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 Post subject: Bridge making
PostPosted: Fri Sep 20, 2013 7:49 pm 
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Thought I'd post some photos of my bridge making process for your viewing pleasure. Just another way to skin this particular cat.


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 Post subject: Re: Bridge making
PostPosted: Fri Sep 20, 2013 7:56 pm 
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Into the saddle slotting jig.


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 Post subject: Re: Bridge making
PostPosted: Fri Sep 20, 2013 8:05 pm 
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Slot is routed. I do this in a few passes of increasing depth. I don't use the router base plunge. Too much slop. I tilt the base down in to plunge it.

I line up the bit with the slot marks by eye, tighten down the top part of the jig, then set the stops in place (again, using my eye to determine where the bit should stop at each end).


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 Post subject: Re: Bridge making
PostPosted: Fri Sep 20, 2013 8:07 pm 
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In this shot I use a ruler to show the back-tilt angle of the slot.


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 Post subject: Re: Bridge making
PostPosted: Fri Sep 20, 2013 8:10 pm 
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Now the bridge pin holes are drilled.

More to come...


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 Post subject: Re: Bridge making
PostPosted: Sat Sep 21, 2013 8:16 am 
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That's a nicely illustrated process, Todd. Very clear and pretty simple, too. I am curious why you slant your saddle. Do you have a drill press jig to register your string peg holes, or do you just freehand that part to your marked peg locations?
Patrick


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 Post subject: Re: Bridge making
PostPosted: Sun Sep 22, 2013 6:27 am 
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cphanna wrote:
That's a nicely illustrated process, Todd. Very clear and pretty simple, too. I am curious why you slant your saddle. Do you have a drill press jig to register your string peg holes, or do you just freehand that part to your marked peg locations?
Patrick


Thanks, Patrick.

Back-tilted saddle: Strings push saddle directly down to bottom of slot, rather than pulling saddle toward the front of the slot. Why? Bridge won't split, and undersaddle transducer response may be improved. Some claim acoustic response is improved, too -- jury still out on that, as far as I'm concerned.

Bridge pin holes: no jig. Mark locations, poke each spot with an awl, drill using brad point bit.

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These users thanked the author Todd Rose for the post: Steven Bollman (Sun Sep 22, 2013 2:45 pm)
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 Post subject: Re: Bridge making
PostPosted: Mon Sep 23, 2013 6:45 pm 
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Okay, Todd. Makes sense to me. Thanks.
Patrick


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 Post subject: Re: Bridge making
PostPosted: Fri Sep 27, 2013 7:48 pm 
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Todd, thanks for this. What kind of pen, pencil, marker are you using here?
MM

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 Post subject: Re: Bridge making
PostPosted: Sat Sep 28, 2013 5:32 am 
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A mechanical pencil with a fine yellow lead. I think I got it from a quilter's supply or something like that.

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 Post subject: Re: Bridge making
PostPosted: Sun Sep 29, 2013 8:16 pm 
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Just when I thought I was looking at a stretch of days where I could make some good progress on the guitar this bridge is going on, something else has come up. A good thing: the opportunity to exhibit a few of my instruments in an art show to benefit the Community School of Music and Arts here in Ithaca.

http://www.arts4all.org/

http://www.artsforallmarathon.org/

Along with the instruments I'll be showing, I'll have a digital photo frame showing a repeating slide show of the construction of this guitar, and then, near the end of the six-week show, I'll exhibit the completed, or nearly completed, guitar in the flesh. Putting this show together is now eating up a ton of my time, so I have only a couple more photos of just a bit more progress on this bridge to show you right now.


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Last edited by Todd Rose on Sun Sep 29, 2013 8:43 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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 Post subject: Re: Bridge making
PostPosted: Sun Sep 29, 2013 8:23 pm 
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The ziricote bridge in the foreground, which is going on another guitar, shows you what I'm aiming for. The wings on that one are shorter, and the ends are angled differently, since it is going on a guitar with a different shape. I vary my bridge shape somewhat to visually integrate better with each guitar shape, as well as to work better structurally and acoustically -- longer bridge for a wider guitar.


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Todd Rose
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These users thanked the author Todd Rose for the post: Hastings Guitars (Mon Sep 30, 2013 4:52 pm)
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 Post subject: Re: Bridge making
PostPosted: Tue Oct 01, 2013 10:52 am 
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Beautiful, Todd.

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 Post subject: Re: Bridge making
PostPosted: Tue Oct 01, 2013 4:59 pm 
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Thanks, Max!

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 Post subject: Re: Bridge making
PostPosted: Tue Oct 01, 2013 6:26 pm 
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Yo, Todd,
Very, very nice aesthetics in your design! Nice, subtle changes to suit each individual instrument. My sensibilities are wired up pretty much the same way. I strive for similar tweaks to each of my projects, but I am not so sure I achieve your outcomes. Regardless, your work is outstanding, and I'm glad you launched this thread. Carry on, and keep posting. I'll be watching.

Patrick


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 Post subject: Re: Bridge making
PostPosted: Tue Oct 01, 2013 9:53 pm 
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Thanks, Patrick!

Probably won't get back to this until sometime next week, now...

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 Post subject: Re: Bridge making
PostPosted: Tue Oct 15, 2013 9:56 am 
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Sanding to the outline on the belt sander and spindle sander. (How convenient that the curves at the top of the bridge match the radius of that spindle... ;) )

Then contour lines are drawn on the outside edges to guide the next steps of shaping the bridge.

(I staged these sanding shots after having already drawn the contour lines, because I forgot to shoot them earlier.)


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 Post subject: Re: Bridge making
PostPosted: Tue Oct 15, 2013 9:58 am 
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Another shot showing the contour lines, then one of the bridge being shaped on the other belt sander.


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 Post subject: Re: Bridge making
PostPosted: Tue Oct 15, 2013 10:05 am 
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Now here are two shots of the bridge after the rough shaping is done on the belt sander. The final shaping will be done with rasps, files, and sandpaper (using a variety of little sanding blocks). Even though it looks pretty close already, a lot of meticulous work goes into taking it from here to the completed bridge.


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 Post subject: Re: Bridge making
PostPosted: Tue Oct 15, 2013 11:15 am 
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Thanks Todd, Nice work. It's always good to see how others do things...

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 Post subject: Re: Bridge making
PostPosted: Wed Oct 23, 2013 3:48 pm 
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The bottom is marked for sanding the 28' radius, then sanded until all marks are gone.


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 Post subject: Re: Bridge making
PostPosted: Wed Oct 23, 2013 3:52 pm 
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It is stuck on this block with double-sided tape, then meticulously, painstakingly, time-consumingly carved.


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 Post subject: Re: Bridge making
PostPosted: Wed Oct 23, 2013 3:54 pm 
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Then the pin holes are chamfered using Stew Mac's nifty bit.


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 Post subject: Re: Bridge making
PostPosted: Wed Oct 23, 2013 3:56 pm 
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And, finally, it is meticulously, painstakingly, time-consumingly sanded and polished until it looks like this. And that's it.


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 Post subject: Re: Bridge making
PostPosted: Wed Oct 23, 2013 7:01 pm 
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Really enjoyed that, Todd. What is the back-angle on that slot? Do you think it could be achieved by just shimming an appropriate thickness under the front edge rail of a router jig? I would like to try the angled slot but don't want to make a new slotting jig. Thanks for showing it and enjoy your exhibition!


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