twangmeister
Wholenote
Posts: 349
Formerly Known As: Twangmeister
Age: 72 and fading fast.....
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Post by twangmeister on Oct 27, 2020 21:17:43 GMT -5
I had an unpleasant experience a few days ago when I took my Lag dreadnought out of the stand to play. The strings were slack. To my horror I noticed the bridge had come loose and was only secured by one little bolt and a nut. The second shock was to find the bridge is 7.5 inches wide, wider than the usual acoustic guitar replacement bridge. The bridge was glued around the underside periphery after being aligned by the little bolts and nuts, a smart expedient for quick assembly and accurate bridge alignment. I have replaced detached bridges on acoustic guitars before, back in the late '60s-early '70s. I used a powdered resin-type glue then; in retrospect that was not the best choice but I couldn't set up a hide glue pot in a tiny dorm room.
So I have emailed the Lag Company's service department in France about getting a replacement bridge. If I want to go acoustic I have to use my classical guitar or plug in my Traveler. I am not expecting a quick response from France..
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sirWheat
Wholenote
For a better future, play Stevie Wonder for your children.
Posts: 319
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Post by sirWheat on Oct 28, 2020 5:38:47 GMT -5
Is the bridge broken or something? Why not just glue it back on?
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Post by Peegoo 🏁 on Oct 28, 2020 9:03:24 GMT -5
^^^^This. If the bridge is still in one piece, sand off all the glue from the bridge (and scrape all the glue off the body) and re-use it. Titebond II is The Glue To Use. You'll need at least three deep-reach clamps to properly do the job. But before you do, the part that probably needs replacing is the bridge plate, which is inside the guitar body. This is the piece of wood the string balls are anchored to by the pins. If the strings pull a bridge off, it usually means the internal bridge plate (pic below) has failed. The blue things are tape holding three sections of a foldable mirror together. This view is looking down into the sound hole at the mirror.  |
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twangmeister
Wholenote
Posts: 349
Formerly Known As: Twangmeister
Age: 72 and fading fast.....
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Post by twangmeister on Oct 28, 2020 13:59:45 GMT -5
Unfortunately the bridge broke apart in a couple of places, critically at the string-through are which knocked off several small chunks of rosewood. One small chunk had remained tenaciously stuck to the top. I had to carefully shave it off with a scalpel.
One piece of good news--I just took a look at my glue supplies. I have a nearly full bottle of Titebond II. I don't want to repeat my folly of years back of using epoxy on a neck reglue. After the guitar gradually started folding I had to use an Exacto knife to reseparate the neck from the body, scrape off the glue and start over.
Thanks all for the helpful advice.
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Post by Peegoo 🏁 on Oct 30, 2020 18:56:06 GMT -5
You can use the old bridge as a pattern to make a new one. Glue the broken bridge back together and trace it onto a little slab of rosewood, ebony, cocobolo, or other hard, straight-grained wood. The most difficult part of making a new bridge is cutting the slot for the saddle. A Dremel in a router base makes it fairly simple.
When I make a replacement bridge, I usually make it oversize in length and width by about 1/32" to cover any lines in the finish left by the edge of the original bridge.
Wipe the bottom surface of the new bridge several times with acetone to remove as much oil from the wood as you can before you glue it on. This helps assure a good bond.
If your Titebond has been stored in an area subject to near-freezing temperatures, do not bet it will work, because it probably won't. Get some fresh stuff.
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Post by funkykikuchiyo on Oct 31, 2020 11:11:12 GMT -5
Unfortunately the bridge broke apart in a couple of places, critically at the string-through are which knocked off several small chunks of rosewood. One small chunk had remained tenaciously stuck to the top. I had to carefully shave it off with a scalpel. It might still be salvageable. Some part can be glued back together without having structural problems, others can't. The most critical part is usually the sides of the saddle slot, because a leaning saddle will pry that apart. Did you save the pieces you shaved off? I'm having a bit trouble picturing which part came off, but it could be trivial. Of course if they send you a new one then you're good to go with that (it will still need flattening and other work of course), but save everything just in case. I'd say more companies won't send you a bridge than will, so don't count on anything. Making good clamping blocks is important, too. I literally have a bucket full of blocks that I've made and routinely have to make new ones for designs like this. I like using 1/2" ply (the good stuff, not the OSB from hardware stores) because it is easy to shape, and also kinda moves under clamping pressure and over time they conform to the bridge(s) as I use them. |
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