What causes this?

deach

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A brand new uke was delivered in an un-damaged box. When the box was opened....

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What could have caused this?
 
Don't know for sure, but I think a box dropped from a height that lands flat square on it's end could do that with no damage visible on the box. A nasty bumpy ride cross country stacked head down could also. I'd be rethinking the shipper more than the wood, but that's just me too. :rolleyes:
 
if it was sent airmail, and the strings werent loosened, i think i read something before about pressure at altitude and temps while in the air can cause a great amount of stress on the neck.

but its not like im a rocket scientist or anything so my word is worth about as much as poo.
 
If my eyes are not deceiving me the neck joint at the headstock is a 'finger joint' rather like the one Bob Taylor uses. I cannot see how this joint could be strong but hey, I build ukuleles, I am not a wood engineer (like Bob ;) )If the box was undamaged it could only be that the instrument was faulty and this occured in transit inside the box... . Anyway - send it back.
 
omgoodness... that is so strange. Isn't it usually dings on the uke or cracks? I've never seen that happen but I guess it does. I hope my uke doesn't do that. its coming from Hawaii to Winnipeg. Eeeks :confused: now I'm really scared its extremely hot there and here in Winnipeg its on the brink of snowing....
 
Maybe it was broken beforehand and boxed like that so the shipping insurance would pay for it.

That would be so messed up, but it's an idea nonetheless.
 
Maybe it was broken beforehand and boxed like that so the shipping insurance would pay for it.

I've bought several ukes from this builder and I can assure, that is not the case.
 
Really, the only time a joint breaks (especially a finger joint - that's some serious joinery), at the joint, is if there isn't enough. Enough what? Here's a short list - glue, pressure, long grain, drying time, clamping time, etc.

There are many who agree that a glued joint is stronger than wood. I've experienced this, first hand. Glued joints don't break, if glued properly.

If it were my guess, yours is a combination of things, lack of glue being the first. The grain on the neck is not vertical, so there's probably some end grain in the glue joint somewhere - this would also be a contributing factor.

I'd send it back. -Aaron
 
If you look closely the joint is nearly intact in one part but it has failed 75% od its width. This seems to me a combination of faulty construction and impact damage.
 
If a box gets smashed or mangled in a fedex sort they will actually put the items in a new box so that it doesn't look like it was mishandled.
 
...I also knew someone that worked at the Post Office and he said he saw co-workers drop kicking boxes marked fragile across the room.

I agree with the Post Office "fragile" theory. I have also seen first hand 30 feet tosses from Postal sorters on any and all packages marked fragile or otherwise from large sorting steel cages into even large shipping containers. Imagine 10,000 + packages that need sorted that day to make the night shipment before it's next sorted destination. At times, the "fragile" sticker can simply be lost or overlooked in the speed of the sorting process. On a bad day, your ukulele might have been handled (or mishandled) by as many as 5 to 10 sorters before you recieved that box.

The best way to guard against this is with your fingers crossed and some extra attention to it's initial packing. i.e. loosen strings, keep neck and body re-enforced, lots of bubble wrap, insure it, etc.

Sorry about the uke dude...e.lo...
 
I'll tell ya, that uke was extremely well packaged, foam packing + 9 tons of newspaper. The uke was shipped in a wooden box, which was in itself packed in cardboard. The box was largely undamaged. :(

Consensus here is that the fed-ex truck's parking break was iffy, so they used the uke to chock the wheels on incline...
Actually the dropped on its head theory sounds like what happened. :(
--Cashew
 
It was sent Fedex ground.

I remember seeing two Fedex vans parked in a car park near my local video store. The vans were parked rear to rear with a gap of about 6 feet in between them. Their back loading doors were open, presumably to transfer packages between them. I remember driving past and seeing boxes being thrown from one van to the next at top speed.

I package things very carefully now...

Sorry to hear about your uke. I hope you get it sorted.
 
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