Southpa Posted November 30, 2003 Report Share Posted November 30, 2003 A friend was helping another friend move. The person had a classical guitar that she was going to toss into the dumpster but my friend grabbed it and brought it to me to fix. I've fixed/rebuilt other guitars for him, for money, and I'm in between jobs right now. Its a Hondo H308 classical. Some buffoon strung it with steel strings so the bridge got ripped right out of the body. Otherwise, the guitar is in fine shape structurally and finish-wise and I see no reason to toss it. Just needs a new bridge glued and bolted down and new strings. Our usual agreement is that I buy the parts and he reimburses me and pays me for my time and effort. I like the experience but many of you might think this guitar is not worth the effort. Maybe I'll just charge him 20 bucks + cost of bridge and strings and leave it at that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
renablistic Posted December 1, 2003 Report Share Posted December 1, 2003 thats a good idea. 20 bucks is good for a bridge re-glue and bolt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Setch Posted December 1, 2003 Report Share Posted December 1, 2003 You don't bolt accoustic bridges unless your aim is a dead, unresponsive instrument - any form off bolts will add far too much mass to the bridge, and impeed the movement of the soundboard. Accoustic bridges should be glued with hide glue or a high quality aliphatic resin, like titebond original. You will need a long reach clamp to hold the bridge down whilst the glue sets. If any spruce was torn out from the top when the bridge pulled off you will need to patch it for a structural job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southpa Posted December 4, 2003 Author Report Share Posted December 4, 2003 Hey, I'm using the same bolts that were used to initially hold the bridge down. They came with the guitar. *** you think I'm using? bolts off my truck??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Setch Posted December 5, 2003 Report Share Posted December 5, 2003 Well I didn't think you were using lightning bolts... Anyway, quality accoustic instruments don't use bolts, for the reasons mentioned above. Accoustic steel string or classical bridges are glued, archtops use floating bridges held in place by string tension. You can use bolts through the bridge pin holes to clamp the bridge in place whilst the glue sets, but you don't want them there as a fixture. This is particularly important in a nylon instrument since the reduced string tension drives the top less hard, so you need to make the most of what little vibration is created - not deaden it with a big chunk of ballast. Even a fairly small bolt will significantly increase the mass of a bridge since metal is so much denser than even a hardwood like rosewood or ebony. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southpa Posted December 5, 2003 Author Report Share Posted December 5, 2003 Oh well, like I mentioned in the first post, this guitar is a (el cheapo) HONDO classical with no truss rod. I just put them back together the same way they were built. The owner was so happy with the results that he INSISTED on giving me a 50 dollar bill. I'm not in the financial position to argue with him . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Setch Posted December 5, 2003 Report Share Posted December 5, 2003 Oh well, like I mentioned in the first post, this guitar is a (el cheapo) HONDO classical with no truss rod. I just put them back together the same way they were built. The owner was so happy with the results that he INSISTED on giving me a 50 dollar bill. I'm not in the financial position to argue with him . I can't argue with that... Remember, the customer is always right, especially when he @wants@ to give you money Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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