Quote:
Originally Posted by charles Tauber
Is that the finished shape of your bridge, but to add pin holes? If so, it will be very stiff, likely killing tone. The bridge is one of the largest braces attached to the top. Part of the reason to taper the thickness of the "wings" is to reduce stiffness: stiffness is proportional to the cube of the height. (Make something twice as high, it is eight times stiffer. Guitar response is largely about mass and stiffness.)
Also, you make life very difficult for yourself if the edges around the gluing surface (aka bottom edges) are not sharp. Rounding them into the gluing surface makes it difficult to remove all of the glue squeeze-out and makes it difficult to deal with how the finish comes up to the edge of the bridge, either by removing the film of finish under the bridge, or applying the bridge first and then finishing the top up to the bridge.
I sand bare wood to 600. I don't feel there is any real advantage to going beyond 600.
Another approach I use is to sand bare wood to 320 then use a Beall buffer system: http://www.bealltool.com/products/buffing/buffer.php. It leaves a result nearly indistinguishable from lacquer, but has no finish applied. Works well for guitar parts that would not otherwise be finished, such as bridges. |
Charles, thanks for the input as always. I was actually considering tapering the wings like so many bridges do, and your insight suggests it's a good idea, so I'll do that.
I'll work on flattening the bottom edge. Is that something I'd do with a scraper, or a flat file, or something else?
I can't thank you enough for all these nuggets of wisdom.
