My friend Pat Madsen bought an inexpensive concert for a loaner. It came with a crack in the top. I volunteered to fix it for him and here is how I did it. Took about ten minutes. Here is the crack, the thin white line .
The plan was to put a little hide glue over the crack and rub it in as the top is flexed so that the glue works down into the crack. Then with magnet magic, to glue a round patch of spruce over the crack inside the instrument. Here is the patch and here is where it will be glued, but inside.
The patch is empaled on this little tool I made. below it is a strong magnet. I will put glue on that wooden patch and slip it inside the uke placing it under another magnet on on the outside. The magnets will attract one another bringing the patch off of the peg and up tight against the inside of the ukulele directly under the exterior magnet.
This is how it will be entered.
There are two advantages to using hide glue. It has a long set up time, and it cleans up nicely with a wet paper towels I was able to rub it into the crack and then clean up the top easily. I also had plenty of time to put the patch in.
The next step is to put this small magnet over the crack exactly where I want the patch to attach underneath. Then insert the patch through the sound hole and move it to that area. When you hear the magnets unite you know the tool is free to remove.
And here it is!, Out of the hole without the patch and the magnet, hopefully the patch is under the surface magnet.
And here is the proof. I was able to get a bit of my Iphone into the hole. The magnet is not perfectly under the patch, but it is holding it tight against the interior of the top while the glue sets. I think we have a repair.
