Official Luthiers Forum!

The wings on my bridge are thicker than all my other guitars that have Martin style belly bridges. I of course don't notice this till after the guitar is strung up The wings are a little over 10/64ths. The wings on the other guitars I own are between 6-8/64ths. Can I take a chisel and cut the wings down a little or is that a stupid idea?

Btw, the reason I ask is, some of you may have seen my wolf tone thread, anyway I stuck some weight on the bridge and it makes the wolf tone worse. I figured if I shaved the wings down some I could reduce the weight without changing the stiffness much.

_________________
Jeremy Douglas

If adding a weight makes the wolf worse, it is possible that shaving some weight will reduce the wolf, but of course there is no guarantee. Also bear in mind that you can't really chisel a whole lot of weight off so the differences can't be but subtle.
That being said, I have worked on the bridge of all my 5 projects so far (2 retops and 3 builds) seeking for more responsiveness. The gain is very subtle, and at some point you might take too much weight off. Also make sure you protect the spruce well from flying chisels...

_________________
Build log

Hi Jeremy.

If I may suggest, wait a while before you do anything about your wolf note(s). As you probably know, the sound of guitar changes with time, and it's quite drastic at the beggining (first days/weeks). So chances are your wolf note will disappear by itself after un few weeks/months. That happened to me a few times. Not that shaving your wings is impossible, but quite risky for something that might not even be necessary.

My 2 cents!

_________________
Alain Moisan
Former full time builder of Acoustics, Classicals and Flamencos.
(Now building just for fun!)

Thanks guys, I may wait since the wolf note isn't unbearable. My worst fear with shaving the wings of the bridge would be tearout/chipping as the chisel exits the wood.

_________________
Jeremy Douglas

Todd has nailed it again !!!!!
A scraper is the way to go.
protect the top as Alex has stated.

Mike

_________________
Mike Collins

of course, why didn't I think of that. A card scraper should make it an easy task. Thanks guys

_________________
Jeremy Douglas

you'll have to pardon my inexperience here, but i can't imagine that taking those tiny shavings off the wings of the bridge is going to make a big change to the sound of your guitar. incremental, maybe. but if you're hearing something you don't like, i'd be surprised if that's going to turn it around.

i think there's a better chance of a few weeks of playing making a big difference. let the top get used to it's new, under tension and torsion, state. the difference that a day or two makes is huge to a green guitar. never mind a few weeks.

i'd also make sure that you've got a nice neat exit point on your saddle for the string with the wolf. the one i just strung up had all kinds of wonky tones - some that only happened from the 12th - 16th fret on one string - because of the angle of the string over the saddle as those notes were being fretted. all that got fixed up when i intonated and gave the saddle a proper shape on top.

finally, if you're still inclined to try and solve this problem quickly, do follow todd's advice - scraper, shims, maybe a mask made out of a cereal box, lots of tape.

be patient, and good luck.

phil