ScottR Posted September 22, 2018 Report Share Posted September 22, 2018 A friend of mine showed me a Fender acoustic he was given and asked if I could reattach the bridge. I told him I haven't done any acoustic guitar work so far, but I thought this guitar had bigger problems than a bridge that came unglued. I told him I expected a broken brace and a cracked top at the least. After destringing, I found a brace that had popped off instead of breaking, and a top cracked and broken on both sides of the bridge and across all of the string peg holes.. The distortion did not go away once the string pressure was removed. I'm presuming this is not a repairable top, and the only way to fix this guitar is to replace the top completely. Yes? No? Maybe? It's too bad, as this is a nice looking guitar. SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curtisa Posted September 22, 2018 Report Share Posted September 22, 2018 What about applying heat + pressure, or steam + pressure? I suspect the crack isn't the hardest part to fix; it will be the localised bulging where the bridge used to be attached. In all the acoustics I've seen there's usually a reinforcing plate of timber directly underneath the bridge in between where the two big X-braces cross. Maybe that's also come loose or is otherwise damaged and is exacerbating the problem? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted September 23, 2018 Author Report Share Posted September 23, 2018 I presume the top would need to come off to have any chance at all? SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curtisa Posted September 23, 2018 Report Share Posted September 23, 2018 Not sure. I'm no expert, but it may pay to ask around at other more specialised forums. Acoustic Guitar Forum? Luthiers Forum? Even the Australian & New Zealand Luthiers Forum? Stewmac have all sorts of long-reach clamps and heated metal clamping cauls for repairing bellied acoustic tops without resorting to removing the top, but they're likely to put a significant dent in your wallet for only one repair. I'm still waiting on @Norris to complete his acoustic guitar re-top project so he can show us all how easy it is Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norris Posted September 24, 2018 Report Share Posted September 24, 2018 9 hours ago, curtisa said: I'm still waiting on @Norris to complete his acoustic guitar re-top project so he can show us all how easy it is Time... time... time... I wish I had enough of it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bizman62 Posted April 19, 2019 Report Share Posted April 19, 2019 It's been half a year but nonetheless this looks just like one of the cases Jerry Rosa repairs on his YouTube videos https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC29Dkc6-RMU8TCrloPN0Cbw Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted April 22, 2019 Author Report Share Posted April 22, 2019 Thanks for that. Alas, it has already been parted out and now lives on in several guitars. SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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