Repair And Restoration
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Bridge plate fix
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Bridge plate fix
This Lys (made in Canada) is one of my personal guitars. I noticed the string ends are dissappearing into the bridge plate. I thought about buying the SM Bridge Saver when they were having a discount sale, but it’s been out of stock. The tool set costs more than I paid for the guitar, but I figure I could use it in the future for other repairs.
I’m wondering if anyone here has experience with this tool and if it’s a better repair than plugging and re-drilling the holes.
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13 Replies
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I like the StewMac Bridge Saver, it seems like an elegant solution to me. Plus it makes adorable little cleats.
I’ve also made brass plates (like the Plate Mate) and attached that to the bridge pad. That worked well also. And it is removeable.
I’ve glued on thin maple bridge pad overlays, re-drilled the holes, also worked fine.
I’ve been meaning to try the method of packing the holes with maple fibers and super glue and re-drilling. Maybe next time.
So many chewed up bridge pads, so little time.
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I’m not keen on the brass plate fix, it just seems like the wrong place to add mass. I’ve read mixed opinions from others who had done it.
I might wait for the SM bridge saver to be back in stock. I also think it seems like a good solution. And as you’ve said, there are so many acoustics out there that will need a fix at some point.
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Most of the time I dam off the bridge plate on the inside of the guitar and then fill the bridge pin holes with 105 West Systems. Kind of a twofer because you can true up the bridge pin holes too.
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No filler in that epoxy?
Coincidently I was using some West Systems 655 last week at my real job to repair some parts. It’s a toughened thickened epoxy and seems like it might be good for this job. Except we used it up.
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It might be better with filler. I’ve got a couple kicking around now. I should try on the next one.
Tell me more about the 655.
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I don’t know that much about it, except that we bought it at a marine supply store.
I’ll paste part of the description from Amazon:
- G/flex Thickened Epoxy Adhesive is a toughened, versatile, 2-part epoxy for permanent waterproof bonding of plastic, fiberglass, ceramics, metals, damp and difficult-to-bond woods
- Makes structural bonds that can absorb the stress of expansion, contraction, shock, and vibration.
- Ideal for bonding dissimilar materials.
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unless someone suggests otherwise I would suggest the 655, same stuff thickened, it will stay where you put it and you won’t have to worry about it running all over the place.
I still think JB Weld is worth a look though. Only issue with the thickened ones I think would be getting them deep into your hole…they might work in a very wide tipped syringe, you’d have to pack it down in there.
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Just to be clear, I wasn’t recommending using 655 for this repair, but I do think it would work well. The application we had was totally unrelated to instruments. In fact, we were filling gaps in large 3D printed parts. I would say it has about the right consistency for pushing down into the holes. If you used a syringe, you would want a fairly large tip opening.
I spoke with a fellow at Gougeon Bros. who told me that the epoxy in the 655 product is just the thin 650 resin but thickened with their 406 colloidal silica. He said if you want a lower viscosity of the 655 you can blend it with the 650. We took some 650 and thickened it with some fumed silica we had on hand. I can’t share photos of the parts, but zoomed in just the thickened 650 so you can get an idea of the color.
Now that we’re talking about it, I am going to think about trying the 655 to repair my Lys, as a test. Just thinking so far 🙂
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It might be colloidal.silica that they mix it with but it’s blended so well there is not of that whiteness that colloidal has…it seems to dry in a pretty amber color.
I love that stuff. It’s expensive for larger areas but it’s super handy for anything small.
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No actual experience here, but JB Weld is supposedly tappable. Might be a bit harder than West, at least without additive.
650 is the thin Gflex, I really love the 655 which I think is the same or similar but thickened to the consistency of toothpaste. It is awesome for most lutherie stuff other than it costs a lot more than the standard West.
I think the 404 filler might be good for this with regular West system 105.
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I’ve repaired torn up bridge plate hole with pretty much any method you can think of, including those Elaine mentioned. My favorite has been the SM bridge plate saver since I’ve bought it. It has paid for itself many times over. For me, it is a no-brainer, every shop should have one, this is a great tool. Not cheap, but as I said it paid for itself pretty fast.
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TJs method is similar to Ians and works really well; Dam up from the inside (he uses a flexible caul with a brace jack, I use that really hefty blue tape from glue boost- masking tape is not good for this as the CA will wick in and glue it to the plate). Then fill the holes with dust and CA. Redrill and ream. works like a dream and is very fast usually.
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Ted Woodford just posted a YouTube video this past weekend showing the fill-the-holes-with-epoxy-and-redrill method.
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