Replacing Acoustic Bridge

[feylya]

One of my house mates' acoustic has decided to crack in the bridge so I've decided to have a go at replacing it. Anyone have any cool hints on how to do it?

[weezerboy]

no cool hints..but just straightforward instructions...

(if the bridge has no screws(which it probably won't)

With the normal type of glued joint between bridge and soundboard, you simply work away at breaking the joint with a thin, pliable table knife. Ease the knife under the bridge and lever it off completely.

of course you will have to chip awway fora while before you lever it off.

hope that helped

dan (aka weezerboy)

[Setch]

Depending on the location and size of the crack, you may be able to repair it with epoxy or CA glue. If you are unable to repair the bridge, you will need to remove it, which can be done a couple of different ways, depending on your circumstances. A picture and/or specific detail of the brand/type/location of fault etc would help in giving more detailed advice.

On a good quality guitar, the bridge will be glued with hide glue or some variant of titebond. In this case, you can apply heat to the bridge until the glue softens, then use a thin, flexible, BLUNT pallette knife to get between the bridge and the soundboard. A domestic iron can be used to heat the bridge, though you must be carefull not to dmage the soundboard - cover it with thickish cardboard and/or aluminium foil. By going very slowly you can seperate the bridge, then clean up the area ready to reglue. Do not try to remove the bridge without any heat - glue that can withstand string pressure will not fail under the attack of a spatula, but the fragile top of your guitar may well!

If the guitar is a cheapo inport, the bridge may well be glued with a form of epoxy, which may or may not respond well to heating. If your attempts to heat the bridge off fail, your can either route or plane it down till less than .5 mm of thickness remains, then clean the remains of with carefull chisel work. You dont stand to lose much by heating the bridge first, and it may well help, so always try this approach before getting out the plane or router

You should also be aware that a cracked bridge is often symptomatic of something more serious going wrong on the other side if the soudboard, like a split bridge plate. Using a handbag mirror you should have a check through the soundhole before you repair the bridge, otherwise you may find yourself replacing it again quite soon!