Hi Folks,
To be clear, I am talking about the cheapo Flea copy that caused such a stir here on UU, that was in fact sold by Schoenhut (the musical toy piano company), Not the real Magic Fluke Flea. I have several of those and love them too much to hack them apart.
Yes, I was one of the folks who bought one (of the Schoenhut copies), and later regretted it.
I don’t want to discuss that though here though, if you have thoughts about that, please PM me. I'm not trying to create controversy with potentially malignant topics.
My reason for this thread is because I saw that some folks had taken them apart, and shown some photos of the end result. However, I cannot tell from the photos that were shared, how that end result was achieved.
I'm not sure that this topic and question is worthy of the 'Luthier's Lounge' section so that is why I am putting it here in the 'Uke Talk' section. (Moderators - feel free to relocate it where more appropriate if necessary)
I want to take mine apart but do not want to totally destroy it, as I want to try and rebuild it into something else.
I need help to understand the best way to remove the plastic fingerboard, and then the top soundboard, but without destroying the soundboard or the neck as I'd like to reuse them later. The fingerboard has no more frets left due to play wear, so I'm not concerned about saving that at all.
My first thought was to take a wide-blade metal spackle-spreader and just work it down the length of the neck, and gently separate the fingerboard from the neck. Do you think this will work? Please advise.
My bigger issue is how to remove the top. A long while back, I had previously cut a hole in the uke's plastic back with a 2.5" hole saw (in order to install a pickup more easily, just opposite the bridge, to gain better access to the bridge-plate), and I can see that the top is glued on with a yellowish glue that looks a lot like construction adhesive, and the top rests on a sort of shelf that is about 3/16" below the outer edge of the sides. How do I get this off without the top breaking? Please advise.
I am assuming that the neck is screwed in to the back, and once I remove the fingerboard, I'll be able to access the screws. Please advise.
Any and all help, suggestions, or ideas, especially from those fine folks here on UU who have gone down this path before, would be most appreciated. Bonus points if your reply includes helpful photos.
I promise to share the details of whatever I do and rebuild it into, once I can get it apart. I just cant bear to trash the thing, and I'm always tinkering with my instruments so it's not a big deal overall, I'd just like to damage the original parts as little as possible.
I'm hoping that those who have done this previously would be kind enough to share their experience.
Thanks in advance.
To be clear, I am talking about the cheapo Flea copy that caused such a stir here on UU, that was in fact sold by Schoenhut (the musical toy piano company), Not the real Magic Fluke Flea. I have several of those and love them too much to hack them apart.
Yes, I was one of the folks who bought one (of the Schoenhut copies), and later regretted it.
I don’t want to discuss that though here though, if you have thoughts about that, please PM me. I'm not trying to create controversy with potentially malignant topics.
My reason for this thread is because I saw that some folks had taken them apart, and shown some photos of the end result. However, I cannot tell from the photos that were shared, how that end result was achieved.
I'm not sure that this topic and question is worthy of the 'Luthier's Lounge' section so that is why I am putting it here in the 'Uke Talk' section. (Moderators - feel free to relocate it where more appropriate if necessary)
I want to take mine apart but do not want to totally destroy it, as I want to try and rebuild it into something else.
I need help to understand the best way to remove the plastic fingerboard, and then the top soundboard, but without destroying the soundboard or the neck as I'd like to reuse them later. The fingerboard has no more frets left due to play wear, so I'm not concerned about saving that at all.
My first thought was to take a wide-blade metal spackle-spreader and just work it down the length of the neck, and gently separate the fingerboard from the neck. Do you think this will work? Please advise.
My bigger issue is how to remove the top. A long while back, I had previously cut a hole in the uke's plastic back with a 2.5" hole saw (in order to install a pickup more easily, just opposite the bridge, to gain better access to the bridge-plate), and I can see that the top is glued on with a yellowish glue that looks a lot like construction adhesive, and the top rests on a sort of shelf that is about 3/16" below the outer edge of the sides. How do I get this off without the top breaking? Please advise.
I am assuming that the neck is screwed in to the back, and once I remove the fingerboard, I'll be able to access the screws. Please advise.
Any and all help, suggestions, or ideas, especially from those fine folks here on UU who have gone down this path before, would be most appreciated. Bonus points if your reply includes helpful photos.
I promise to share the details of whatever I do and rebuild it into, once I can get it apart. I just cant bear to trash the thing, and I'm always tinkering with my instruments so it's not a big deal overall, I'd just like to damage the original parts as little as possible.
I'm hoping that those who have done this previously would be kind enough to share their experience.
Thanks in advance.
