YOU MAY REMEMBER a few blogs back when I showed you the cute and quite old koa uke the lady brought in for repairs. I finally got started this afternoon. I see this as a several stage repair. First I am glueing a thin piece of maple veneer cross grain over the upper crack. This first move has lifted the broken top back from where it had collapsed. The second stage will be to do the same with the angled crack reaching off to the left. There is a brace under there that I will also try to reglue with that second act. Thirdly I will glue a piece of the veneer across the long crack all the way to the bottom of the bout. That will require a rigid backing on both top and bottom and a tight clamp. won't be room for two clamps. I will also put wax paper on the backing piece as I won't want to glue it in there. Then I might want to fill those ugly cracks with something. The final challenge will be to clean the old dry glue off of the bridge and soundboard and re-glue it. I think it is hide glue which i can remove by applying heat. (I hope). If any of you have suggestions let me hear from you.
