modify bridge-compensate for high action

Greetings all,

Looking for some advice on this uke. It is an older ukulele that I picked up a while back. It has nice tone but because of the high action, caused by a little bowing going on in the body, the intonation is bad. This is a no-name uke and is far from new but I have no idea how old it is.

Other problems;

1. Small crack by bridge.
2. Frets go directly into neck-no fretboard.
3. It appears that the 12th fret was placed where the neck and body meet and that fret is missing in action. I assume this is an instrument building no-no.

Here is my plan;
A. Get a bridge / saddle from Stewart MacDonald.
B. Whittle them down enough to fix the action.
C. Put on light strings.

This will lead to links of my ukulele
http://webpages.charter.net/drw46/uke/uke-problems.htm

I would appreciate any comments.

-----------------------------------EDIT-----------------------------------

Just noticed the ACTION TOO HIGH thread not too far below this one so maybe that answers all my questions...


Thanks,
Doug

no need to get a need bridge remove the old one and remove enough from the bottom to coorect action. This may result in a too thin bradge but what you do is at the end of each slot drill a small 1-32" hole thru into the body String your ukulele into the body and tie a large know...better to use a bead so that your uke is now actually a string thru body attached style uke. problem solved As for the fret buy a cheap 5.00 tourist uke and steal tythe fret and use that although the size wore may be not matching install level and fret dress...if you have problems seating the fret use a little superglue in the slot to hold in place..

ps its early and i am too lazy to correct bad spelling lol

MGM,

Thanks for the response. I will give it a try. As far as tourist ukes, they are difficult to find in western Minnesota. The local antique store often has overpriced old bad ukuleles. I can live without the fret if I get the intonation corrected.

Thanks for the help,
Doug

Doug W said:

MGM,

Thanks for the response. I will give it a try. As far as tourist ukes, they are difficult to find in western Minnesota. The local antique store often has overpriced old bad ukuleles. I can live without the fret if I get the intonation corrected.

Thanks for the help,
Doug

Click to expand...

PM me your address and I'll send you a piece of fret wire. You'll have to nip the ends and file it a bit to get it like the others...

mattclara,

That is very kind of you to offer a new member some fret wire. I will send you a PM.

Many Thanks,
Doug

It's on its way.

Thanks Matt, I will let you know how it comes out.

Typically one more or less pounds the fretwire into place, making sure the neck is well supported first. As this wire is going between the body and the neck, I'd be real careful about pounding anything. You could try tapping with a small hammer like this jeweler's hammer. Use the plastic, or the brass head. Brass still might mar the wire, though the nickel fretwire is harder than brass.