Del Nilppeznaf Posted July 8, 2012 Share Posted July 8, 2012 The Bridge on my owld Seagul CW is starting to lift..has been for quite some time..so I'm thinking of tryin to fix it. My problem is..it has only a small amount of lift at the moment.. I was thinking of just getting some wood glue in there and putting some weight on it overnight. This may work ok ? But I wont be able to clean/ prepare the wood very well because of the small amount of room to work with. So... is it worth taking the full bridge off ? I am not too comfortable with this idea as yet.. How easy would it be to replace the bridge in its correct position? I don't really wanna spend any money on it getting done proffesionaly..if I can help it. shes been around the world with me..so she has some sentimental value..she sounds pretty good too. here are some pics Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blindboygrunt Posted July 8, 2012 Share Posted July 8, 2012 some glue and a thin pallet knife ? then clamp it up for a night. bound to be worth a shot ? cool guitar ! lol more a 'beaten' than a 'beater' those seagulls have a nice tone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spot Posted July 8, 2012 Share Posted July 8, 2012 Del,..this is a sweat lookin' beater. I love the duck tap addition and the added sticker. I bet she could tell some stories... Good luck with the repairs.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madman_Greg Posted July 8, 2012 Share Posted July 8, 2012 Putting glue under the bridge and clamping will only be a temporary solution, do you know the cause have you looked side. This is worth a watch http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8SDgfmXLnY Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jedzep Posted July 8, 2012 Share Posted July 8, 2012 I wouldn't bother with clamping. That might even loosen or jar the current bond to make it even looser. Titebond makes a dark wood glue and a hide glue that I have used just to reinforce bridges that begin to lift. I found that an old playing card or even a credit card is best for pressing the glue in without scratching the top. Then lightly wipe the excess with a damp sponge. When it really starts to lift, you can get down to pulling it off, but it might stay like it is for a long time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fortyearspickn Posted July 8, 2012 Share Posted July 8, 2012 del, first - I've only done this once, but do have a modest amount of experience doing projects like this not guitar related. I used epoxy and a couple of clamps. I think if you use regular wood glue and just squeeze it in, it doesn't really provide any additional,remedial structural support. Clamping is difficult but important to make sure the two separate surfaces make contact. On the other hand, if you use epoxy, you will not be able to remove the bridge in the future without tearing a chunk out of the face. The bridge I did 5 years ago has held perfectly on my wife's 50 yo German Hohener. I did also decide to completely remove the bridge before epoxying. I didn't want the other sidee where the unfixed old glu was to start lifting, plus you can't really get a complete attachment by squeezing glue underneath a lift. Also, if yo do remove the entire bridge, be sure to sand off any old glue completely or you'll have a higher bridge and saddle actio will be too high. So you can try the wood glue squeezed with a less invasive procedure and see if it stabilizes, or take the other extreme and try a more difficult but probably better fix. Subjective based on your attachment to the guitar... A lot of luthiers don't want to spend time on beaters. G'Luck!. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Del Nilppeznaf Posted July 8, 2012 Author Share Posted July 8, 2012 Thanks for advice guys. The bridge has actually been in this condition for quite a while Jedzep.. maybe over a year.. so it may well stay like this for another while yet. I was just thinking of getting some glue in there and clamping it... but having a look a the video posted my Madman... I am now even less sure as that would be a good idea.... When you see the condition of that guitar after someone had tried the same thing.. I do not want that happening if the bridge needs repairing properly. So thanks Greg. He talks about carpenters glue in the vid..then goes on to use Titebond.. ..I'm not sure i understand the difference.. if i was to use Titebomd..wouold it be better at not wrecking the guitar, as in the vid? L:ike the Epoxy you mention 40yearspickin.. I have some EvoStik Wood Adhesive that dries clear... does not say what it is actually made of. Seems it would be not so difficult to take off and make a clamp as he does in video.. but again I don't really want to be trying this out for the first time on this guitar. She does indeed have some stories to tell Spot..I can't even remember half of em Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombywoof Posted July 8, 2012 Share Posted July 8, 2012 The only way to make a good repair is to remove the bridge and reglue. I recommend going to a place like Stewmac and buy their liquid hide glue. It remains the best syuff you can use. Other than that just avoid white glue and stick with the yellow. As far as I can tell there is not alot of diference between something like Titebond I and Elmer's yellow carpenters glue although most repair guys and builders would recommend the Titebond. Titebond II and III are waterproof and Titebond III dries a darker color. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fortyearspickn Posted July 8, 2012 Share Posted July 8, 2012 Epoxy will be the most permanent adhesive I believe. It is messy to work with, hard to clean up. Some types are not waterproof, so they might be possible to get off if you want to by slightly dampening the bridge. Hide glue may be the best compromise. I just didn't want to have to risk a re- do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drathbun Posted July 8, 2012 Share Posted July 8, 2012 Epoxy? Seriously?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MissouriPicker Posted July 9, 2012 Share Posted July 9, 2012 I'd remove the bridge and clean it real good. Get all the residue off. Get some clamps and glue it down. I've done that several times over the years on my less expensive instruments. The clamps are a one time expense. It's not a difficult job to do. It can't be if I can do it without problems. A guitar with the battle scars this one has deserves having it's owner do the surgery. Go for it. You can do it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Del Nilppeznaf Posted July 9, 2012 Author Share Posted July 9, 2012 I'd remove the bridge and clean it real good. Get all the residue off. Get some clamps and glue it down. I've done that several times over the years on my less expensive instruments. The clamps are a one time expense. It's not a difficult job to do. It can't be if I can do it without problems. A guitar with the battle scars this one has deserves having it's owner do the surgery. Go for it. You can do it. Ok... thanks MP.. think i will try an order some hide glue from Stewmac..and go for it. If I balls it up..then I'll get it done by a proffesionayl. Just have to do a bit of research now on best way to remove bridge..unless some one can chip in here ( the bridge is actually pretty firmly in place at moment except for the lifting at corner ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jedzep Posted July 9, 2012 Share Posted July 9, 2012 You gotta' be careful not to melt all that cool tape if you end up steaming it off. What's behind that tape anyway? Seriously, I wouldn't mess with success. You'll be the first to notice any changes. Back off on the string gauge or tune down and keep an eye out. I've owned a guitar or two that lived with a slight bridge lift for long periods. One note of caution, the potential shaping and cleaning of the surfaces, if the top and underside of the bridge need tweeking to lay perfectly flush, can be tricky, as you don't want any marks to show outside of the bridge perimeter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madman_Greg Posted July 9, 2012 Share Posted July 9, 2012 You can use a chisel to remove Or try this way If you heat the knife it will soften the glue Tite bond is fine to use Have you looked inside to see if any of the braces have lifted or if there is any other cause that needs to be fxed as well. Maybe an idea to drill a couple of locating holes through the bridge right into the guitar at each side before you lift. The string holes can be used for this, but if there are very worn new holes may be better, of course you would have to plug them afterwards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dchristo Posted July 9, 2012 Share Posted July 9, 2012 if its been that way for a year, Id just play it the way it is and worry about it when it gets worse Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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