glueing classical guitar bridge

e-man

e-man

oldbie
my son brought me a friend's fender classical guitar that the bridge popped off of. i think the story goes that an attempt was made to install a set of steel acoustic strings on it and the bridge popped off.

anyways...

looking around the net i see that the custom is to remove all finish from the area that the bridge is to be glued to. well it appears that this bridge was glued to the top after it was finished. there were small plugs of finish stuck to the bottom of the bridge when i got it.

well on the top of this fender the thin tinted finish coat scrapes right off, but there is a heavy sealer type coat underneath that is thick and very difficult to scrape off.

how important is it to have bare wood under the bridge? if i have to get this stuff off, what would be the best method?

if i can't get the stuff off, what glue would work best?

thanks for any help...

later.
 
e-man said:
my son brought me a friend's fender classical guitar that the bridge popped off of. i think the story goes that an attempt was made to install a set of steel acoustic strings on it and the bridge popped off.

anyways...

looking around the net i see that the custom is to remove all finish from the area that the bridge is to be glued to. well it appears that this bridge was glued to the top after it was finished. there were small plugs of finish stuck to the bottom of the bridge when i got it.

well on the top of this fender the thin tinted finish coat scrapes right off, but there is a heavy sealer type coat underneath that is thick and very difficult to scrape off.

how important is it to have bare wood under the bridge? if i have to get this stuff off, what would be the best method?

if i can't get the stuff off, what glue would work best?

thanks for any help...

later.
Click to expand...

If you don't want it to come off again, you MUST get rid of the finish under the bridge. The first step is to figure out the exact location of the bridge, and temporarily secure it in place (clamps, tape, whatever, just make sure it doesn't move - no glue, though). Score around the bridge with a fine knife (I use an exacto knife, but there are other options). Heating the knife helps a lot with most finishes, but I'm not sure if it will help with the guitar you're talking about. Go slow, and BE CAREFUL. Probably the best way to get the finish off will be a VERY sharp chisel. Some people also like to use a router set VERY carefully, but I'm not wild about that idea. The important thing is to remove all of the finish without removing any wood.


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
 
thanks light, guess i'll sharpen up my chisels tommorrow. i scored the area where the bridge goes and got started scraping but when i encountered the hard stuff underneath i got discouraged.

i'm sure if i take my time i'll get the rest off. i don't have any hide glue or specialized glues to use. would regular wood glue be o.k.?
 
To clean up the area under the bridge I always use a very sharp scraper. As light says score the location first to avoid chipping out the finish that will be visible. I often tape around it too depending on how much glue is still there. You can use a very sharp 1" or 1 1/2" chisel with the corners knocked back as an effective scraper. Your hardest job is going to be getting enough clamping pressure on the new glue joint. With a classical you have the added problem that you have no bridge pin holes to realign and clamp up using them as a guide. A few layers of tape as a fence will help and then you will only have to worry about movement sideways. You can use a go bar deck to clamp it down if you don't have any suitable wedges or clamps. Try and get titebond original if you can or I believe a lot of guys your side of the pond use Elmers? Light will tell you which one we don't get it here.
 
+1 on Titebond, You can find it at any home improvement store. Elmer's Carpenter's Wood Glue is the same type. Allow more cure time than the label suggests.

Like Muttley, I would use cabinet scrapers to remove the finish.

Most luthier's supply houses sell deep throated C clamps for this job for a reasonable price. Take the time to make good cauls.

Since the finish coat is tinted and easily separates from the sealer coat, be careful to use a low adhesive tape to set up the gluing fence Muttley suggests. The blue colored painter's tape should be OK. Remove it gently.
 
thanks guys for the info. i got the finish off today. i've got to make some cauls and devise a way to clamp the bridge. got no funds for special clamps right now, so maybe i can come up with something.
 
e-man said:
thanks guys for the info. i got the finish off today. i've got to make some cauls and devise a way to clamp the bridge. got no funds for special clamps right now, so maybe i can come up with something.
Click to expand...

Use a go bar deck as I suggested. You can make one up for next to nothing.
 
You know, clamps just aren't that expensive, and you will have them forever. They are absolutely worth the money, and while a go-bar deck may be useful (I've never used one - we have all the clamps you could possibly want) clamps just seem to me like the right way to do this job.

Oh, and if you use a go bar deck, make sure to use some screw jacks inside the guitar so you don't crush anything.


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
 
Light said:
You know, clamps just aren't that expensive, and you will have them forever. They are absolutely worth the money, and while a go-bar deck may be useful (I've never used one - we have all the clamps you could possibly want) clamps just seem to me like the right way to do this job.

Oh, and if you use a go bar deck, make sure to use some screw jacks inside the guitar so you don't crush anything.


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
Click to expand...

A go bar deck is a clamp. Your correct though you can NEVER have enough clamps.:rolleyes:
 
muttley600 said:
A go bar deck is a clamp. Your correct though you can NEVER have enough clamps.:rolleyes:
Click to expand...

OK, fine, C-clamps. (Hey, you know why they are called C clamps, right? `Cause you can SEE them!!!:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:)

I don't know though - I'm pretty sure we are approaching 1000 clamps in the shop. At some point, isn't enough enough? NAAAAAWWWWW, what the hell am I talking about. As my brother-in-law likes to say, "retched excess is barely enough!"



Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
 
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