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PostPosted: Wed Mar 08, 2017 12:40 am 
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Walnut
Walnut

Joined: Tue Mar 07, 2017 8:56 pm
Posts: 4
First name: Doug
Last Name: Barrett
City: Lancaster
State: California
Zip/Postal Code: 93536
Country: USA
Focus: Repair
Status: Amateur
Hi everyone! New member here, hoping I can get some expert advice on this problem.
I have a mid-late 90's Washburn 12-string. Not a particularly valuable or expensive guitar but I like the way it sounds and it has sentimental value to me so I want to repair it right and have that repair last. I recently went to go play it after it had sat in my closet for a few months and discovered the rear of the bridge had lifted off of the body. I assumed it was the typical problem with the "bridge laid partially over paint" process that most low end manufactures use with the almost always inevitable and predictable results. This was a bit different though. The bridge lifted beginning around the rear string peg holes, I'm assuming the glue line was either on or very close to the holes and this made a natural weak spot for the lifting to begin. It pulled slivers up starting from the string peg holes almost to the front of the bridge and these slivers have stayed sticking up off of the top of the body. I removed the bridge and cleaned the paint on the body to the edges of the bridge for 100% bare wood contact, and also removed the glue and paint and some wood from the bottom of the bridge that came off with it. The problem is those slivers that are sticking up; they are keeping the bridge from laying flat on the body and it takes a fair amount of force to get it to lay flat, especially at the "wings" of the bridge. I have ordered a soundhole clamp and bridge gluing truss but I'm concerned about the amount of resistance those slivers that are sticking up have, since they are working against having the bridge lay cleanly and solidly flat. So, here are my questions:
1. Will those slivers make for a weak repair, given that they are preventing the bridge from laying flat? Will the clamp and glue overcome that problem?
2. I had thought about some sort of mechanical reinforcement of the bridge attachment. I considered using power pins (primarily to make a stronger connection given the clamping force they would add to the bridge) but after more research I'm now leaning away from that and I don't really want to use them. I really like how this guitar has always sounded and I don't want to change that any more than I have to. Are there any other types of clamps or screws that wouldn't look hokey or affect the tonal quality?
3. Is it possible to get those slivers to lay back down flat, maybe by wetting it slightly and then clamping or using heat while clamped?
4. Should I try to lightly "profile" the underside of the bridge to allow for the slight raised area by sanding it in the middle? The top of the guitar does have a very slight bulge, nothing major though. I do believe most of the problem is those slivers, they really seem to have taken a set in that position.

I've tried to post pics but it keeps saying "invalid file". They are standard jpegs, don't know why I can't upload but I'll keep trying.
Any help would be much appreciated, and thanks in advance!


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PostPosted: Wed Mar 08, 2017 1:02 am 
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Walnut
Walnut

Joined: Tue Mar 07, 2017 8:56 pm
Posts: 4
First name: Doug
Last Name: Barrett
City: Lancaster
State: California
Zip/Postal Code: 93536
Country: USA
Focus: Repair
Status: Amateur
I resized the pics, hopefully I didn't lose too much detail


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PostPosted: Wed Mar 08, 2017 1:04 am 
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Walnut
Walnut

Joined: Tue Mar 07, 2017 8:56 pm
Posts: 4
First name: Doug
Last Name: Barrett
City: Lancaster
State: California
Zip/Postal Code: 93536
Country: USA
Focus: Repair
Status: Amateur
As the 2nd pic shows I also lost a couple small chunks of wood between the 2 A strings and the 2 high E strings. Should I attempt to fill those areas, and if so with what?


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PostPosted: Wed Mar 08, 2017 1:21 am 
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Contributing Member
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Joined: Mon Aug 23, 2010 11:42 pm
Posts: 1701
First name: John
Last Name: Parchem
City: Seattle
State: Wa
Zip/Postal Code: 98177
Country: USA
Focus: Build
Status: Amateur
Overall it looks pretty clean for a ripped off bridge. It is fixable. I would carefully glue down the raised wood arranging the slivers to fit into where they came from. Once glued you can sand them a bit if they are raised until the gluing area is flat. I would not glue the bridge down until I was able to set it down on the top cleanly without clamping pressure. I would consider filling voids with a patch of spruce.

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These users thanked the author johnparchem for the post: Jasonface (Wed Mar 08, 2017 1:39 am)
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 08, 2017 1:47 am 
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Walnut
Walnut

Joined: Tue Mar 07, 2017 8:56 pm
Posts: 4
First name: Doug
Last Name: Barrett
City: Lancaster
State: California
Zip/Postal Code: 93536
Country: USA
Focus: Repair
Status: Amateur
Thank you! I'll use that soundhole clamp and some 1x1 bar stock I have and glue those slivers down 1st, then work on the hole patches. After that I'll see how that bridge wants to sit. I've never tried something like this before, just want to do it right


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