Marky L Posted March 16, 2011 Share Posted March 16, 2011 (edited) So, I bid on and won one of the Aria factory seconds electro acoustic basses with two faults, a chip in the finish on the front and the bridge lifting from the body all for the grand sum of £51 What I wondering is what sort of glue/adhesive would be best for resetting the bridge? Clamping it after it's been glued seems straight forward, if I can find clamps to fit, but I want to end up with a good solid bond. Now... where me No Nails...!!!!! Edited March 23, 2011 by Marky L Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fonzoooroo Posted March 16, 2011 Share Posted March 16, 2011 A lot of them have the bridge glued to the varnish... So wood glue's no good. I've done a few that've come off completely with 2 ton epoxy. I've never had a complaint. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marky L Posted March 16, 2011 Author Share Posted March 16, 2011 (edited) Something like the good old Arldite? [attachment=74918:bridge.jpg] Edited March 16, 2011 by Marky L Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Jack Posted March 16, 2011 Share Posted March 16, 2011 It's worth bearing in mind that some lifting bridges need more glue than others. [attachment=74917:picresiz...wport_75.jpg] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marky L Posted March 16, 2011 Author Share Posted March 16, 2011 [quote name='Happy Jack' post='1164143' date='Mar 16 2011, 10:07 AM']It's worth bearing in mind that some lifting bridges need more glue than others. [attachment=74917:picresiz...wport_75.jpg][/quote] Some how, I just knew....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
essexbasscat Posted March 16, 2011 Share Posted March 16, 2011 Glad you posted this, as I've a 12 string guitar with the same problem, but not as drastic as yours. What clamps are you going to use ? could need something with long jaws Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marky L Posted March 16, 2011 Author Share Posted March 16, 2011 [quote name='essexbasscat' post='1164926' date='Mar 16 2011, 08:21 PM']Glad you posted this, as I've a 12 string guitar with the same problem, but not as drastic as yours. What clamps are you going to use ? could need something with long jaws [/quote] Not sure on the clamps yet, I need to ask around and see what may be lurking in various friends tool boxes. Long jaws and not too deep. Ref glue, I had a look on the Titebond website and see they do a hide glue. Having done a bit of interweb research it seems this is a popular luthier adhesive so I think I'll get a bottle, unless there are other suggestions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
essexbasscat Posted March 17, 2011 Share Posted March 17, 2011 [quote name='Marky L' post='1165175' date='Mar 16 2011, 11:46 PM']Not sure on the clamps yet, I need to ask around and see what may be lurking in various friends tool boxes. Long jaws and not too deep. Ref glue, I had a look on the Titebond website and see they do a hide glue. Having done a bit of interweb research it seems this is a popular luthier adhesive so I think I'll get a bottle, unless there are other suggestions.[/quote] A well known luthier from the Brighton region recommended Aliphatic Resin woodworking glue when we were discussing glueing guitars together back in the mid 90's. Don't know if this is still a good idea though. Perhaps others may know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tino Posted March 17, 2011 Share Posted March 17, 2011 [quote name='essexbasscat' post='1166113' date='Mar 17 2011, 06:42 PM']A well known luthier from the Brighton region recommended Aliphatic Resin woodworking glue when we were discussing glueing guitars together back in the mid 90's. Don't know if this is still a good idea though. Perhaps others may know.[/quote] Thats what Titebond is as is Javis.....both will work well if clamped down properly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marky L Posted March 23, 2011 Author Share Posted March 23, 2011 OK a quick update. The bridge fix was going to be too much for me, not having clamps with long enough jaws and the bridge also being fixed with a couple of nasty little self tapping screws that I couldn't access easily, I called a local luthier and popped it over on Monday afternooon. He's a great guy, very honest "This is a piece of crap really isn't it? Cheap parts and thrown together" and decided the simplest solution (and best budget one) was to drive a couple of holes through the bridge and use a couple of bolts to pull it down into place. Before doing this he would tighten the strings to pull the bridge up to enable a good squeeze of epoxy underneath it. Anyway I had a good old chat with as he started the work but then left him to it. Got a call yesterday midday to say it was done, tuned to concert pitch and the bridge was holding well. So I popped down, paid my £25 quid and took it away. Oh, he'd topped off the bolt holes with a bit of rosewood to finish it off. Trying it out properly at home and I'm 100% happy with the repair. It'll need a bit of tweaking to get it right for my required feel but for a total of £76 I'm happy. FYI. It's not loud acousticaly and I wasn't expecting it to be. Also the quality of the finish is shocking. One peghead not being in line with the others, rubbish paint finish on some of the edges, colour bleeding into some of the "inlay". But I don't care, for the price I'm not fussy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roland Rock Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 (edited) Damn - missed my chance to advise the you buy some [url="http://www.axminster.co.uk/axminster-axminster-deep-throat-g-cramp-prod361842/"]deep throat cramps[/url] Edited March 23, 2011 by Roland Rock Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marky L Posted March 23, 2011 Author Share Posted March 23, 2011 Those wouldn't have fitted! The bridge is some way back from the soundhole and you need a minimun of 160mm really. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
essexbasscat Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 Like the bolt repair idea - beautifully simple. The clamps are a nice price too. Thanks for raising this thread and posting the update, it gives some hope for my project now cheers T Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marky L Posted March 25, 2011 Author Share Posted March 25, 2011 Yes, I did say it needed to be a cheap n dirty repair as the bass isn't worth that much extra expense. He didn't have clamps with a long enough reach so that's why the bolt down idea developed, something he'd not done before so it was guinea pig time! Obviously use as large a washer as you can on the bolts inside the body before you wind the nut on. And of course this is pretty much a do or die repair as you can't really move the bridge if you want to reposition it at a later date. Still no movement to report so I think it'll hold just fine. Need to look at lowering the action next. I read that it's a case of removing the saddle and sanding a little off the bottom before slapping it back in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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