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I need to remove a bridge, glued with Titebond. What's the best way to do it without buying a specialized tool? Does a blow dryer get hot enough? An iron? Do you heat and pry a little and then heat some more? Any advice is appreciated.

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Tony's method works great, I make a caul to fit around the bridge and cover it with
aluminum foil then use a bridge sized heating blanking, clamp it lightly over the bridge
and use my trusty bridge removal spatula and start carefully sliding it under the bridge
as the glue softens. Never had a problem, just be aware of grain direction as you can
lift top grain if you are not careful. Pretty easy to avoid if you are careful. Titebond will
begin to release with moderate amounts of heat. As soon as the bridge is off and while the glue is still somewhat soft, remove as much of the excess left behind as it's easier now
than later. That's what works best for me.

Best
Bruce

_________________
Bruce Herrmann
"What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us."

this may scare alot off but a very sharp chisel , and light taps all around the bridge. I do it cold and can pop one off in a few minutes. It may sound like BS but it is a trick I learned at CF Martin.
Works very well
john hall
blues creek guitars

_________________
John Hall
blues creek guitars
Authorized CF Martin Repair
Co President of ASIA
You Don't know what you don't know until you know it

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This works too if you hit it right:



Note this method is only recommended for scratch golfers.....

Seriously it's going to be tough to remove a bridge with out something in the way of the special tools that luthiers use. The pallet knives are pretty important for bridge removal.

Here is a link to how I have done it and the change these days is to use a second pallet knife as suggested by one of the other members in the thread.

Good luck.

http://luthiersforum.3element.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=11038&KW=tutorial#forumTop

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Ann Arbor Guitars

There are a few great points brought up here. On some of the lower end guitars , the bridge is epoxied right on top of the finish. Sigma's are one that I found done this way. The best method I found was the routing off. I could them leave about a 1/32 to reglue the new bridge to. No top repair no finish touch up.
I would also include artists pallet knives in the tool list. They are great to get into tight spots and are flexible .
One never knows where a luthier tool is lurking
john hall

_________________
John Hall
blues creek guitars
Authorized CF Martin Repair
Co President of ASIA
You Don't know what you don't know until you know it