spend forty years doing airworthiness inspections on aircraft. They now have small inspection mirrors with telescoping handles and a little LED lite attached to them. You could get into every nook with one of those. It might be worth getting one if that is the case. I don't think that they cost a lot. I have two or three of them in different sizes.

They sell something like this at Harbor Freight. I think they're around $4, it being Harbor Freight and all.
 
Well, to be fair, when a typical shop receives an ukulele from a manufacturer, and it plays and sounds fine as you say, I wouldn't expect them to be poking around inside to check the braces. So, they sold you one with a defect that was normally invisible. I wouldn't take them off my list. They did take it back, after all.

Come to think of it, I may have owned ukuleles with this problem and never known. My very favorite instrument may have a broken brace and I, for the most part, wouldn't care.
 
Wow. Good thread. If I hear a rattle or buzz, I'm looking inside next time!
 
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