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I've built a handful of tenor ukes over the past couple of years, and when I span a brace over the bridge plate, I always leave a gap (i.e., they don't touch, and are not glued together). Is this the standard practice, or a solid practice? Or do most people shape them to contact each other, and glue them?
Thanks for sharing your practices and opinions!
Ken

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Ken Mitchell
Durham, NC

Ken some builders couple braces to the bridge plate and some do not. It's subjective as to if there is any benefit in either approach. No one here is going to have anything but the usual... opinions and statements of who does what.

Something that we don't hear much on this forum which is bothersome to me is someone saying "I truly don't know" so I'll say exactly that.

Both strategies have notable followers with Somogyi coupling and most top tier builders not coupling.

I can tell you that from a serviceability point of view coupling is a PITA and makes a bridge plate less serviceable. This is why I would not couple or span a plate even not touching it. Bridge plates do need to be serviced in time especially if one is using slotted pins.

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Ann Arbor Guitars

A brace that "spanned" over the bridge plate would still restrict removal of the plate so I think the question comes down to whether you want the parts coupled for acoustic purposes or not. I can see justifications for both.

Are we talking about fan braces like on a classical guitar?
I make mine touch the bridge plate.

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Jim Watts
http://jameswattsguitars.com

Standard practice in the classical guitar universe is that they make contact. Mine are as good a joint as all the other joints in the instrument.

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formerly known around here as burbank
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http://www.patfosterguitars.com

Butting is one thing and can be still serviceable. Crossing on top of the plate and then being glued to the plate is unserviceable and also "coupled." Crossing over the plate and not touching the plate is also unserviceable in so much as you can't remove the plate without removing the braces.

Traditional classical design is still serviceable when the fan braces are simply butted to the plate. But... the need to service a bridge plate on a classical is way less than on a steel string because of the existence of bridge pins, more specifically slotted pins that permit the plate to be damaged. I don't think we have ever had to remove a bridge plate on a classical but it happens more than you probably think on steel strings.

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Ann Arbor Guitars

I glue mine to the bridge plate.
It is quite unlikely that a Ukulele bridge plate will need service. If it does,you better replace the top!

Thanks for all of the replies, guys. It looks like I just have to decide and go in one direction or the other. Or I could build two identical instruments, with the one difference being whether or not to glue the spanned braces to the bridge plate. Problem there is that I never build two instruments alike... though maybe I should!

Anyway, thanks again for the replies. This place is an amazing source of information and feedback. Please don't move it to Facebook! Hahahaha!

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Ken Mitchell
Durham, NC

If you decide to notch them, Pat (see above) has the best method for making them tight - https://www.patfosterguitars.com/37haus ... 06833.html

Brad


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