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 Post subject: Bridge wood
PostPosted: Thu Mar 28, 2024 7:21 am 
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Mahogany
Mahogany

Joined: Thu Jan 12, 2017 6:14 am
Posts: 49
City: Colorado Springs
State: Colorado
Focus: Build
Status: Amateur
I plan to use Ebony or a dark substitute on two of the three short scale OOO’s I’m building. There are plenty of comments on web sites and in some books about decreasing bridge weight, and a few about cracking etc. I prefer the bridge to look like wood, with some variegation, and match the fretboard and headplate, which will likely be Ebony.

I have a Rocklite Sundari fretboard but not the Ebony one. I do have a couple of African Blackwood ones on the way but haven’t seen them yet. If other woods are better options, what are good staining methods?

Thx. Jon


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 Post subject: Re: Bridge wood
PostPosted: Thu Mar 28, 2024 7:36 am 
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Contributing Member
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Joined: Fri Jul 10, 2009 4:44 am
Posts: 5398
First name: colin
Last Name: north
Country: Scotland.
Focus: Build
Status: Semi-pro
I would just mention Macassar Ebony as a bridge wood.
Often striped and can be lighter than other ebonies.

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The name catgut is confusing. There are two explanations for the mix up.

Catgut is an abbreviation of the word cattle gut. Gut strings are made from sheep or goat intestines, in the past even from horse, mule or donkey intestines.

Otherwise it could be from the word kitgut or kitstring. Kit meant fiddle, not kitten.


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 Post subject: Re: Bridge wood
PostPosted: Thu Mar 28, 2024 8:37 am 
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Brazilian Rosewood
Brazilian Rosewood

Joined: Sat Jan 15, 2005 12:50 pm
Posts: 3869
Location: United States
I'd be looking at Macassar as well.


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 Post subject: Re: Bridge wood
PostPosted: Thu Mar 28, 2024 9:00 am 
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Koa
Koa

Joined: Sat Mar 09, 2019 4:50 pm
Posts: 1092
Location: Goodrich, MI
First name: Ken
Last Name: Nagy
City: Goodrich
State: MI
Focus: Build
Status: Amateur
I like Katalox for a hard dark wood. It looks good, machines nice. It is pretty cheap, and easy to find. I pore fill with CA, and it shines up nice. No need to stain, even if you could. I had a piece of "Royal Ebony" really Katalox with light and dark wood. I used both sides as guitar/cello fingerboards, nuts, and violin/cello pegs. The light wood had less pores but was still hard enough for nuts, fingerboards, pegs.

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 Post subject: Re: Bridge wood
PostPosted: Thu Mar 28, 2024 12:03 pm 
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Cocobolo
Cocobolo

Joined: Thu Jan 11, 2018 9:19 am
Posts: 300
Location: St. Charles MO
First name: Karl
Last Name: B
State: MO
Zip/Postal Code: 63303
Country: United States
Focus: Build
Status: Amateur
My A. Blackwood bridge (Martin style) weighs 45gm...... even after removing more wood from the tail-block-side radius. Thats too heavy by many accounts.

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Karl B.


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 Post subject: Re: Bridge wood
PostPosted: Thu Mar 28, 2024 3:29 pm 
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Brazilian Rosewood
Brazilian Rosewood
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Location: Argyle New York
First name: Mike/Mikey/Michael/hey you!
Last Name: Collins
City: Argyle
State: New York
Zip/Postal Code: 12809
Country: U.S.A. /America-yea!!
Focus: Build
Status: Professional
I have some beautiful old Brazilian blanks

No need to fill pores to make them look like ebony or plastic they
are lite in weight also

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Mike Collins


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 Post subject: Re: Bridge wood
PostPosted: Thu Mar 28, 2024 3:45 pm 
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Brazilian Rosewood
Brazilian Rosewood

Joined: Fri Dec 14, 2007 3:21 pm
Posts: 3291
Location: Alexandria MN
I like Brazilian too.

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 Post subject: Re: Bridge wood
PostPosted: Thu Mar 28, 2024 4:01 pm 
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Brazilian Rosewood
Brazilian Rosewood

Joined: Sat Jan 15, 2005 12:50 pm
Posts: 3869
Location: United States
A. blackwood is among the densest I've measured: even 'dry' it would sink in water. Macassar ebony is not as dense as the blacker Indian or African stuff; more like a rosewood, iirc. I think the extra weight helps to control 'wolf' notes with scallop braced Dreads, but on a 000 it's less of an issue. If you're looking for other dense woods, then Morado/Pau Ferro is one.


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 Post subject: Re: Bridge wood
PostPosted: Thu Mar 28, 2024 4:22 pm 
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Mahogany
Mahogany

Joined: Thu Jan 12, 2017 6:14 am
Posts: 49
City: Colorado Springs
State: Colorado
Focus: Build
Status: Amateur
So perhaps a quest for lighter weight bridge material may not be as necessary as some authors propose?


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 Post subject: Re: Bridge wood
PostPosted: Thu Mar 28, 2024 4:49 pm 
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Brazilian Rosewood
Brazilian Rosewood

Joined: Wed Feb 20, 2008 7:15 pm
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First name: Ed
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Country: Canada
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I’ve stained EIR with leather dye quite a few times and to the untrained eye it can pass for ebony.

The bridge is just part of the system. If your system is unintentional, then bridge weight probably isn’t going to mean much. If it is, then bridge weight becomes a tool and part of the plan…


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 Post subject: Re: Bridge wood
PostPosted: Thu Mar 28, 2024 5:34 pm 
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Mahogany
Mahogany

Joined: Thu Jan 12, 2017 6:14 am
Posts: 49
City: Colorado Springs
State: Colorado
Focus: Build
Status: Amateur
meddlingfool wrote:
I’ve stained EIR with leather dye quite a few times and to the untrained eye it can pass for ebony.

The bridge is just part of the system. If your system is unintentional, then bridge weight probably isn’t going to mean much. If it is, then bridge weight becomes a tool and part of the plan…


Thanks. Not sure what you mean by unintentional. My only intent is to somehow stop making a mistake every day, and then the learning opportunity of figuring out how to fix it.

Cutting binding channels and truss rods on the docket! :)


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 Post subject: Re: Bridge wood
PostPosted: Thu Mar 28, 2024 6:08 pm 
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Koa
Koa
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Joined: Wed Jan 24, 2007 2:45 pm
Posts: 1271
Location: Calgary, Canada
Status: Amateur
Still have a lot of African Blackwood pieces from way back. Absolutely love the stuff for bridges, fretboards and bits and pieces like trussrod covers and heel caps. It's a bear to work with and carve but it's a use it while it's still available wood.


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 Post subject: Re: Bridge wood
PostPosted: Thu Mar 28, 2024 6:28 pm 
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Brazilian Rosewood
Brazilian Rosewood

Joined: Wed Feb 20, 2008 7:15 pm
Posts: 7221
First name: Ed
Last Name: Bond
City: Vancouver
Country: Canada
Focus: Build
Status: Professional
I just mean if the bridge weight isn’t chosen for a specific result, as part of an intentional plan, it probably doesn't matter. And if you’re just learning, it probably doesn't matter for you…yet. Though I would stay away from a 45g bridge.

You gotta make a mistake every day until you’ve made all of them, lol…



These users thanked the author meddlingfool for the post: Duct Tape (Thu Mar 28, 2024 6:44 pm)
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