Acoustic Bridge Reset Help

[BradKM]

A buddy brought me an old Ibanez acoustic with a lifting bridge.

It's an entry level guitar that could be replaced for roughly the cost of repair, but he is hoping to save it for it for sentimental reasons.

I've reset acoustic bridges before, but this time the bridge popped right back off when the strings were put back on.

It looks like the laminate top may be peeling up one layer at a time.

Any advice on a different glue that would keep this thing together?

I usually avoid epoxies or superglues for acoustic repair, and the owner knows that if we get it to stick with one of those it will be a last resort, one time only repair.

What say ye?

[toobalicious]

if the top is delaminating, will *any* glue hold it? i dont see the benefit of a stronger bonding agent if what you already used is peeling the laminations apart. i am sorry that i dont have any better suggestions for you, and wish you luck.
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[NeoFauve]

It looks like the laminate top may be peeling up one layer at a time.

Any advice on a different glue that would keep this thing together?

Have you tried just injecting some glue btween the laminations?
Maybe inside the bridge pin holes.

If this is a sentimental repair, does your friend care how it looks?

[BradKM]

I'm still not 100% that the laminations are separating.

The wood glue that I used definitely pulled up more of the top when tension was reapplied. I was hoping someone might tell me the name of a glue that would either do a better job of holding evenly and strongly, or one that might penetrate a bit deeper into the wood when creating the bond.

I'm thinking I may try glueing one more time, and if that doesn't work I'll suggest that he bolt it down and cover the screw heads with pearl inlay.

I know that's drastic, but it's the only other way I see to save it if they top is coming apart like that.

[Wilko]

if it's not pulling up the laminations, then you just need stronger glue and some clamping pressure.

If you are using white glue, move up to "yellow" glue. Carpenter's glue like tightbond will do fine on this guitar. get the surfaces clean and even as possible. You can scratch the bottom of the bridge to raise some grain and help it grip.

You'll need some long arm clamps to get a real good pressure on it at least overnight, two days is better.

If you don't have clamps, you can use weights. If it's a regular warped belly bridge, you can get away with one pressure point in the center of the bridge. aim the pressure toward the butt end of the guitar.

If tightbond doesn't do it, and it's a cheapo guitar, Gorilla glue wiull do the job. You'll want to tape close around the bridge to keep the foaming glue from spreading ov too much of the finish. You can trim off the extra glue with an exacto when it's dry.

[BradKM]

Carpenter's glue like tightbond will do fine on this guitar. get the surfaces clean and even as possible. You can scratch the bottom of the bridge to raise some grain and help it grip.

You'll need some long arm clamps to get a real good pressure on it at least overnight, two days is better.

It was Titebond, and I did use the specialized deep C clamps.

I let it sit with the clamps in place for a full week (I was busy with other projects).

I bought some Gorilla Glue over the weekend and will probably try that next.

I'm thinking about using bolts and washers through the string holes in addition to the clamps to provide extra pressure...but that might be overkill.

[BradKM]

I finally got around to using the Gorilla Glue, and it worked.

That stuff is extremely messy to work with, though.

I'd hesitate before using it on any guitars other than my own in the future.

I still think the top laminations were coming apart, but the Gorilla Glue penetraded enough to keep things together.

I'd used the same bottle of Titebond and the exact same methods as my first attempt on this guitar on another acoustic with a solid top as soon as I took the clamps off, and that bridge held with no problems.

I also committed the luthier's sin of using superglue to fix another problem, successfully...more on that later.

[Kap'n]

Next up, use "silk and steel" strings, and hope for the best.

[Dannyboy]

Sounds like you're in over your head. Take it to a luthier or sell it to a pawn shop with nylon strings on it.

[elicross]

Actually, it sounds like he already fixed it.

[Wilko]

And for those following at home, I don't recommend Gorilla Glue for just any guitar.

This just seemed like a guitar that would have a good cost/benefit ratio to go ahead and get the job done with a product that should do very well in this application.

For example, I just had major surgery done on my 1954 J-160e with original wacky adjustable bridge. This is not just an adjustable saddle, it is Gibson's first attempt at an adjustable bridge. The saddle rests on a large plank of maple suspended under the top by two large bolts going through the outer wings of the bridge.

This neck reset and bridge plate repair and bridge reset were all done with hide glue by a more-than-competent luthier. No gorilla glue was allowed in the building during the work.

[NeoFauve]

And for those following at home, I don't recommend Gorilla Glue for just any guitar.


No gorilla glue was allowed in the building during the work.

Well, excuse me!

[BradKM]

Yep, it's fixed.

It's had a set of light Martin 80/20s on it for about a week now and the bridge is showing no signs of lifting.

I took on this project and another acoustic bridge reset at the same time to polish my skills, which have gotten rusty over the past few years.

Both guitars were beaters that belonged to buddies of mine, and neither wanted to spend what it would cost to take them to a pro.

I used to do this repair quite often, but fell out of practice after I gave up working in guitar shops for my current job.

I agree that Gorilla Glue is a last resort unless you've got a lot of practice using it and feel confident you can walk away with a repair that's not only strong (which it will be) but also clean, which is much more challenging.

The other guitar was in much worse shape to begin with.

It's bridge was lifting at close to 45 degrees (about to pop off), and it had a 10 inch crack in the top that had been covered with a bumper sticker.

I thought about repairing it the proper way with cleats, but knew that the crack was so dirty that it would never look good...so I ended up doing a little experimenting with a very fast setting super glue that also happened to be rated for use with wood.

It was a two-man job.

We dropped a bit on the brace from the inside, ran a bead down the crack and set everything by hand, then simply held it until five minutes had ticked off the clock.

I wouldn't admit to attempting such a hack repair if it hadn't worked like a charm.

After we were sure the top had set I reglued the bridge with Titebond and the deep C-clamps, just like my first try on the Ibanez. The only diffrence was the second guitar had a solid top, and the bridge repair held.

[elicross]

Speaking of fixing beaters, I wonder how much time and money has gone into keeping Willie Nelson's old nylon-string from falling apart all these years.

I remember it had a good-sized hole in it (under the soundhole, probably from years and years of pick impact) back in the early 1980s when he did Saturday Night Live -- and he was still playing that same guitar a couple of weeks ago at the Crossroads Guitar Festival.