I just fixed my first hairline crack... So far so good.

I Found and bought an Anuenue 1879 Ukulele music store demo on eBay… What a nice Ukulele… Got it for a little over $500 with free shipping.

As I was playing it the first night I noticed what seemed to be a scratch on the back… The front, sides, neck and head stock are all in perfect condition… As I looked closer it seemed to be a hairline crack, not from an impact of some kind, but after going online and doing some reading, a crack caused by not enough humidity. It came from the east coast where they have real winters, I live in Los Angeles and our winters are mostly rain.

I had saved over $200, I really liked the curly Koa they used in making this ukulele, the action was perfect and the intonation was right on and the custom hard case was so cool.

I thought, I could take it to a local guitar shop and have them fix it, Or…. I went on line and found a video of a guy fixing the back seam of his ukulele using ‘Titebond’ wood glue, which I had never heard of… He put the glue on the seam, used a finger to pat and rub it into the space, warm water to clean off the excess and let set overnight. Good as new he said, I thought to myself, I could do that…

Yesterday went to the home depot, bought the glue $3, last night I did the operation and let it set over night. I’m very happy with the way it turned out… I didn’t want to sand or refinish it, I don’t have that skill, in my mind less was more… If I want to get it refinished later, I’ll take it to a shop.

It's the best ukulele I own, my third Anuenue, but the first solid wood Anuenue. The koa is great, the feel and sound are amazing, I changed out the strings and put on a set of Aquila Bio-Nylons… They have a fuller and more round sound compared to the Nyl-Gut.

So, it was an interesting ebay purchase, I saved a couple hundred bucks, learned a little bit about ukulele repair, and saved a ukulele that needed a little help to make it right.

Good for you on learning how and tackling a repair. Titebond will work for something like this, however if you should want to try this again, then I'd suggest you use hot hide glue for that type of repair. Google is your friend, as is Frank Fords site frets.com

Thanks Allen... I did take a big breath before I started the repair... I really didn't want to mess it up... I read about 'hot hide glue' and that seemed to be the most used glue... But then I found a lot of folks liked 'titebond' for the simple stuff and swore by it... It always turns out to be about choice... Thanks for your feedback Allen, it helps... And if there is a next time, 'hot hide glue' it is.

Crack or no crack that's some beautiful wood.

Thanks mr roper... That is the main reason I didn't send it back.

I hope you are keeping it in its case with a humidifier when not playing so more cracks won't happen. Southern California is pretty dry unless you live near the ocean.

Congratz on doing the repair yourself. If there is a next time, use the hot hide glue that Allen mentioned.
I'm not an expert on repairs but to my eye that doesn't look like a crack caused by the wood drying out. If it were a lack of humidity it is more likely that a seam (right next to the crack) would've opened up. Stresses in wood are more likely to occur when the instrument moves from a temperate environment (West coast) to to the East coast, which can be very arid in the winter time. Unless the wood is obviously defective, I've never seen a crack develop right in the middle of the field, most of the time it starts at an edge. Could it be from an impact?

It could be from an impact... or maybe just a weak spot in the wood... I don't know that much about wood... It was a good eBay item, it didn't show up in the ebay photos... I had 14 days to send it back, but just liked the way it looked and sounded, which led me to YouTube and the glue fix... If I have to face something like this again, I'm using Hide Glue.

In my mind it was sort of like this... Folks really like kittens and they are always the first to be adopted... The old and not so good looking cats get adopted last, if at all... This ukulele is like the old cat that nobody wanted, it ended up on ebay and found a home with me.

I played it today at a talk I gave and folks enjoyed the sound and look of the little guy. I think I made the right choice.

I know a very well known ukulele musician who plays a very well known Hawaiian brand ukulele. While traveling on a plane the back of the uke split. A crack wide enough to use it as a piggy bank. The uke sounded better than ever and he continued to play it like that for quite a while. Some times we worry too much about things!

Thanks for the kind and thoughtful words Chuck, well said.