Ukulele Broke.. Help please :(

Orderedsushi

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Hey guys.

My Sad Sad Story... :/

So recently, i went over to my girlfriends house.. and we were jus hanging out before i had work.
I sat down on the sofa where there was a lot of pillows. on the other side was my girlfriends grandfathers ukulele.
he passed away a long time ago and gave this to her as a rememberance. the ukulele was so important to her and she
broke out crying. so now im determined to fix it and repair it to give back to her, no matter the cost.
I do not want to buy a new uke, just fix this one.

the ukulele kinda broke in half. as if someone knee'd it, but didnt break it all the way. there is tension preventing the 2 pieces to be put back together, so substantial pressure would be needed to hold that piece back together. the strings and everything else are fine.

please give any tips and advice, or shops in my area or anything associated with the repair of her uke. I feel terrible and
promised her right away that i would fix it. thanks so much guys.
 

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Considering the importance of this and the extent of the damage my advice is to take it to a professional luthier.
 
From the pics, it looks like the neck and binding have separated from their seams and that there's no real structural damage, like a smashed top. That's the good news. :)

What I would do immediately is slack the strings (de-tune them down) to the point where they're not putting any tension on the top/neck. Handle it carefully to prevent any further damage.

Like fahrner said, go to a professional luthier. The strings will likely be removed to effect the repair anyway. Strings are the least of your concern, you can always buy a new set.

As far as shops in your area, I don't see a location listed. There aren't that many luthiers that specialize in ukes, but anyone well versed in classical and/or acoustic guitar repair should be able to handle the job.

Good luck, and let us know how it turns out. :)
 
Ok, I'm moving this thread into the Luthiers' Lounge.

As the uke has serious sentimental importance, Orderedsushi may benefit from some real expert advice, and this is probably the place to find it.

FWIW, I'm with fahrner and itsme. A good luthier/repairman can probably fix it - they can do miraculous things. I would not even consider trying DIY on your girlfriend's grandfather's 'ukulele.

I hope one of our experts can advise further.
 
It looks completely repairable. The break is clean and there is nothing broken out on the top.
 
You are talking serious repair here. Take it to a pro for repair.

From your first picture I believe that you have an instrument with a spanish heel -- the neck extends inside the body and the sides are slotted into the neck. The repair is a heck of a lot more than just getting some glue into the open crack and clamping it back together. The top will probably have to be removed to properly repair the neck.

Once you get the ukulele repaired also get her a nice stand or wall display rack for the ukulele.

Good luck.

Konala
 
As someone who has done alot of repair work, this can be repaired . It would be fairly straightforward as to what needs to be done but it is not a simple repair. Contrary to some advice given above I would not slack off the tension on the strings but leave that to the repairman who should get this in his hands as soon as possible. When the tension is slacked off of the strings great care needs to be taken not to further damage the heel by misaligning and tearing off splinters. You also have to worry about aligning the sides, top and back and reattaching the broken piece of the fingerboard. Good luck with it but do not attempt this yoursel.
 
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