Newbie operating on my 'uke need advice

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Mcat1865

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The bridge on my Tenor Kala KA-TG broke where the G string would tie off.
photo (22).jpg
I looked into having it repaired and it wasn't worth paying someone to do it. So, I took the bridge off my self and ordered a new one from the Hinalima store.

I measured the distance from nut to 12th, 8 1/4". So it should be a 16.5" scale. However, the distance from 12th to saddle is 8 3/4". From what I understand 1/2" is way beyond normal compensation. Since I have her under operation, I'm thinking I should fix this.

My plan is to scrape the lacquer off of where the bridge should be so the titebond can do its thing. In the picture the first dot is exactly 8 1/4" and the second dot is a little more than 2mm (My guesstimate for compensation from stewmac's fretboard calculator 2.7mm). The two holes are from screws that were under the saddle.

photo (23).jpg

Beyond the cosmetic damage of having part of where the bridge used to be exposed, am I looking at any other problems. Do I need to drill new holes for the new bridge postion, or will the glue do just fine? Also, do I need to fill the old ones in or anything? They should be covered by the new bridge, so I imagine some glue will go in them...

I know it depends on the strings you use, but does that sound right? I will be using Aquila's.
 
if you want a quick and easy , no cost repair. I would just sand down the bridge where damaged is smooth (or any shape you like) then use the Hanalima method by drilling 4 holes into the bridge thru the sound board and use a bead to tie the string. easy and quick. Most Hanalima ukuleles do this and even some high end ukuleles.
oh and sand down the glueing area before reglueing.
 
Did it play in tune before?? 1/2" is way off and you would have heard it. Compensation for a 16.5" scale is just under 0.1". I would check that scale length again
 
It seemed as if it played fine, but what do I know... I measured and remeasured still 8 1/4" nut to 12th.jpg, I know you can't see it, but I am measuring from the fretboard side of the nut. Nut to 12th is still 8 3/4" to where it sat before I took off the bridge. photo (24).jpg

I could be off by a few mm's due to having to guess where the bridge exactly was, I know it had to be pretty far off because of how much of the unfinished wood that used to be below the bridge is exposed when I put the bridge where it should be. proper placement.jpg
 
I am with ksquine on this one, something does not add up. Before I did any gluing of anything, I would first get a 18" steel ruler with a MM scale. Measure from nut to 12th fret, double that to get scale length. Go to Stew Macs web site and use their fret calculator to print out the fret positions. I would check all the fret positions against the printout. I find that using a metric scale is both more accurate and less prone to measurement errors.

Brad
 
Your first picture shows around 8 1/2 inches to the 12th *fret*, which is about right. 8 1/4 looks like the measurement to the fret marker (dot).
 
Lay a stiff strip of paper on the fretboard, one end butted to the nut, and make a mark at the 12th fret. Then make a mark 1/8" farthur down.
Move the strip down to the 12th fret and use the +1/8" mark to position the center of the saddle.
 
Moore Bettah Ukuleles said:
Agreed with all previous posts. Measurements are taken from the front of the nut, the middle of the 12th fret (the fret wire itself) and the middle of the saddle.
Click to expand...

That's good to know as I was totally wrong...and then you gotta add compensation?? I'll just leave it you experts
 
Myths? According to who? Well, after having read all the myths, I have to say the stuff about their belief in neck relief is a bunch of crap. If the neck is perfectly flat (and we are talking about steel string guitars), unless you have a very light touch and are using medium gauge strings, your guitar is going to buzz if the action is too low. There is a store setup guy here locally that sets up guitars with very flat necks, low action and medium light gauge strings. He can play the guitar with out buzzing because of the way he plays because his touch is very light. When I played the guitar, its sounded like a box full of bees. Often times these guitars make their way to my shop because the owner has guitar buzzing issues when they play the guitar. There in lies a big part of the equation that the web site article leaves out.....the player. To say that guitars need no neck relief as a blanket statement and call it a myth is naive. So the solution is (with every other aspect of the setup being correct) to add a touch of neck relief if it is called for. Problem solved.

As for nylon string guitars and ukes, almost every professional that I know who builds, adds some neck relief to accommodate the vibrating string. With shorter scale instruments like the soprano or smaller, you can get away with little or no neck relief, depending on the setup.
 
Thanks for the advice everyone! That's a big relief, I was hoping it was user error.

I received my new bridge in the mail today, and have a couple further questions if anyone would be so kind to answer.

My old bridge has two holes drilled in it below the saddle to match the two on the sound board, is it necessary to drill into the new bride ? Would it be ok to glue right over the holes?

Also is it safe to sand a lil bit to remove the glue and make it smooth? I have managed to get most the glue off with a hot pallet knife, but I feel it could be a lot smoother.

Again, thanks for all the help

Matt
 
BlackBearUkes said:
Myths? According to who? Well, after having read all the myths, I have to say the stuff about their belief in neck relief is a bunch of crap. If the neck is perfectly flat (and we are talking about steel string guitars), unless you have a very light touch and are using medium gauge strings, your guitar is going to buzz if the action is too low. There is a store setup guy here locally that sets up guitars with very flat necks, low action and medium light gauge strings. He can play the guitar with out buzzing because of the way he plays because his touch is very light. When I played the guitar, its sounded like a box full of bees. Often times these guitars make their way to my shop because the owner has guitar buzzing issues when they play the guitar. There in lies a big part of the equation that the web site article leaves out.....the player. To say that guitars need no neck relief as a blanket statement and call it a myth is naive. So the solution is (with every other aspect of the setup being correct) to add a touch of neck relief if it is called for. Problem solved.

As for nylon string guitars and ukes, almost every professional that I know who builds, adds some neck relief to accommodate the vibrating string. With shorter scale instruments like the soprano or smaller, you can get away with little or no neck relief, depending on the setup.
Click to expand...

That's the problem with guitar makes in that they start making tenor ukes and they think it's short scale!! Little do they know the problems they will face later!! I guess sopranos are fine...that's why some sopranos have no bracing, another difference compared to bigger scale instruments.
 
Mcat1865 said:
Thanks for the advice everyone! That's a big relief, I was hoping it was user error.

I received my new bridge in the mail today, and have a couple further questions if anyone would be so kind to answer.

My old bridge has two holes drilled in it below the saddle to match the two on the sound board, is it necessary to drill into the new bride ? Would it be ok to glue right over the holes?

Also is it safe to sand a lil bit to remove the glue and make it smooth? I have managed to get most the glue off with a hot pallet knife, but I feel it could be a lot smoother.

Again, thanks for all the help

Matt
Click to expand...

Yes, you want perfect (OK, near perfect) contact between top and bridge at all points. Scraping with a single edge razor blade is more controllable than sanding - scrape from the edges to the middle to avoid damaging the finish. Don't gouge at it, just scrape steadily until flat, blade upright. Scrape the bottom of the new bridge too, as a fresh surface glues best.
 
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