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August 24th, 2018

8/24/2018

1 Comment

 
Yesterday I sold the first Baritone I had made back in 2011.  It has been a wonderful instrument, but from the beginning, the lower left corner of the bridge was a bit separated from the soundboard.  It did'nt effect the sound nor the playing so I never fixed it, but I just did'nt feel right sending it to it's new owner with that blemish. So today I addressed taking off the bridge and re glueing it.  Not a simple task.
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Here is what it looks like it at this moment.  Removed, cleaned up, re-glued and firmly clamped down as the glue sets.  After dinner I will remove the clamps, do a bit of refinishing on the bridge and tomorrow string it up ready to deliver  to its new owner.  I am so pleased as this was a highly successful fix.
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To remove a bridge you must heat the glue under it to a soft state that will allow you to pry it off.  I put the shop iron upside down in a vise to heat up the aluminum block devise to transfer heat to the bridge.
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Using this handy little thermometer I let the tool get up to 250 degrees before applying it to the ebony bridge.  I takes a while to get wood hot enough to melt glue.
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Protecting the top and its finish with paper and tape, I began to inch the thin flexible putty knife under the bridge.  Very slowly heating the wood and wiggling the knife I made progress separating the ebony bridge from the spruce top.
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It took thirty minutes of careful work, wiggling the knife, heating the wood, moving the knife further and further , Until finally the bridge popped off.  Success ! no damage to the spruce, Complete separation, and now I could see why the initial problem.  I had probably not clamped one corner of the bridge adequately in 2011.
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So now it is just a simple matter of scraping the top and the bridge clean of any old glue, and re attaching the bridge to it's proper place.  Problem solved.  Took a while, and a lot of thought, but feels real good to be able to send this lovely baritone to its new owner without a defect.

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1 Comment
George Woodruff
8/24/2018 08:40:45 pm

In addition to gluing and clamping the bridge, why not also add a through pin on each side? It could even be an attractive contrast to the bridge material.

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