My new uke is destroyed

Matt Clara

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Strummed it some on lunch, left it on my desk, came home to find it laying in the desk seat with the top caved in. One crevasse running from the bottom of the lower bout, up past the bridge, all the way adjacent to the sound hole. My six year old daughter, who was home sick today, tearfully explained she fell on it. Which means she took it down off my desk and was playing with it, left it on the ground and then somehow managed to trip and fall on it. I suppose we all learn to be increasingly careful in our actions as we grow, and that this is one heck of a lesson in that for her, and that there's no need for anything but some token punishment, if that, but damn am I discouraged and a bit angry. Mostly discouraged. Was actually thinking I was going to spend some time with this uke, I liked the sound so much. Now it's kindling.
 
Oh! I am so sorry to hear about that. I like what thistle3585 had to say. I bet your little girl feels really, really bad. Give her a hug. She is more important. Fix away.
 
I was looking at my first uke as a repair job, now it's my first and second! Oy!
Actually, I feel a little bit better, having eaten some supper.
 
Thats really crappy, but i second what sukie said. Bet she was dreading you coming home! Good luck on the repair job and im glad to hear your feeling a bit better, it was a lovely looking uke.
 
Matt, I feel for you. And I feel even more for your daughter. My son managed to make a hole right through the top on the uke I made for him. He just left it on the workbench but he didn't dare to tell me. I found it there one night and almost started to cry because I knew how bad he must have felt. I fixed the hole, luckily the splinter was in the uke, and told him the day after that it was ok again. He still couldn't say anything, he just fell into my arms and called me the best dad in the world. Let your girl know you're glad she didn't hurt herself falling on the stupid thing. Kids mess things up, but one shouldn't mess kids up.

All the best man, you're next uke will be great. Greater.

Sven
 
What Sven said. It hurts to have something happen to something you put so much of yourself into but you put more of yourself into your child then you did the uke. It'll get better.
 
Thanks guys, but trust me, there's absolutely no danger I'm going to be too tough on my daughter. If anything, it's the other way around.

The crack has one edge tucked under the other. There's no way to align the edges of the crack without forcing the lower edge around the upper, which from the attempts I've already made I can see will cause further damage. It's time to start over.

Hey Pete--this is the one I'm gonna dance on!
 
Matt, I feel for you. And I feel even more for your daughter. My son managed to make a hole right through the top on the uke I made for him. He just left it on the workbench but he didn't dare to tell me. I found it there one night and almost started to cry because I knew how bad he must have felt. I fixed the hole, luckily the splinter was in the uke, and told him the day after that it was ok again. He still couldn't say anything, he just fell into my arms and called me the best dad in the world. Let your girl know you're glad she didn't hurt herself falling on the stupid thing. Kids mess things up, but one shouldn't mess kids up.

All the best man, you're next uke will be great. Greater.

Sven
Matt,
Sven and the others are right. Oh, how I feel for you. I know you put alot of time energy and effort into this build and just like that it's *poof*.
Well, Back to the drawing baord as they say. You have a few mistakes to learn from too. Kiss your daughter and go make two more. 'ukuleles that is.
I dunno maybe a couple more daughters would be good too! :)
 
:confused: How do kids learn from their mistakes if parents kiss and hug them every time they screw up?
Of course I'm not saying to beat a child, but come on, I think a group hug is starting to form here :D
The lesson she may learn here to not take down your uke without permission is the same lesson that will keep her from taking down a power drill or nail gun because they look fun too.

Oh, and sorry about the uke :(
 
. Kids mess things up, but one shouldn't mess kids up.

Sven

i like that!

i had a cheap mahalo that i brought and left at school, and thus learned it was a bad idea, seeing as now it has a huge hole where a strap holder would be on the back, and several names carved in it with scissors. luckily, it was only a cheap mahalo, but it was the uke my grandma gave me when i was four. boy was i mad. well, lesson learned,and my next uke, STAYS AT HOME!!!
 
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:confused: How do kids learn from their mistakes if parents kiss and hug them every time they screw up?
Of course I'm not saying to beat a child, but come on, I think a group hug is starting to form here :D
The lesson she may learn here to not take down your uke without permission is the same lesson that will keep her from taking down a power drill or nail gun because they look fun too.

Oh, and sorry about the uke :(

Oh, I agree with you completely. But only when they don't seem to care about what they have done. His daughter surely knew and felt horrible about it. She punished herself plenty I bet.
 
:confused: How do kids learn from their mistakes if parents kiss and hug them every time they screw up?
Of course I'm not saying to beat a child, but come on, I think a group hug is starting to form here :D
The lesson she may learn here to not take down your uke without permission is the same lesson that will keep her from taking down a power drill or nail gun because they look fun too.

Oh, and sorry about the uke :(

I'm with you, Paul. It's awful that she's beating herself up. Matt, I know you put a lot of work in on it and it's not fun for you, either! But think of it this way - if the only punishment she gets is how awful she feels this time, is she necessarily going to feel just as awful next time? I'm sure a lot of the feeling awful has to do with the anticipation of the trouble she'll be in from this - she should get in trouble. I'm assuming that taking your uke off the bench and playing it was breaking a rule - if not, it was showing no respect for the property of others. The punishment should be compassionate and just - but there should be punishment to confirm her fears and acknowledge her distress. When we do something wrong, we pay.

Matt, certainly you should be compassionate and understanding. You should express your regret that her choices have resulted in a fair punishment that fits the infraction. But you should also confirm that she made a poor choice, and when we make poor choices we pay with more than just our feelings of fear and guilt.
 
[QUOTEThe crack has one edge tucked under the other. There's no way to align the edges of the crack without forcing the lower edge around the upper[/QUOTE]

I certainly know that sick feeling. When I was headed to class with my first uke in a canvas bag, almost finished, I turned into my husband's workshop to get something and the bag swung and a pile of lumber, an ukulele body, and my knee all created a "perfect storm". I heard it crack and my heart sank. Retrieved it from the sack to take a look. Right on the bookmatched glue seam of the top between the bridge and the butt of the instrument I opened a crack and a bird's beak HOLE, V shaped, right on the glue seam.

My husband took a chopstick and some super glue, stuck the chopstick to the indented top (it was poked in at least 3/8 of an inch) and pulled hard. (I had my eyes closed and feared the worst when I heard a loud pop). When I got the courage to look, there it was, much improved. The pop was the superglue parting from the chopstick. Anyway, I finished the uke and moved with it to Oregon. The dry weather here has made the crack worse. It's open now and I think about trying to repair it with hide glue. But the bottom line is, I've played that uke for 6 years now, and I"ve made a few more, but so far, it has the nicest tone I've achieved....and it's actually nice to have an instrument I love to play but can take on the camping trip without being freaked out it'll get injured. I agree with those who say "Try fix!" Your six year old may have her first ukulele.
 
Matt, I'm so sorry about that. I sure hope you can replace the top on your cherry belle. If you like it, well then you just hang on to it and enjoy it. If not, you could give it to your daughter and it'll be hers to watch out for and every scratch will be her own to cry about. :\

Edit: Sorry, I meant every new scratch, of course.
 
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Oh dear - some pretty harsh advice here for which you heartless curmudgeons need to repent! An accident is just that - completely forgiveable and without consequence. I remember two such incidents for which I am very greatful for the learning experience that enabled me to put entirely in perspective the events. One involved my only son, the other my wife. I love them both and that came before any judgement. If I lose all of my material possessions in this world, including my Sabatier carving knife and still have my family, I am rich beyond belief and everything is right in the world. I know this, because I have done it and when you have nothing but those you love, you know all is well, you can start over and those things you have lost don't count for much. Concentrate on what is important - your family and friends and all good things will flow unto you.
 
Thanks guys. I did let her know if I caught her playing with my ukes without me around or without asking me, there would be consequences (like, no TV for a whole week!). I certainly appreciate her interest in my ukes, but she has her own mahalo, and if she wants to play with mine, she can wait until I'm around. These are great lessons for the wee shite. I still remember vividly the time a carelessly hit my grandma in the face with a soccer ball. She was fine, but good lord did I feel bad, and learned something about being careful, like, it's not just something old people say you should be!

I kept playing with the crack in the uke, and finally figured out I needed to depress the whole crack, allowing for the two sides to realign, and they did and don't look too bad now. I did aggravate a second crack I couldn't originally see, but there was no splintering. Now I'm considering simply saturating the crack(s) with thin CA while pushing up from underneath (and sanding and refinishing the top afterwards). As the crack goes all the way to the bottom of the lower bout, pushing up down there will be difficult. I'll have to make a lever of some sort (probably just an L or "crook" shaped piece of wood) to do it. After which I could CA some small patches inside to reinforce the cracked areas. It'll never be the same, but some kid could learn to play on it. Whaddya think, will that work?
 
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Oh dear - some pretty harsh advice here for which you heartless curmudgeons need to repent! An accident is just that - completely forgiveable and without consequence. Concentrate on what is important - your family and friends and all good things will flow unto you.

Beautifully said Pete. And so right.
 
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