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Wood for bridge - OK or not OK
http://www-.luthiersforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10101&t=46627		 Page 1 of 1
Author:  J De Rocher [ Sun Nov 08, 2015 4:34 pm ]
Post subject:  Wood for bridge - OK or not OK
I have a few rosewood bridge blanks like this one. I like the wavy grain pattern but I'm wondering if the curl would mean a weak glue joint with the top. It's over 8 inches long so if I used it, I could use the left end where the curl is less pronounced. [:Y:] or pfft ?

Image
Author:  Alex Kleon [ Sun Nov 08, 2015 4:53 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Wood for bridge - OK or not OK
I think that you should send me a couple of those bridge blanks for some in depth analysis, Jay. ;)

Alex
Author:  DennisK [ Sun Nov 08, 2015 4:57 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Wood for bridge - OK or not OK
Probably a bit weaker, but you could make it a bit bigger to compensate. Also, you could warm up the bridge and then pre-coat it with thin hide glue, let it dry, give it another light sanding on the guitar to remove any raised grain, and then do the final glue-up. That should clog any exposed endgrain, and give a better mating surface.

I think it would look great on a curly redwood top :) But then your joint is even weaker... but I remember a thread on the AGF where Harvey Leach posted a picture of a curly redwood 12 string with a typical sized bridge, and said it's been fine for over 10 years. So that pretty much confirms that curly joints aren't doomed to fail.

And if you do use curly redwood, do the hide glue pre-coat on that too. As mentioned in this thread, the exposed endgrain of curly redwood can suck up a lot of finish, and therefore would likely do the same to glue.
Author:  sdsollod [ Sun Nov 08, 2015 5:26 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Wood for bridge - OK or not OK
I love that bridge blank! It looks kinda thin... Is it 3/8"?
Author:  DannyV [ Sun Nov 08, 2015 5:44 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Wood for bridge - OK or not OK
IMHO no it would not.
Author:  J De Rocher [ Sun Nov 08, 2015 5:49 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Wood for bridge - OK or not OK
Thanks for the replies.

Alex - Thanks for the offer, but I'm already fully committed to a full in depth analysis with replication here.

Steve - It's about 7/16ths thick so it'll work.
Author:  Alex Kleon [ Sun Nov 08, 2015 6:29 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Wood for bridge - OK or not OK
J De Rocher wrote:
Thanks for the replies.

Alex - Thanks for the offer, but I'm already fully committed to a full in depth analysis with replication here.

Steve - It's about 7/16ths thick so it'll work.


I thought so! I'm looking forward to seing it on one of your guitars!

Alex
Author:  James Ringelspaugh [ Sun Nov 08, 2015 8:39 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Wood for bridge - OK or not OK
Will likely be just fine, in fact I wonder if the reversing grain might make it less prone to crack under the forces resulting from string tension.
Author:  Mike OMelia [ Sun Nov 08, 2015 9:08 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Wood for bridge - OK or not OK
That is one sweet piece of wood!
Author:  Rod True [ Mon Nov 09, 2015 10:53 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Wood for bridge - OK or not OK
I like that piece. I don't know if this is a good idea for a bridge but what about stabilizing it with shellac? Like one would do with a knife handle or pen blank... You'd need to hold the piece in the shellac under vacuum for 24 hours or better.
Author:  J De Rocher [ Tue Nov 10, 2015 12:39 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Wood for bridge - OK or not OK
James Ringelspaugh wrote:
Will likely be just fine, in fact I wonder if the reversing grain might make it less prone to crack under the forces resulting from string tension.


I'm not sure what you mean by reversing the grain.
Author:  J De Rocher [ Tue Nov 10, 2015 12:40 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Wood for bridge - OK or not OK
Rod True wrote:
I like that piece. I don't know if this is a good idea for a bridge but what about stabilizing it with shellac? Like one would do with a knife handle or pen blank... You'd need to hold the piece in the shellac under vacuum for 24 hours or better.


Would the shellac treatment improve the strength of the glue joint?
Author:  Rod True [ Fri Nov 13, 2015 12:49 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Wood for bridge - OK or not OK
I don't know.
What the shellac does though is fuse the wood together internally this strengthening the wood fibres. Don't think it would effect the gluability though.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Author:  meddlingfool [ Fri Nov 13, 2015 2:09 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Wood for bridge - OK or not OK
Given the vast holding strength of glue vs the relatively light load, I'd wager that as long as you got a good bridge fit, it'll be just fine.
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