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Look at this:



A bridge plate made from bookmatched knotty spruce. This is a junk guitar given to me... soundboard cracked in several places and bridge cracked across the pin holes... this is probably why...

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Cat-gut strings are made from kitten guts, stretched out to near breaking point and then hardened with grue saliva. As a result these give a feeling of Pain and anguish whenever played, and often end up playing themselves backwards as part of satanic rituals.

Typhoon Guitars
http://www.typhoon-guitars.com

Looks like the X brace has a crack too?

Chuck

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I just noticed that too... sounds like a cat or larger animal jumped on it or something...

What do you think, repair and sell or smash and salvage?

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Cat-gut strings are made from kitten guts, stretched out to near breaking point and then hardened with grue saliva. As a result these give a feeling of Pain and anguish whenever played, and often end up playing themselves backwards as part of satanic rituals.

Typhoon Guitars
http://www.typhoon-guitars.com

Looks like a good opportunity for some repair practice, if you're not too busy with paying work.

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The name catgut is confusing. There are two explanations for the mix up.

Catgut is an abbreviation of the word cattle gut. Gut strings are made from sheep or goat intestines, in the past even from horse, mule or donkey intestines.

Otherwise it could be from the word kitgut or kitstring. Kit meant fiddle, not kitten.

That is a odd grain orientation for a bridge plate, I bet it was cut from a un-useable spruce guitar top.
I've used a spruce bridge plate on a few small guitars. Used properly, I don't fear it.

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According to Frank Ford, that is actually the best orientation for a bridge plate... it prevents those cracks across the bridge pin holes because the other orientation would mean that this would happen easily, since wood has next to no strength across the grain.

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Cat-gut strings are made from kitten guts, stretched out to near breaking point and then hardened with grue saliva. As a result these give a feeling of Pain and anguish whenever played, and often end up playing themselves backwards as part of satanic rituals.

Typhoon Guitars
http://www.typhoon-guitars.com

Not saying Frank Ford is wrong, but I guess I am saying it.
The bridge plate is not alone, it is laminated to the top, at approx 90 degrees to the top.
If it was glued in at the same grain orientation as the top, it isn't an efficient lay-up.

Cracks through the pin holes are a result of poor quality wood, poor bridge construction, poor gluing technique, forcing ill-fitting pins, and poor & incorrect repair.

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https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100008907949110

I thought the bridge itself would provide the cross grain support, and the reason for that orientation is so that the strength is the best where the most stress is. I thought the function of the bridge plate is to prevent the bridge from peeling off so that the bridge pin holes doesn't become a fulcrum.

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Cat-gut strings are made from kitten guts, stretched out to near breaking point and then hardened with grue saliva. As a result these give a feeling of Pain and anguish whenever played, and often end up playing themselves backwards as part of satanic rituals.

Typhoon Guitars
http://www.typhoon-guitars.com

You could put a patch of very hard wood over that.
Some rosewood a 1/16" thick, by 3/4", and long enough to make all da strings.

I'm sure Frank Ford isn't talking about using spruce though when he talks about best grain orientation for bridge pads.

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Another day, another dollar.

I wasn't suggesting that Frank said to use spruce, and I know better anyways... I was just commenting on the fact that someone used spruce as a bridge plate, which is clearly not the right material for the job, although it would work for a classical guitar.

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Cat-gut strings are made from kitten guts, stretched out to near breaking point and then hardened with grue saliva. As a result these give a feeling of Pain and anguish whenever played, and often end up playing themselves backwards as part of satanic rituals.

Typhoon Guitars
http://www.typhoon-guitars.com