Members Elias Graves Posted June 30, 2010 Members Share Posted June 30, 2010 I'm too embarrassed to admit most of my tricks publicly. But they (mostly) work. EG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members meandi Posted June 30, 2010 Author Members Share Posted June 30, 2010 I'm too embarrassed to admit most of my tricks publicly. But they (mostly) work. EG Doesn't matter if it's purdy or not...as long as it works...form follows function... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members meandi Posted June 30, 2010 Author Members Share Posted June 30, 2010 Wrapped some aluminum foil around some paint sticks to reflect the heat away from the top adjacent to the bridge. Warm & probe, warm & probe. Someone loves this guitar, it's been played a lot. The fracture extended under the bridge & the wood is somewhat splintered on either side of the impact area. This one didn't come off as cleanly as some do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Les Paul Lover Posted June 30, 2010 Members Share Posted June 30, 2010 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members meandi Posted June 30, 2010 Author Members Share Posted June 30, 2010 These are the anchors for the saddle adjustment screw on the bridge. I'm going to encourage the guy who owns it to go with a bone saddle as it goes back together, like I did on this guy's alvarez which also originally had an adjustable saddle. http://acapella.harmony-central.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2537048 Impact area is just in front of the bridge location. Pretty splintered up & spongy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members meandi Posted June 30, 2010 Author Members Share Posted June 30, 2010 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Les Paul Lover Posted June 30, 2010 Members Share Posted June 30, 2010 Hope you're keeping well meandi?? Nice to see another of your works - ever so interesting!!! Do you think the bridge will glue right back? Are all the splinters still attached to the bridge? Glueing it should make it stronger, shouldn't it??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members reachjkh Posted July 1, 2010 Members Share Posted July 1, 2010 Yay! More tools. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitarcapo Posted July 1, 2010 Members Share Posted July 1, 2010 I'm going to encourage the guy who owns it to go with a bone saddle as it goes back together, like I did on this guy's alvarez which also originally had an adjustable saddle. Yea those cheezy adjustable plastic saddles can really suck tone.Basically they act like a "shock absorber" keeping the vibrations from trasferring to the top. Replacing the whole thing with something hard and solid can really transform a guitar's sound. Incidentally, there's that exact same model Gibson 12 in the local Fort Myers Guitar Center here in SW Florida. It sounds fantastic with lots of bass and projection for such a small guitar....It needs a neck reset (the plastic adjustable bridge has long been removed in favor of an almost non-existant standard one. But the action is still kind of high. Still it had that great sound so I tried to talk them down to $900 for the guitar. I argued that I'd have to pay $300 for the neck reset (really I was going to do it myself)...but they would only come down to $1,000.. and do I really need another guitar anyway? But I took comfort in the fact that it's been there 2 years and no one has bought it. Still it really opened my eyes to how much bass and projection a small guitar can put out. And that's really what I look for in a 12 string. Bass, bass and more bass. Also it's interesting that the saddle sits right on top of the spruce without a floor of rosewood at the bottom of the saddle slot. Maybe THAT's the secret. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members meandi Posted July 1, 2010 Author Members Share Posted July 1, 2010 Interestingly enough, & I was kinda surprised when I noticed it not being plastic, the saddle on this one is mahogany...matches the bridge perfectly. I've always kinda wondered why more saddles aren't on the spruce.Would seem that it would get the tone right in the top more quickly...no bridge to top glue line to go through... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members meandi Posted July 1, 2010 Author Members Share Posted July 1, 2010 Hope you're keeping well meandi??Nice to see another of your works - ever so interesting!!! Do you think the bridge will glue right back? Are all the splinters still attached to the bridge? Glueing it should make it stronger, shouldn't it??? Getting the bridge plate properly reset, with full contact to the top is the most important thing as far as restoring strength is concerned.Then I can saturate the splintered fibers with glue when the bridge goes back on to reintroduce some stiffness to that area as well.Glue is not acceptable for filling voids, or as a structural agent, especially in an area that carries the loads that, that part of the top carries. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members meandi Posted July 1, 2010 Author Members Share Posted July 1, 2010 Yay! More tools. Howdy stranger. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members irishstu Posted July 2, 2010 Members Share Posted July 2, 2010 Cool thread (as usual), Meandi. Subscribed! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members meandi Posted July 2, 2010 Author Members Share Posted July 2, 2010 Cool thread (as usual), Meandi. Subscribed! Thanks. Nice to see you again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members meandi Posted July 2, 2010 Author Members Share Posted July 2, 2010 Aside from the splinters from the top that are still attached to the bridge, it's not totaly straight across the bottom. Specifically on the ends where they have taken an up-curled set. I'm going to suspend the bridge above a boiling pot of water & let the steam soften the glue so I can slide the splinters off, with a sharp chisel, for re-use in the top. Also this will re-hydrate & soften the fibers in the bridge wood & I'll clamp it to a strong straight block of maple to let it re-set itself in a straight configuration. If this doesn't work completely, I'll have to mill it straight on the belt sander & possibly cut a very thin shim out of some rosewood that I have, in order to get it to the height it needs to be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitarist21 Posted July 2, 2010 Members Share Posted July 2, 2010 Poor guitar! Looks like you're doing a great job though. Keep it up! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitarcapo Posted July 2, 2010 Members Share Posted July 2, 2010 I usually use thin CA glue to tack down those "runnout fibers" that occur with a removed bridge. As for the bottom of the bridge not being flat, I usually don't worry about it and just clamp the thing down when it's in that direction...mainly because the force of the strings pull it in the opposite direction and a little curve there might make the bridge more resistant to the string pull deforming it. As for that no-bottom bridge design. I had a Harmony once that had that and I replaced it with a rosewood bottom because I was installing an undersaddle pickup and needed that. I found the brightness and sustain increased slightly. The vibrations probably transmitted through the the rest of the bridge better that way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members meandi Posted July 2, 2010 Author Members Share Posted July 2, 2010 Got it out & this is where it's at. Retained all of the pieces. The bridge plate does not cover the entirety of the bridge. The back string mounting hole on the trebel side has no support...the string ball was seating against the top itself. Several dry spots on the inside of the top, where no glue was present, as well. If you look in the mirror itself, you can see where that same rear E string hole was drilled through the brace for at least 1/2 of its width. Guess I coulda cleaned my mirror before that shot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitarist21 Posted July 3, 2010 Members Share Posted July 3, 2010 That is one big, honkin bridge plate. These pics are great; thanks, meandi. Looking forward to the rest of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members meandi Posted July 3, 2010 Author Members Share Posted July 3, 2010 That is one big, honkin bridge plate. These pics are great; thanks, meandi. Looking forward to the rest of them. Yes it is quite large. Two sets of strings...spreading the loads to a greater area. Glad you like the pics. I actually enjoy shooting & writing the threads, almost as much as I enjoy doing the work...almost. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitarcapo Posted July 3, 2010 Members Share Posted July 3, 2010 Is that top plywood? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Jimmy Chaos Posted July 3, 2010 Members Share Posted July 3, 2010 Excellent thread as always Meandi, fascinating to see your work. One of the many things I've learned from your threads is that no matter what happens to a guitar, it CAN be fixed EDIT: And Guitarcapo as well. Interesting stuff And yes that looks like a laminate top to me too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members meandi Posted July 3, 2010 Author Members Share Posted July 3, 2010 Is that top plywood? No, quartered spruce. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members meandi Posted July 3, 2010 Author Members Share Posted July 3, 2010 Excellent thread as always Meandi, fascinating to see your work. One of the many things I've learned from your threads is that no matter what happens to a guitar, it CAN be fixed EDIT: And Guitarcapo as well. Interesting stuff And yes that looks like a laminate top to me too Thanks Jimmy, nice to see you again! In spite of their delicate nature, they seem to be tougher than we give credit for, at times, I think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitarcapo Posted July 3, 2010 Members Share Posted July 3, 2010 Here's a similar repair to a 40's Martin from Frank Ford's site Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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