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Here is a potential repair that i will be taking on. This is a late 1960's Gibson J-50. it was stored in a closet for decades until it was finally discovered, so obviously it was prone to poor Humidity and maintenance. The bridge has cracked and lifted. So i am asking you fellow luthiers, what would be the best course of action for this? Remove and replace it with a new one? Remove and restore the same bridge? any other opinions?

Also what would you charge to do a job like this?

thanks in advance

Jonathan

I'd check the guitar over for any other problems, and after removing the bridge I'd replace it with a new one.

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"Act your age, not your shoe size" - Prince

Yup, What Chris said. It doesn't look like you'll have any difficulty removing the old bridge!
The "blue book" price for a factory made bridge replacement is $100.00 plus the price of new bridge & saddle. If you need to custom make the bridge, They quote $250.00 +.
I found the "Guitar Repair blue book" at www.guitarshop.com/blu.html It's a useful starting point for estimating common repair jobs.

Make a new one and dump the adjustable saddle(looks adjustable to me) unless the customer wants to keep it.
Tom

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

All mahogany Gibsons in the 1950's and 1960's had laminated sides. Many of the early-1950's J-bodies sell for $5K and more.
I am not saying this particular guitar is worth a lot, but the laminated sides have no apparent effect on the value.

Or you could just run a spatula under it and pop it off. It's already loose.
If you are keeping the adjustable saddle, just glue the bridge back together with CA or epoxy.
If the bridge is distorted, it can be straightened by heating it with a heat gun and clamping it flat.
Then reinstall it with Titebond or hot hide glue.

My prices are much less.
Repairing the bridge as I outlined should be less than $50.

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John

You could probably just whack that one off with a chisel. Glue the bridge back together and use it as a template for a new one. It's a 4-5 hour job.

?

"This domain may be for sale. Contact us"

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https://soundcloud.com/jeffreylsuits/he ... -runnin-13

I'd ask the guy what he wants you to do. Last time I got one of these I suggested a new bridge with a real correctly compensated saddle and he went for it.

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Old growth, shmold growth!

No way I charge 50 dollars for such a repair. There are way too many complications that could result from bridge removal, and gluing it back together has its risk too. Minimum charge of $100 dollars, either for replacing it with a custom made one, or repairing the existing one. I charge more for complex or oversized bridges such as Gibson SJ-300.

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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.

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