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Thursday, February 13, 2020

Bridge for the traveller

A post with a bunch of pics, revealing all my secret techniques. A scrap piece of walnut was found and planed flat. 



My new Shinwa gauge and a 3.5 mm drill bit gave me the height of the bridge. This is something of a trick shot, it took a while to get them all to balance while I held the camera with one hand. 



A few minutes with the Record rabbet plane and the profile for the integrated saddle was done. 



Then I saw the blank was long enough for two bridges, if I was careful/lucky. I have another uke blank waiting so I took the chance. 



Clamping the wooden ruler with small clamps gives enough pressure to hold the bridge down while I position it. The unorthodox shape means I could use a square against the side. 



The compensation on these piccolo scale ukes is important. In absolute terms I use the same as on longer scale ukes, that means a greater compensation relative to the nominal string length. I set the break point for the C-string back a bit further still. 



Two of the string holes are drilled through the soundboard and will help to locate the bridge, also stopping it from sliding around in the glue. 



And here we are. Since everything is open and accessible it’s super easy to place the clamps. 




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