Bridge Repair Advice/Terry/?

[Joseph Garrett]

Terry & all,
Removal of a bass bridge is usually fairly straight forward. The things to
look out for are hidden, (behind back posts, etc.), screws and especially
hidden dowels. The dowels are usually through the ribs/sound board and into
the "base" of the bridge. These little stinkers can be a problem. If the
bridge wants to come off, leaving the "base", let it. It is actually easier
to re-install. If a screw is behind a back post, take accurate measurements
and drill out the back post, so that you can access the screw with the
appropriate screw driver. To re-attach a bridge, I like to use those Nylon
Soundboard buttons. As you torque down on the screws, these buttons will get
a nice "ring" from the pressue, that lets you know you have tightened the
screw down sufficiently. I will sometimes replace these with regular wooden
ones, if, cosmetics is/are a consideration. Once the repair is complete,
plug the hole, in the backpost with a dowel, if cosmetics concerns are
warranted. (Yours/theirs or both) Once all the screws, etc have been
removed, I usually use the Oregon "Big Foot" technique. <G> This can also be
accomplished with a rubber mallet. Also "dog leg" chisels are some times
needed to SLIGHTLY break the glue bead. I've found that a crow bar or
"Wonder" Bar used in tandem with a flat piece of scrap maple or plywood, is
an efficient way to "coax the bridge lose from the soundboard.
The one bridge, that I would recommend NOT taking off, is the one(s) that
are attached to the soundboard at an angle and are really wide where the
bridge meets the soundboard. (The Kranich(ally) Bach is the one that vividly
comes to mind!) These are attached so solidly, that it is virtually
impossible to remove w/o some pretty serious sound board damage. (Don't
ask!)
As to the long bridge, I'll leave that to guys like Del or the Rons. I have
removed them, for placement on new soundboards, but am not into Sound Board
Manufacturing. If you are talking about recapping, there are many ways to
remove the top of an existing bridge, for that process. I personally have a
special jig ("fixture) for my router for that process.
The one thing I cannot stress enough, is take lots of measurements! Double
check those measurements. Taking patterns is also of the essence.
Hope this helps.
Regards,
Joe Garrett, RPT, (Oregon)(Go Nebraska!)<G>