Official Luthiers Forum!

Hi,

I have a Martin DX on the bench with a loose bridge. The usual Titebond is not working (wood bridge, "formica" top). Does anyone know what kind of glue Martin uses on these? I've had several DX's with the kerfing come loose causing side/top separation, and we CA to get it back together. As a rule I hate to use CA or epoxy on a bridge repair: makes it harder to remove later if necessary. But this may be the fix. I was hoping to wrap this up this weekend, so any ideas are welcome. Otherwise I'll call Martin on Monday to see what the scoop is! Double-stick foam tape?

Cheers,

Scott

I thought the DX series was solid top?

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Bro. Matthew A.
Oklahoma

Not all of them: this is the 175th Anniversary model and it is genuine "formica." I just spoke with a friend who does warranty work for Martin: he said they emailed a PDF to him listing the various chemicals/glues they use on these hybrids, and he didn't recognize any any of the items listed. And of course, whatever they DO use is clearly not working. We're thinking of removing the bridge, roughing up the formica, and using a 24 hour epoxy.

Scotty:

I removed and reglued a lifting bridge on an LXM a couple of years ago (Micarta bridge and Formica top). I used hide glue and its still holding fine with medium guage strings on it.

Jay

I have a DX as well and Im experiencing that same thing, mine dosent need to be messed with yet but soon it will. Im also getting a hump in the top behind the bridge. It seems that its being caused just by the string tension... I dont know about the formica tops.... So anyway if you find something that works Id like to hear about it!

I had a Martin 000CXE in the shop this past week with a lifting bridge. It only took about 3 minutes to fully remove the bridge with a heated spatula. What ever Martin uses to glue bridges to these tops, there wasn't much of it under there. I also noticed that the bridge and top mating surfaces were extremely smooth which may be part of the problem with the original bond, especially given the top material. I opted to rough up the surfaces a little and use a two part epoxy I purchased from Stew Mac. It has been strung up for a few days and holding so far but I am going to watch it a little longer.

I've been thinking of this a lot lately. I just posted to the forum about using CA to glue a bridge right to the finish. I'm thinking about it and I really cannot think of any reason why a bridge should be designed to be removed some day. Necks yes sure of course but a bridge? The bridge to me is part of the bracing system. You don't replace braces right? And if you really need to remove it then it could be routed right off and replaced.

IDK just thinking here.

The person I spoke with at Martin (who will remain nameless to protect his innocence and my terrible memory), said just use CA to reglue 'em.
Done two or three now, and I will concur, they didn't use much glue there to hold the bridge on originally.

Steve

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From Nacogdoches...the oldest town in Texas.

http://www.stephenkinnaird.com

Most of the loose bridges we see in the shop come loose because the bridge itself has warped, and/or the shape of the bridge never did match the top from the factory and eventually pulled loose. In such cases we need to remove them and shape the bottom to fit the top, then re-install. If these were installed with a heat-resisting glue, then that job becomes very difficult. CA does soften with heat, but some epoxies may not be as easy to work with during a removal.

Regarding Martin's suggestion to us CA, I just may try that. At the moment, the loose bridge in question is not wanting to be removed, even with heat! But the loose section CAN be clamped flush with the top, making CA a possible fix.