Slot Bridge Woes

BlackBearUkes said:

I can't believe nobody is suggesting to simply make a string style bridge out of this. Drill a small 1/16" diameter hole in the middle of the slot all the way through the top. Feed the string in to the top and fish it out through the sound hole. Put a small bead on the string and tie a knot. Attach the string to the tuning peg and problem solved. It looks the same as the original design but works better, the bridge will not pull off, etc.

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Yes, super easy and effective. I did it to a tenor whose bridge had lifted, works like a charm, no more fiddly knots or string tails to worry about snipping or weaving. Some will kvetch about difficulty restringing as string-thru, but after you've done it once, it's a piece-o-cake. Plus, if there's any desire for a slightly wider string spread at the saddle, this is the time to do that, just figure that out before you drill.

Bill1 said:

the person who owns the uke in question needs some useful advice.

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Here's what I had done; hopefully this will be of use to the OP. In the attached photo you can see where the A-string slot chipped off from years of wear. My luthier removed the bridge, re-cut the slot so the knot sits higher up, gave everything a good cleaning and just like that, problem solved. I only just got it back yesterday but have played the heck out of it today and it seems good as new.

Plan B would have been a string-thru bridge or a tie-on bridge, but I wanted to stay as close to the original as possible. If he hadn't been able to make this work, either of those would have been a good solution (although I despise the fussiness of a tie-on bridge so it definitely would have been my last choice).

Going forward, I'll either use beads or have my luthier do the string change for me. I've been changing strings since I was 7 years old and I've never been good at those knots, so this might just be time for me to admit that manual dexterity isn't my thing when it comes to tying knots

Bill1 said:

You can also talk about installing planetary tuners and see if you can afford it.

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Doh! Smacks self in head for not thinking of this. Duly noted for next time... although I hope there isn't a next time, I've missed this uke so much and am just thrilled to finally have it back!

Bill1 said:

The uke in question is an old Kamaka soprano. The top is made out of 2mm(?) thick old koa wood.
I have just roughly measured my Kamaka soprano. The top is about 16.5mm across at the bridge, and the strings span a 5cm width. So if I set up drill through bridge, I would be putting holes across about 1/3 of the width of the top, right at a stress point. And the top is 2mm(?) old koa wood.
While I can see a drill through working on the plywood top of my plywood baritone and I have seen makers reinforce bridges on solid wood tenor tops that have through holes, I would have some hesitation drilling four holes across a third of a 2mm thin slice of old wood that is going to be put under some tension, and then forcing the four knots under tension up into the 2mm slice of (soft?) koa wood. Since I am not as experienced as some others, I may be worrying too much.
The person who owns the uke in question needs some useful advice. So would the top need some reinforcing or support at the bridge to be installed on an old Kamaka soprano if the owner wants to set up a through hole bridge? Would a competent person be able to compare the effort and cost of just replacing the current bridge with the effort and cost of setting up a through hole bridge which will last the next 20 years?

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I virtually always agree with Bill (really respect him) but on this rare occasion we differ.

Blackbear’s suggestion a few posts above (#43) seemed to make sense to me, and he’s a respected Luthier so I would have thought that his suggestion would be valid. That said each individual instrument is different (so a generic solution might not always be the best). If this expensive instrument were mine, and money was not a concern, then I’d be tempted have a whole new bridge (of exactly the same design) fitted - just to keep things as near original and perfect as possible. On a less expensive instrument I’d do as Blackbear suggested, go the string through route, and spread the string knot point load on the inside with suitable ‘beads’. It might not be the case in all builds but I was under the impression that it was common practice to put a spreader plate on the opposite side (underside) of the sound board to the bridge.

I got confused with “The top is about 16.5mm across at the bridge” and then realised that “mm” was intended to be “cm”, an easy mistake to make.

Edit. This thread ( by Beau Hannam ) might be a help for the concept of through bridge stringing and load spreading : https://forum.ukuleleunderground.co...permanent-gemstones-on-through-bridges-3-ways . Beau glues his load spreaders in place, but I know of no reason why unbounded ones couldn’t be as effective in use.

Edit. Here is a well known Soprano kit build complete with Bridge Plate (which I earlier called a spreader plate): https://www.stewmac.com/freeinfo/i-5347/i-5347.pdf

janeray1940 said:

Brilliant! Thanks for posting this, now that I have my repaired uke back I'll try this the next go-round.

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Haha, I'll have to make my descriptions less intimidating. No one wanted to watch this when I posted it as a "knot tying video"!

BlackBearUkes said:

I can't believe nobody is suggesting to simply make a string style bridge out of this. Drill a small 1/16" diameter hole in the middle of the slot all the way through the top. Feed the string in to the top and fish it out through the sound hole. Put a small bead on the string and tie a knot. Attach the string to the tuning peg and problem solved. It looks the same as the original design but works better, the bridge will not pull off, etc.

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While this is often NOT a consideration, just thought I'd mention that drilling out the bridge to become a string through will certainly void any warranty your uke might still have.

Since the uke in question is an older soprano Kamaka, there is no warranty issue. Also, you don't need a inside bridge plate for this string through method, just a good bead to spread the string load on the wood surface. It is best to try and not over think this kind of thing IMO.

Ukecaster said:

Yes, super easy and effective. I did it to a tenor whose bridge had lifted, works like a charm, no more fiddly knots or string tails to worry about snipping or weaving. Some will kvetch about difficulty restringing as string-thru, but after you've done it once, it's a piece-o-cake. Plus, if there's any desire for a slightly wider string spread at the saddle, this is the time to do that, just figure that out before you drill.

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Oh that's genius.

In both my quality 'ukes I have thru-the-bridge/body stringing. Will using beads cause any issues, like buzzing?

YogiTom said:

I’m sure I’m taking the fun out of it, but since no one has called it out, here it goes...

For any knot-newbies out there, the “biggest” knot is a joke. That is a essentially a slip-knot and will come undone when tension is put on the ends.

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Yep. Noticed it... That's the same knot I used to tie up my boat.... ;-)

Web_Parrot said:

Yep. Noticed it... That's the same knot I used to tie up my boat.... ;-)

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So the boat floated away?

Ukecaster said:

So the boat floated away?

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Can you play, "Up A Lazy River....." ?!!?

String Through Bridge

Croaky Keith said:

I agree, get your beads out.

(Failing that, you could, maybe, make it a string through bridge.)

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How is the best way to convert my Uke to a string through bridge? Is it just a matter of carefully drilling a hole through the bridge and top? Should it be drilled in the slot as close to the saddle as possible? What size drill bit? Thank you!

Steve

I've had a few A strings pop out of the bridge on my sopranos . I use a 3mm bead now on the A string of all my ukes.
I saw a Kiwaya for sale with a chunk of bridge missing at the A string and realized the same thing could happen
to me after popping a few A strings.
No problems with the beads and I prefer slotted bridges , they look so much neater
especially on a soprano .

How about a pic of your bridge? I've done this to a couple, to remove stress from a bridge, after the bridges lifted. It is pretty easy, I used the smallest drill bit possible to allow the strings to pass through. Also, if you desire to widen the amount of string spread at the bridge, this would be the time. Once done, I'd recommend using beads.

I purchased 3mm and 4mm stainless steel beads from eBay. A search using "stainless steel beads" will get you dozens of sellers with all shapes and sizes at prices for lots of 10 to 500+

Here's one that I use: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Stainless-...605791?hash=item1f0585435f:g:-IYAAOSwzqdc1ck7

[ note: I like these cause they don't roll off the table when I'm trying to hold on to the string, grab a bead, and keep from pulling the damn string through the hole the other way ]