Uke update 4.6 - Top: bridge attached

The instructions called for the bridge to be "glued and screwed" (glued to the top but also with screws through the bridge, top and into the bridge plate). I'm going to depart from this a bit, and just glue it down. However, I will use the screw holes in the bridge to help locate its placement on the top.

Here I'm marking the top for bridge placement. I put down some masking tape to draw on so I didn't have to draw directly on the top. A measurement from the nut gives the location of where the saddle will be in the bridge (not the edge of the bridge itself). I used this measurement to draw a horizontal line across the top. I double checked that this line was twice the distance from the nut as the 12th fret was.


Next, lines to aid in centering the bridge were drawn across the saddle line. These centering lines radiate out from the edges of the fretboard. All of these lines were drawn with excess length, so that they will be longer than the footprint of the bridge (so I could see the lines when placing the bridge).

I located the bridge placement using the lines, and taped it down in place. I marked the top through the pre-existing screw holes in the bridge with a 1/16" drill bit. Once these marks were in place, all the masking tape and lines were no longer needed, so off they came. With everything out of the way, I finished drilling the locating holes in th top.

I'll use these holes with toothpicks (as shown below) to position the bridge when gluing down.



Titebond applied, bridge placed with toothpicks through the bridge and into the holes in the top, the bridge is now placed. I wiped up the initial squeeze out, and taped the bridge down so that I could remove the toothpicks. With those out of the way, on went a sheet of waxed paper (just in case) and a couple of books for clamping pressure while the glue dried.


-A