tonyturley
Well-known member
- Joined
- Aug 29, 2018
- Messages
- 780
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- 374
In my Stew Mac build thread, I mentioned I'd glued on the neck today. I used Stew Mac's recommended method of holding the neck in place. I made sure to check alignment and joints carefully before walking away.
When I went back 3 hours later, to my horror I discovered the neck had shifted slightly. Glue is now pretty well set, and there is a gap of slightly less than 1/32" on the right shoulder of the neck. I confirmed with a straight edge and my bridge marker that there is a tiny variance. I don't know what went wrong in my clamping method.
It is hard for me to see the variance by sighting down the uke, and I can realign the bridge slightly before gluing it, but will a slight off-center alignment destroy its playability?
The craftsman in me wants to attack the thing with a heat gun and a thin putty knife, but knowing my luck, I'd really mess things up. The hairline crack looks like the Grand Canyon to me, and it bothers me knowing I wasn't careful enough to prevent that from happening. I can fill the crack with glue and Mahogany dust, but what say those of you who actually know what you're doing in this lutherie thing? Is my uke ruined?
When I went back 3 hours later, to my horror I discovered the neck had shifted slightly. Glue is now pretty well set, and there is a gap of slightly less than 1/32" on the right shoulder of the neck. I confirmed with a straight edge and my bridge marker that there is a tiny variance. I don't know what went wrong in my clamping method.
It is hard for me to see the variance by sighting down the uke, and I can realign the bridge slightly before gluing it, but will a slight off-center alignment destroy its playability?
The craftsman in me wants to attack the thing with a heat gun and a thin putty knife, but knowing my luck, I'd really mess things up. The hairline crack looks like the Grand Canyon to me, and it bothers me knowing I wasn't careful enough to prevent that from happening. I can fill the crack with glue and Mahogany dust, but what say those of you who actually know what you're doing in this lutherie thing? Is my uke ruined?