a tiny knot hole in my solid acacia tenor uke?

faithmusic

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Hi, I'd like to know if having a tiny knot hole on the side of my uke might be a problem down the line?
If anyone could tell me, that would be very helpful.

Thanks.
8-{-
 

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I do not see that as any more than a very minor cosmetic issue. The lining should be glued to the side behind it, so it should not be a structural issue.

Brad
 
Since most of the stress and vibration is coming from the top, there shouldn't be a noticeable sound or structure issue. I'll second that it is cosmetic. Think of it as a way to say that is "your" ukulele and there are none like it!

~DB
 
Thanks Brad and lindydanny for your replies.

I feel much better now! ;-)

Joe
8-{-
 
Hi, I'd like to know if having a tiny knot hole on the side of my uke might be a problem down the line?
If anyone could tell me, that would be very helpful.

Thanks.
8-{-

It shouldn't cause a problem. I've been playing a wood wind instrument for well over ten years that has some knots/birls, and have not had any issues.

As premium woods become more difficult (or more expensive) to find in large quantities, less expensive instruments will have a blemish or two like this. It's one of the trade offs of affordability versus availability.
 
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I recently bought a solid (spalted) mango concert uke. You guys said that one or two little holes isn't a big deal. Well, what about like 6 tiny holes? They aren't from knots in the wood, its from the spalting. There are these little black spots all over the uke. Though its aesthetically pleasing, if i hold it up to the light and look inside the sound hole, i can see little pinpricks of light coming through some of the little spots. There's one on the top, and the rest are on the sides. You can't even tell from the outside, and i think the holes are covered from the lacquer finish. Is this something i should be worried about? Is there a way to fix it?
 
Would love to see pictures of this ukulele. To my understanding, spalting is from wood fungus, a decomposition stage. It surely makes the wood more brittle ?
 
Uke frontside.jpgUke backside.jpgside.jpgcloseup.jpg Can you see the black dots on the side shot? some of them are hollow, and i can see light coming through from the inside. I can't tell if it's affecting the sound at all. It sounds good, but maybe it could sound even better w/o the holes? Maybe i'm just being paranoid.
 
Those tiny holes are probably worm holes. As long as there is no critters left in the holes, it won't be a problem. You would more than likely see a white powder or dust around the holes if the worm was still active, but it looks OK to me.
 
what about a teal colored powder? there's some light-greenish colored powder inside the uke, but i assumed it was residue from its manufacturing.
 
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Its hard to say what that powder is. Try cleaning it out thoroughly and watch to see if it comes back. You are probably right, it is just polishing compound.
 
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