MIMF

Just to let you know: 1. Your bridge is the separate, free standing part. The long black piece of wood which holds the strings is the tailpiece. Both look quite normal. 2. Your tuners adjust via the screws through the buttons into the tuner body. To tighten the friction, tighten the screw. But once ...

From your description I don't think it matters, structurally, how you arrange the slices. So I'd go for the best- looking arrangement. I'd guess that would be some kind of bookmatch, but maybe not - I built a uke with a koa top from two boards that were rejected by a professional builder (flaws whic...

The abrasive will be silicon carbide (no e on the end). Silicon is a mineral element, the main constituent of sand. Silicone (with an e) is some compound of silicon with very different properties. More like rubber than sand. Always check spelling, but as lots of us can't spell, a pretty good test is...

Naptha is pretty safe on shellac, at least once it has cured a week or so.

I make ukes from scratch, so I've not built any kits. All I know is from seeing kits that friends have built. The Stewmac kit has made some very decent instruments. I'd guess the solid wood kits from China might do the same, but they are probably on the heavy side - working down the soundboard and r...

I know those kits - the plywood isn't very pretty under a clear finish, so I'd go for cheerful colours from a motor accessories shop. Try to make the finish as thin as possible - these kits are a little dull sounding already, and thick finish will kill the sound more. You won't be able to get a smoo...

Wouldn't the traditional answer be a compression re-fret (installing frets with a wider tang at strategic intervals to reduce the bow and thus the relief)? Not something I've done myself, but I've read about the technique, and it seems that if you go slowly, checking regularly, it should be manageab...

All the ukes I've made need some compensation on all strings. For a tenor, I'd estimate 1mm or a fraction more for the high A, probably 2mm for the low C. If you plan a low G, then maybe 2.5mm for that. But those last two numbers might be 1.5 and 2mm. I don't try to get the compensation exact in adv...

I forgot about the button - told you I don't have experience with violins! It looks to me as if the neck joint is loose, and only held on by the button. Is that right? If so, I'd start by dribbling a tiny amount of water into the neck joint from the top (wipe it off the top immediately) and then gen...

Rather than working glue into the crack, I suggest you remove the neck. Gentle heat (hair dryer) plus a tiny amount of water dribbled into the joint - 1/4 teaspoon max - should make it come free. The wood needs to be warm right into the joint, so it might take 10 mins to warm it through. Keep feelin...

I make simpler instruments than violins, so read this post accordingly. I'd suggest that if you do not already have quite a bit of experience making musical instruments, you will struggle with this even if you have fine woodworking experience. The risk is that your restoration will not play properly...

This is what I'd consider in your position, i.e. I bought it for myself and want to get it stable and playable. The problem is the cross-grain crack in the spruce top, so that the top is no longer connected to the lining at that point. So I'd plan this (then ask advice and think about it some more b...

I'm informed these were gut strung instruments with a much higher action than on modern banjos. There are experts on the Banjo Hangout site who could help.

Once you decide on bridge height and action height, you work out the neck angle from that. I doubt anyone can give you a number for this.

I'd patch those holes. Ideally with scraps of vellum, but if you can't get those then something like heavyweight art paper should work. If you use hide glue, you could easily remove your patches if you later found better material. I'd patch the underside without slackening the tension. Once glue is ...

Are you sure you need to remove and reattach the dowel stick? I think it would be more normal to change the attachment position at the tailpiece end - assuming there is a screw from the tail into the dowel stick, drill a hole in the dowel stick end at the correct place for your desired neck angle an...

Tru Oil has worked nicely on necks I have made. However, it is not very resistant to abrasion. On a fretboard, fingernails often dig into the surface, and I think Tru Oil would soon wear away there. So I'd choose a polyurethane varnish, and a hard one, for this fretboard. You could thin it to make w...

Glad I got it right describing fixing gaps in HHG joints! I am a rank amateur by comparison with many on here. I've no experience using fish glue, but I've read a lot about how it softens with heat and moisture. So the same principle ought to work here. But it's not my own instrument, maybe I'd do a...

... (Since there will be no binding on this guitar I am attempting to get a perfect joint on the plate to rim joints.) Glued the back on with the assembly sitting in the radius dish and with some 5/16" diameter, shortened, fiberglass go-bars. I have used this method quite a few times in the pa...

Don't forget that you will need to change the bridge location to suit the new scale. Concert scale is around 15 inches, while tenor is around 17 inches. So your bridge will be approximately 1 inch nearer the tail than if you fitted concert necks. This is probably OK - you might lose some volume and ...

I'd expect the neck wood to have changed colour because of light exposure, and so I'd remove all the finish on the neck shaft (a) to get a uniform colour, and (b) to avoid visible lines where new and old finish meet. However, I think you might get away with feathering new finish into old at the heel...