Side Cracked Kamaka Tenor

Need some advices from all you uke gurus.

Just bought a used Kamaka HF-3 with a 10 inch crack on the side (the side that's facing the ground) of the uke and paid $600 for it.

1. did I pay too much? How much would you pay?

2. trying to fix the crack with wood filler but it doesn't seem very strong. What should I do?

3. with the crack on the side, would it affect the sound quality or volume of this uke?

Thanks

Here ya go with my 2 cents:

1 = $600 yep thats way too much money. Maybe $200, a 10 inch crack holds little interest to me.

2 = Wood filler would be a joke, Send it back to Kamaka or a competent Luthier

3 = Done correctly, it'll sound just fine.

Cheers

Yeah I would have to agree that you paid too much. I might have gone up to $350. It may cost $150-200 to have Kamakahawaii fix it and they would keep it for a year. Sorry. However if your happy playing it then it's worth it.

hi oneyedragon

I am totally illiterate when it comes to stuff like this...if it were me I'd take it to a local luthier and do a professional job on the crack...from past experience it might cost you $100 bucks or so and you'd have a perfectly functioning, beautiful kamaka tenor for WAY less than retail which I think is around $1200...if you're not sure what you're doing leave it to someone who does...have you got some pictures you could show us...I think it's always a bit of a danger when you buy something used...let alone with a crack as well...$600 bucks would be around 1/2 price...still sounds a bit much to pay proabably

To the OP, I deleted the same thread in the Marketplace and moved the replies here. It's not necessary to post it in two different areas.

Aloha oneyedragon,
I actually saw this uke and passed on it.....way too expensive with a crack that size......I would figure Kamaka would do the best job at the best price..
I would believe to fix it would cost between $150.00-$200.00 and add $50.00 shipping ...a damaged fixed ukulele would $500.00-$550.00....
Let's say you minus $225.00 -$250.00 from the selling price of one in good condition....$700.00 it would sell for about the same price of a damaged one
minus shipping....after it's fixed hopefully by Kamaka....it should sound fine....Good luck!! MM Stan...

Thank you guys. I guess I paid too much. I do want it fixed by Kamaka but don't want to wait 1 year....anyone know a good luthier in Oahu?

The BIG, BIG question is this: Does the crack follow the grain?

If it DOES NOT: Then you have an ugly mark on your ukulele which will make that side a bit structurally unsound, but which will likely give you no long-term difficulties so long as the wood is reasonably hard. It will affect the sound, but you have no idea what it sounded like without the crack, so don't worry about it.

If it DOES: Then there is serious bad news. A luthier can glue in blocks at either end of the crack, which will keep it from widening at that specific point, but unfortunately won't do much if the crack decides to extend in either direction. In a sense, the question for you is whether or not the crack started at that size. If so, it might be stable, and you might be okay. If it's grown, it will likely have some aspect to it which tends to growth. And in my limited experience, there is no luthier who will be able to give you any guarantees. I have a 1-inch hairline grain crack in a Martin D-18 on the lower side, and two good luthiers both told me I'd better be careful and that a good knock would probably make it bigger.

Sorry. I'm just the messenger.

oneyedragon said:

Thank you guys. I guess I paid too much. I do want it fixed by Kamaka but don't want to wait 1 year....anyone know a good luthier in Oahu?

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They might be able to do it faster. They did a complete restore on my 1950s Kamaka in less than 6 months. It depends on the job and when they can fit it in to their work. They have great service, I'd strongly consider having them do the work.

portlandjosh said:

They might be able to do it faster. They did a complete restore on my 1950s Kamaka in less than 6 months. It depends on the job and when they can fit it in to their work. They have great service, I'd strongly consider having them do the work.

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As i told portlandjosh before, I'm sure that repair will be done lot less than 1 year....and they will do the best job around for the price.....no doubt about it....MM Stan..

Thanks again for everyone's valuable inputs. I will go down to Kamaka and get it fixed.