"Slide-in" bridge is worn. What to do about it.

On Dad's old Soprano . . . he still plays it . . the slots in the bridge have worn to the point where they no longer keep 4 and 1 secure. With a heavy enough set of strings he can get by, but I'm worried it might be too much for that old uke.

What's to be done? When I say "Old" I mean "Old" not "Vintage"--I seriously thought about staining a toothpick to match the bridge thereby converting it into a tie-on.

Are there such things as ball-end strings for little Ukes?

Ideas welcome...as I said, I don't think "ruining a classic" is an issue, though I'll check before I do anything permanent.

I don't have experience doing it but believe you can tie a little ball from the craft store onto a string and use that to secure. That's what's often done with strings that go through the soundboard as I understand.

I've used CA glue, the thick variety, on the end of a toothpick to fill in the worn slots.

Consider at the end of the slot closest to the saddle, drilling a number 69 hole....that's about the size of the low G string... and then string through the body. It will improve the sound, and it will also keep the bridge from popping off.
If you are playing reentrant, there is a very easy knot variation which stops them from pulling through the holes. I personally do not like beads or the ends from old guitar strings on the end of strings. Why add extra weight, pressure and the possibility of something that could buzz? Make the 'start to tie your shoe knot' with just one end and leave about 1/2" as a tail. Before you close the open eye of the knot, run the tail so the extra is on both sides so when you draw that knot closed around the string you just ran back through, it becomes a cross bar to prevent the knot from going through the hole.

I have a uke like that, it was not a vintage but a nice Martin 1C copy (the Kenny Hill Ukebrand), but the bridge wasn't worn, it was broken. I just had it removed and ask a luthier to build a new one. Works like new.

If it isn't a very rare uke and it's a player, I'd do that, but keep the "slide in" bridge.

@TheCraftedCow has the right idea with the string-through bridge. A little more work when changing strings but you're pretty much guaranteed not to pull the bridge off the uke. I've converted a couple of my new ukes to string-through because I use heavy gage strings and it's just a better design.

John

Maybe a small bead on the end of the string ? I put a small bead on all my A strings to keep them from popping out and damaging the slot.