Repairing Fingerboard Extension on Gretsch Ukulele

The glue's dry on the back cleat.  I think it turned out pretty well.  I pressed on the back some, and it's definitely stronger, but still has a bit of flexibility. 

Originally I thought I'd just leave it bare - after all, braces inside instruments are bare spruce or cedar or  maple or whatever.  But in a fit of inspiration (or stupidity), I decide to hit it with some stain so it won't stand out so much.

Had lots of fun trying to mask it off.  Not.

Now it's time to reglue the fingerboard extension.

When I first got the ukulele, one hunk was still on, and one piece was off, but intact.  In the process of taking the one piece off, it split into two.  And then the one piece that was already off split into three.  So I have five pieces.

Fortunately, they all line up.  I'm fairly confident (call it 70%) I can fill the cracks once it's back on. 

My game plan is to assemble the pieces upside down on a piece of masking tape, then flip it over and glue it to the ukulele.

This tape is fairly low-tack to start with, and I handled the tacky side for a bit to take even more stickiness off.  I don't want the pieces to pull back up when I try to remove the tape.

I need to get an idea of the fret slot width in order to space the extension properly.  The highest fret will go between the end of the fingerboard and this extension piece.

My string action gauge is just about the right thickness.  I'd rather have the gap be too small rather than too large.  I can cut a smaller gap for a fret to fit, but I can't close up a gap that's too big.

After some trial runs, I glue the extension down. 

Now we have an ukulele with wings!