[Darrell Pope The Village Luthier]

So would you recommend sanding the existing finish completely off?

[Darrell Pope The Village Luthier]

Don’t know if this is relevant but the bubbles are only on the treble side of the neck. None on the bass side.

[Darrell Pope The Village Luthier]

For the through-type saddle, has anyone tried this approach: https://www.stewmac.com/video-and-ideas/online-resources/learn-about-guitar-bridge-and-tailpiece-installation-and-repair/removing-the-glued-in-saddle-on-a-1937-martin-d-28-herringbone/#:~:text=Using%20a%20pipette%2C%20I%20dripped,under%20and%20around%20the%20saddle.

@patreon_88359397 curious which approach you ended up using

stewmac.com

Removing the glued-in saddle on a 1937 Martin D-28 Herringbone - StewMac

Someone shaved down the saddle on this great old Martin until there's barely a nub showing above the bridge. It needs to be removed, but it's glued in and so low you can't grab it. Dan Erlewine shows how to … Continue reading

[Darrell Pope The Village Luthier]

Hi Ian. I actually liked your previous response (and your new one ;)) ! I think that having a tracker document would be helpful. Maybe capturing (i) string height at the nut (or 1st fret), (ii) height at 12th fret, (iii) neck relief (measured at 5th fret) would be a start. And then ranges: acoustic flat picking low, acoustic flat picking high, acoustic finger style low, acoustic finger style high, … Thoughts?

[Darrell Pope The Village Luthier]

Tony thanks for sharing this example. Your work really paid off!

My top deflection is about the same (1/4″ at the sound hole). It’s interesting to me that you took the bridge plate off. When I reach inside it feels like there is a bend at the midpoint running along the length of the bridge plate. In addition, the bridge pins are inclined in the holes (they lean towards the lower bout). Is this normal?

I’m tempted to take the same approach as you did but would prefer to attempt this only if it was originally glued with hide glue. The thought of having to clean up a bunch of old Titebond is not appealing. I may remove the bridge and see what glue is under there.

[Darrell Pope The Village Luthier]

@ianloothgroup-com Many thanks for the consult on this.

Any other experiences with a similar repair? Also any thoughts on whether the braces on this 1966 guitar were glued with hide glue or other?

I’m still scratching my head about the root cause of the problem. There are some white mineral deposits inside the top going in a couple of inches that may indicate that the top was exposed to water for an extended period.

[Darrell Pope The Village Luthier]

Hi Ian. If I get under one of the bubbles and lift it pulls up the finish around it. Is that what you are asking?

[Darrell Pope The Village Luthier]

That’s very interesting. Can you post a picture of the rounded tip? Thanks

[Darrell Pope The Village Luthier]

Thanks for the reply Ian. I’ll try that