MOP Dot markers

howdy all,

does anyone know where to buy new or replaceable dot markers for the uke fretboards?

Specifically, I am thinking of the old harmony ukes from the 50' -60's with the plastic fretboards. When you buy them, mostly the dot markers are worn off / missing and the screws are left exposed.

Please help!!!

Hi Eugene

Stewart-Mac should be able to help you

http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Inlay,_pearl/Pre-cut_inlays/Pearl_Dots.html?actn=100101&xst=3&xsr=6027

I realized yu live a bit far, but they do ship internationally. They are "the place" for instrument builders.

See also

Abalone markers

http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Inlay,_pearl/Pre-cut_inlays/Abalone_Dots.html?actn=100101&xst=3&xsr=6027

Gold Pearl dots

http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Inlay,_...ld_Pearl_Dots.html?actn=100101&xst=3&xsr=6027

In fact, browse the catalog and get stuff so you do have to go back and order more (and pay more shipping).


Cheers
Chief

thanks for the heads up there Chief. Great advice. They've sure got it all there. All the best mate...

But you don't need to go so far from home!

http://luthierssupplies.com.au/index.php?cPath=177_58

http://www.mopsupplies.com/shell_dots.html

Good call, Dave.

Seems like they are within in a driving distance!

Eugene - check the diameter and the thickness carefully. You probably want it thinner than thicker (and smaller than larger). Use Elmer's wood glue (or whatever; in US, kids use it in grade school art project - not super adhesive and can be eaten! at least, less harmful when ingested), or superglue if you're brave.

Have fun
Chief

When I put in my fret markers, I normally use Cyanoacrylate glue I got from Grizzly. It's plenty strong, and dries almost instantly, usually within about 5 seconds. The only problem I've had with it was that I glued my finger to the marker and the marker to the fretboard once, which was kind of annoying..but if you have any kind of skill when working with adhesives you probably would do this better than I did, and not glue your own hand to the fretboard ha

chiefnoda said:

Seems like they are within in a driving distance!
Chief

Click to expand...

I just had a look out of interest. It's about 1000 miles as the crow flies, including quite a bit of ocean!

I highly recommend Martin at MOP Supplies. I use him all the time. Very good service and the price is as good as you are ever going to get. Especially in Australia.

Dave Higham said:

I just had a look out of interest. It's about 1000 miles as the crow flies, including quite a bit of ocean!

Click to expand...

Time to hit my atlas....... ummm, maybe I'd better practice my ukulele. Yup, I should!

Cheers
Chief

awesome Dave. thankyou too.

I just replaced the maple fret markers on one of my ukuleles with abalone. I glued them in with CA, super glue.

Measure the diameter of the hole with calipers or take the ukulele with you to get the right diameter.

Because you have a plastic fretboard you have to be careful not to get glue on it that you can't easily wipe off. You may want to look into UHU all purpose glue. It was recommended to me to glue a pickup magnet back on. It is permanent, but it is water soluble so you can use water to remove the excess before it dries. I’m thinking of putting in side markers and will probably use UHU.

As for thickness, since the fretboard is plastic you can't glue in the marker and then sand it down like a wood board, so you will need to get it to the right thickness beforehand. I had to put one on the bridge and I used 400 to 600 to 1500 wet and dry to sand it down. If you make them just slightly lower, the glue will probably raise the marker a bit.

I ended up doing mine twice. I’m not sure how the light reflects off MOP, but I installed the first set of abalone without considering that, so when I looked at the fretboard while playing, they looked dark and I couldn’t see them from that angle.

John