Official Luthiers Forum!

Sooner or later something was bound to happen and make it so that I had to earn my stripes.

Tonight it happened. The order of events goes like this...


First my countersink (http://www.woodcraft.com/family.aspx?familyid=5154) suddenly grabs and digs a massive hole into my bridge. The diameter of the hole is exactly .340 thou. The closest imperial equivalent is 11/32nds...and no one here locally carries an 11/32nds plug cutter. Here's where the countersink grabs and digs...



So I figure I can drill the holes out to 3/8th's...that's the next imperial measurement that is readily available locally. The only thing that did was blow out the wood in between the holes. Bridge is ruined and has to come off. NO picture of the blowout.

Here's the bridge removal. I used a blade I removed from a Dozuki saw CUZ I DIDN'T HAVE ANYTHING ELSE!!!! Here's the removed bridge...the burn mark....and....and....(really big sigh).



I'm putting this up because I am looking for help in dealing with this. I have to make a new bridge for sure. That burn mark is screwing everything up...will have to refinish the top I'm sure...anything you have to say would be helpful.

Chris

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There is no difference between the man that thinks he can....and the man that thinks he cannot.

I've screwed up a bridge trying to countersink the holes. Luckily I've removed a BUNCH of bridges and didn't damage the top. After that I started using an old fashioned hand drill to countersink the holes. Then I bought one of these. http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Tools/Special_tools_for:_Bridges/Bridge_Pin_Hole_Chamfer_Tool.html It's well worth the money.

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I didn't mean to say it, but I meant what I said.
http://www.brackettinstruments.com/

Chris:Sorry to hear of your problem.Don't want to comment on repair ,will leave that to others more qualified. Will comment on contersinking your bridges, try using small cone shaped grinding stones with 1/4 inch shanks fitted in your hand drill.I find this works much better then regular metal countersinks allowing for much better control.Try it on some scrap first to get the feel for the operation. Good Luck with the repair. Tom.

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A person who has never made a mistake has never made anything!!!

Hey there! It's your buddy from Texas.. Since I know where that guitar is going, I would suggest drilling out the holes and plugging them, matching the grain as close as possible. Re drill and take the poster's above me advise on the stew mac counter sink tool. It's fool proof. I couldn't live without that tool or their new string height gauge.Why did you set the top of the bridge on fire? Jimmi Hendrix thing?

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Kevin Kneeburg

Chris,
sorry about that. Guitar building can be quite cruel at times. I just removed a bridge myself because of wrong string spacing. Woody's recommendation of Stewmac's tool is a good one. Personally I abandoned the heat way to remove bridges as I believe it could be more detrimental to the finish and soundboard not to mention possible center seam issues.
I made two rails that allow me to run a laminate trimmer and slowly route down the bridge to a paper thin thickness and then just chisel off the rest. A pretty easy fool-proof process that takes me about 15 mins to do. A bit too late now I know but good for the next ones.
As far as I can see, there is no way around a refinish on the soundboard. UNLESS there is no severe damage to the soundboard you can make a larger footprint bridge that covers that area...

Best of luck,

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Peter M.
Cornerstone Guitars
http://www.cornerstoneukes.com

Uhhhhh......(blank stare & silence...maybe a few blinks)....

Oh....the top is deifinitely going to need a refinish. In fact I've already sanded it off. Had to get rid of that Jimi Hendrix Brand on the top...

Already making a new bridge. What a nightmare.

I really really like the idea of just routing the bridge clean off the guitar. I might actually put some effort into coming up with a jig for that.

This propane torch and kitchen spatula crap is for the BIRDS!

Chris

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There is no difference between the man that thinks he can....and the man that thinks he cannot.

But hey nice rosette.

Thanks John I was all ready to get the black felt out and snap some completed photos....

BUT NOOOOOOO.......

I was even going to spend an hour playing it in my private little corner....

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There is no difference between the man that thinks he can....and the man that thinks he cannot.

Another suggestion is to chamfer the holes before you glue the bridge on.

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Todd Rose
Ithaca, NY

https://www.dreamingrosesecobnb.com/todds-art-music

https://www.facebook.com/ToddRoseGuitars/

Peter's advice is good, this is what I do. I rout off the bridge, no need for an elaborate jig, 2 rails screwed to the router base will do the trick.
To countersink the holes: buy a carbide burr and mount it in a hand drill…

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Laurent Brondel
West Paris, Maine - USA
http://www.laurentbrondel.com/

Bummer dude, at least it looks like that nice silky top was not damaged, and that is a nice rosette!

If it makes you feel any better, when i was first starting out i scorched a finish just like that.. on a customers brand new martin!

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Jordan Aceto
Ithaca, NY

Hi Chris,
Sorry to hear about (and see) your bad luck. But don't sweat it. Take your time and work through it. You'll learn a lot, and it will all work out fine. It'll just take some time and effort. I had a similar incident on a build a while back, and that guitar turned out fine, and is one of my best sounding.

One thing that caught my eye was the tear out on the bass side of the bridge patch - I had that happen too. If you want to insure a good glue surface for when you rebridge, you may need to route out a small patch, just deep enough to clear the damage, and fit a new piece of thin sitka in there. I had to do that on mine b/c of tearout from my bridge removal. (I've started routing / planing them off now, like others mentioned).

Good luck, and be patient - it'll pay off!

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Ken Mitchell
Durham, NC

Thanks for all the help folks. I really appreciate it.

Ken one of the thing you mention is a patch of Spruce. This top is Western Red Cedar. Should I then use Western Red Cedar?

Chris

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There is no difference between the man that thinks he can....and the man that thinks he cannot.

Oh... yes, of course. I just glanced at the top wood. Whatever you have handy, spruce, cedar, anything to give you a good glue surface. You'll cover it over with the new bridge, in any case, so it won't be visible.

Good luck, Chris!

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Ken Mitchell
Durham, NC

There is an old-time repair trick fro removing bridges that was developed by Stu Mossman way back in the day.... Take a chisel (1/2 or 3/4) and place directly at the bridge/top juncture with the bevel flat against the guitar top and give it a tap, work around the bridge and after a couple times around it will pop right off. The idea is not to WHACK it, but gently tap. BAsically you're shocking the glue joint loose.
Hope this helps,
Art