Best saddle height above top?

Hello all. I am building a tenor uke from the Hana Lima 'Ia plans. Didn't buy a kit, using my own wood. Finger board thickness isn't called out in the plans, nor is the saddle height. Wondering what people thought about the best saddle height above the top.

Personally, I'd go for the height which gives you your desired action at the 12th fret!

Or are you trying to reverse engineer your fretboard thickness from this number? If so, I wouldn't bother. Make a 3mm or 4mm fretboard, then build your saddle to fretboard thickness + twice desired action at the 12th.

This assumes you can build a top and neck which are perfectly aligned (I can't), and if not, use my method. Build it and fret the neck, place a spacer on the 12th fret at your desired action height, run a straight edge from the nut over this spacer and measure the saddle height you need.

The height of the saddle is partially determined by the thickness of the fretboard and the angle of the neck. If you lay a straight edge along the fretted board, I like to have the bridge be 1/8" shorter than the distance between the top and the straight edge at the point of where the saddle will sit. The height of the saddle will be the 1/8" plus the height of the action. You set the action by adjusting the nut and saddle height. This, the setup, is where you can really make or break the ease and enjoyment of playing an instrument.

To answer your question a bit more directly, the height of the saddle above the top should be 9mm plus or minus a mm. That seems to be the sweet spot for me anyway. As the others have pointed out, getting there is a function of your neck angle, fretboard thickness and desired action height. As I arch my tops, the critical time for me is setting and attaching the neck. Too low of saddle and the voice may be weak, too high and it may be loud but harsh.

Brad

I spend my days working from plans. From ukes to industrial switchboards to shopping centers and golf courses. None of them are ever perfect. There are always details missing. Sometimes the only way to work it out is to draw it out yourself.

With ukes, the cross section side view is the most important drawing to build from. It has all the important details that effect the instrument's playability. It is the only drawing I do when designing a new model.

I have built several tenors now with the Hana Lima plans as a base.
Fingerboard is about 3/16" at its thickest (i have been putting a 12' radius on my fingerboards recently)
Neck set back at .5*
Top has a 20' radius
bridge about 5/16" to 3/8"
saddle above bridge roughly 1/8" +- (this combination yields a string height of roughly 1/2" above the top at the saddle.)
This setup gives me an action of roughly 3/32" at the 12th fret... I also set up the nut for 1/32" at the first fret. This setup gives plenty of adjustment at both ends if lower action is desired.

That's what has worked for me recently.
A tip that someone here posted for setting the saddle height is to take a 1/8" drill bit and set it against the 14th fret, then take a straight edge and run it from first fret to the bit and then to the saddle, the height of the ruler at the saddle should yield a 3/32 action at the 12th fret. depending on fret size.... hope that makes sense.

Thanks guys. Yes I was trying to reverse engineer my fretboard thickness. As it sits now with a 1/4 in. fretboard and the desired action height I am coming in at 9.5 mm.

I made this simple wedge gauge for checking and setting saddle/bridge height..as you can see on this vintage Martin soprano the height is 7mm..I hope this helps

Ken,
Man, you are the tool master for sure!! :worship::worship:

Hey...another (reasonably) local builder!
I'd say 1/4" is too thick. Most fingerboards are between 1/8 to 3/16". I think 1/4 would make it a bit neck heavy and probably wouldn't "look right"
I've used those plans a couple times now....it is a bit annoying that they don't give you a side assembly view.

1/4 does look too thick. I am going to take it down some. Ksquine I am about 40 min. from the river right up to the north east.