Advice on a little inconsistency

[dotbot]

I'm in the process of building a tenor uke, my 2nd, just closed the box yesterday. The neck is on as this is a Spanish heel build. Laying out the fretboard today I realised I made mistake.

I made the neck for a 14th fret join BUT I have the bridge patch located for a 12th fret join. The difference is about 18mm with the bridge patch that much closer to the tail block than the neck wants it to be.

Not a total disaster as the fretboard is not on and fret slots haven't been cut yet.

This is supposed to be a 17" (431.8mm) scale length. My only thought is that I've "upgraded" myself to a 450mm scale length.

Is that the safest solution or are there other possibilities?

Thanks!
Aaron

[Allen]

Changing your scale length to suit is going to be the easiest option.

Spend some time trying to get the best combination of putting the bridge in a suitable spot over the patch, and a fret lined up on the body. That way it will look like it is meant to be.

[dotbot]

Thanks very much, Allen!

I took your advice and spent some time on the StewMac fret calculator this morning.

With an adjustment of less than 2mm, I can put the bridge over the bridge plate and place the 13th fret at the body/neck join for a 450mm scale length.

That's a very nice solution.

And, as you say, I can pretend I meant to do it that way.

Cheers,
Aaron

[Allen]

No worries. Sometimes things happen and it's how you recover that makes all the difference.

[kiwigeo]

If the root cause of the issue is a gaff up in the bridge patch location why not just whack off the bridge patch. Shouldnt be too hard with a bit of careful chisel work or even a couple of passes through a drum sander.

[dotbot]

Thanks Martin. The box is already closed and I'd rather not try to open it up. Otherwise I'd go for the chisel option.

Cheers,
Aaron