#1 resource for Cigar Box Guitars, Free Plans, How-To, Parts & More!

major problems with my uke. FIX MY NECK!

I have only just put on a discussion about trying to find strings for this ukulele because i thought i was on the home stretch. unfortunately, i have just discovered a rather major problem that i need some advice on.

the angle of the neck is too shallow, meaning that the strings are going to be FAR to far from the fretboard.

i was getting set to adjust the bridge when i realised that the fret board is not high enough at the heel, meaning that the action is correct for the first 3 frets, then gets steadily more ridiculous until its over 11mm at the 12th fret. I must have made a mistake somewhere in the measurements, but whats done is done so now i need to do something drastic to fix it. there is a photo of the problem on my page: http://www.cigarboxnation.com/photo/i-knew-it-was-too-easy?context=...

the way i see it, i have a number of options:

suck it up and deal with the high action. simplest and easiest, but far from satisfactory.
remove the fretboard (somehow. its stuck on with the mother of all wood glues) and sand the top surface of the neck until it is the right shape. i could also sand the underside of the fretboard a bit to get the angle a bit stronger.
remove the whole neck strut and re-seat it so that the angle is better. (its stuck in with a heck of a lot of araldite)
change the bridge design and try to somehow manage a through body string set up. (its got a violin back so its curved with air space between the inside and the strut, so not ideal.)

as you can see there are problems wherever i turn. i feel foolish having thought i was doing so well up until now. serves me right for rushing ahead to get it finished and using the mega glues before i was certain.

the only other idea that i can think of, which might be the best, but its a drastic change, is to scrap the top and make a new one.

if i get a piece of spruce or some other wood matching the back, i can trace the shape and make a FLAT top, instead of the compund curve that is on the violin top. this would solve the problem because i can set it to what ever size i want without the hassle of the curved surface, but it means i would loose some of the violiny design.

any suggestions of things i have missed or other ideas, anything at all reall, would be amazing. thanks again in advance.

stginger

0 members like this

▶ Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Ron "Oily" Sprague on April 14, 2012 at 6:57pm

St Ginger,

Check Comments on your build pic. I think I found a (relatively) easy solution for your prob.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by David L. on April 15, 2012 at 12:08am

Why isn't it possible to just use a smaller saddle height to bring the string height lower? Is it possible to post a photo of the height at the first few frets/nut end?

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by David L. on April 15, 2012 at 12:33am

I did a soprano uke to 4 string mini guitar conversion as I didn't like the high action by using a much smaller saddle height.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by St Ginger on April 15, 2012 at 12:51am

thanks for the advice. unfortunately because of the curvature of the top of the violin, the saddle is already at its minimum height. I was thinking about trying to make the strings go down, and have the break angle on the underside of a suspended bridge, but i don't think it would work.

in your photo, is that a regular classical guitar saddle at you have drilled out? that might be an option but it means a lot of work to get it right.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by David L. on April 15, 2012 at 1:05am

It is a basic uke saddle that was already on the uke. When you say the string height is at the minimum height on the photo there still seems to be a good space under the straight edge - are you able to describe what the limitation is please? (Sorry my brain is having an off day and I am finding it hard to visualise what you mean)

Is the limitation the string break angle over the bridge itself?