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jf, do you know how long the inserts are that you used?

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sweat the small stuff.

I think they are 5/8th but ATM I don't have any more to measure. For the ukes I cut them down a bit with a hack saw so as not to have such a big heal. In using the general thread engagement rule of 1 x bolt diameter for the 1/4in bolts I use that means I only need to go to 1//4in depth. Since the hex head part of it takes up about 1/8in that means they need to be at least 3/8in long. But i usually give them a bit more room. I like to have 1/8th inch wood around the insert. I also use a dowel as I think you mentioned as well.

Hey, guys! I finished the box yesterday and put a spit coat of shellac on it. It has a couple of annoying little errors, but overall I think it looks pretty good. I grew tired of resizing my photo only to have the forum spit it back out for being too large, so I will have to think about downloading Tapatalk later and trying that out.

I have a question regarding string height above the bridge and how it relates to break angle over the saddle. I noticed on my plans that the saddle only sticks up 1mm above the bridge. Is there a reason the saddle couldn't be taller? I'm trying to balance string height and bridge weight, and I'd rather gain string height with my saddle, as opposed to the bridge. Maybe I'm splitting hairs, but it makes sense to me. Someone set me straight if my thinking is illogical. What would you say is your max saddle height with those thin little uke strings? There are other factors, of course, like the distance between the saddle and where the string comes out of the bridge. Any thoughts on this?

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sweat the small stuff.

Because of the lower tension of uke strings the action doesn't change so much over time, but I still like to start with about 3/16" of saddle showing over the bridge. One millimeter would allow for no adjustment down the road.

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Ken Franklin
clumsy yet persistent
https://www.kenfranklinukulele.com

I'd set my saddle projection in the 2-3mm range. Partly because I think it looks better, but mainly because there is a forward force on the top of the saddle which increases with height above bridge (longer lever = higher force). This reduces the risk of the bridge cracking across at the saddle slot.

The tinier the bridge the less saddle visible, just for that reason.

However, if you build light then the top is likely to dip in front of the bridge, lowering the action rather than raising it, so that probably means you want to be able to take down the saddle at least 0.5mm after stringing up. Looking at my ukes to hand I end up with around 2mm of saddle projecting, and start at around 3mm.

Thanks again, guys! I'm going to have to add your names to the label inside before I'm finished!

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sweat the small stuff.