Repair And Restoration
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Guidance on Bridge Re-glue
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Guidance on Bridge Re-glue
I recently picked up an inexpensive acoustic with a belly bulge and lifting bridge for some repair practice.
I got the bridge off and used the TJ Thompson belly reducer to reduce a lot of the bulge. However, some of the wood stuck to the bridge during removal and the wood left on the guitar is now uneven and has some chipping.
Should I remove the wood from the bridge, carefully remove wood from the top of the guitar to get the bridge area level, and then reglue everything? Or is it ok to leave the wood on the bridge and glue? Taking a thin layer of wood off the top of the guitar doesn’t seem optimal but maybe it’s the right thing to do in this case?
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8 Replies
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Was that bridge cut in like crazy.
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If I understand the question, the bridge might be cut in a bit but it didn’t seem to be recessed before I removed it.
Here are a couple photos from before the bridge was removed. The glue was lifting everywhere except for the side where the wood lifted with the bridge.
The guitar is a Japanese acoustic from the 70s.
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Oh, so that is a laminate top we are looking at ?
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Yup, looks like laminate with cross-crossing grains.
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I’d fill it with whatever you think is best but adhesing it in with West 105 epoxy. I’d glue the bridge on with West 105 epoxy and then add two machine screws (like on a Gibson) with washers and nuts on the bridge plate. I’d also obfuscate the screwheads with pearl dots or some such fanciness.
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Thanks, @ianhatesguitars – appreciate the pointers.
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I have a couple pallet knifes that I filed and abraded a long, thin edge just for situations like this.
After the bridge is removed I clamp it to a flat plate with a damp paper towel between the bridge and the plate. After 20-30 minutes I use the palette knife to carefully cut the top wood away from the bridge then clamp that piece “flat” with something soft that can contour to the irregular shape of the top wood until it is dry.
At that point I can glue the piece back into place. I use wax paper then a the same soft backer then a small wood block to clamp the top wood back where it came from.
As far as the soft backer material, I always found the rubber drawer liner for kitchen drawers worked pretty slick.
I did this even on less expensive instruments because it was easier than patching in new wood and even though something like epoxy might be fine, I hate using epoxy.
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Thanks, Brian. Appreciate you sharing an alternate approach. I might give it a try.
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