Official Luthiers Forum!

This is a bridge design my son Nick came up with.My job was to keep him from going insane.I`m sure there are a lot of similar designs out there,but I think he did a nice job.What say you?
James

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James W Bolan
Nashville Tennessee

I like it.

A little bat-like, but at least it arcs in the right direction (I like bridges that smile at you, rather than frowning at you.)

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Jim Kirby
kirby@udel.edu

Amazing, really, I like it! I could be awesome in african ebony, on a nice engleman top!

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Francis Richer, Montréal
Les Guitares F&M Guitars

I like your "Bat-Bridge". I built a couple of guitars with a bridge that was curved on the leading edge. I found it a bit difficult to be SURE I had it square to the centre line.
Recently I've gone back to a simple (but attractive) bridge with a straight LE. Just simplifies my life without detracting from the look of my guitars.
If I finally got around to making the bridge placement jig I've bee building in my head, the LE shape wouldn't matter a bit.

good job ,no doubt theirs a master in the making

i always wonder why most people here dont
change their bridge design from the usual shape to a unique one
i think it would be a lot more attractive to the costumers
and it shows to the untrained eye thats its truly hand crafted
and you havent raced through the guitar like some factory in china

I havent done any finishing work to a top yet so i would like to see
why the cons of a more detailed bridge (more work) outweigh the pros (reason above)

im sure theirs someone here whos got good tips on
finishing work around fancy bridges

Thanks to all who commented on the Bat Bridge,it seems it`s been named.What works for me on a design like this when finishing,is to take a piece of tape and stick it to a clean workbench and lay the bridge on top of it.Then I just trace around it and cut out the drawn bridge on the tape just a hair inside the pencil line.This piece of tape is used to mask off the bridge location before finishing.
James

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James W Bolan
Nashville Tennessee

I like it....I designed a bridge darn near identical to that one at one point in my "bridge search" I liked it then, but like someone else pointed out it is a bit more difficult to align properly, not a biggie though, it's unique and attractive to me.

Cheers,

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Gwaltney Guitars

If you are removing the finish under the bridge by hand, it will take more time & care.
That's the main reason I dropped the "points" on my bridges. If you use a router, it probably won't be a whole lot of extra work.
Sure does look cool!

Beauty is in the eye of the boholder. If _you_ like it, that's all that matters. If you are fishing for compliments: "handsome choice of wood".

I would suggest that design criteria include more than just appearance, though. Weight matters. Break angle probably matters. Stress risers perhaps matter (I just plain don't know enough about 'em.). Glue surface absolutely matters. For a purpose built guitar, bridge material "Q" matters. Saddle slot several degrees offset from vertical? - some swear by it.

The goal is a bridge that works: form follows function.

I, personally, don't care for point-edged bridges on curvey-sided guitars. My preferred aesthetic is for the shape of the bridge, as well as the crown of the headstock and the end of the fretboard, to work with / compliment the curves of the guitar itself. But, that's just me.

Larry