Un-conventional bridge plate materials

[hat]

I was just reading another thread, and it got me thinking about using unconventional materials for the bridge plate. Since the bridge plate on a steel string guitar get subjected to a lot of wear and tear, and deals with a lot of stress, how about using something other than wood? Has anyone tried anything else, such as Micarta, or even carbon fiber ( on a traditional wood guitar)? Perhaps even some of the space age materials they are making guitar picks out of these days?

[charles Tauber]

The use of a non-wood material from which to make a bridge plate is an interesting idea. I don't see why it wouldn't work, provided you choose a material and dimensions that give suitable damping, stiffness and weight.

On the other hand, I'm not sure there is really a compelling reason to do so. Bridge plates can be made out of scraps from back's or sides, or cut from plentiful domestic woods such as maple. Good sounding guitars are made using those materials.

Properly slotted bridges and fitted pins virtually eliminate bridge plate wear. So, if you are looking to improve the longevity of the bridge plate, that would be my first suggestion, rather than using non-wooden materials.

[John Arnold]

Slotted thermoplastic bridge pins are the main cause of bridgeplate wear. Unslotted pins are superior for multiple reasons.
Bridgeplate overlays are quite common.
Alternate materials that have been used as overlays include:
Brass (Plate Mate)
Carbon fiber
Formica
Aluminum

I have tried the following woods for bridgeplates:
Snakewood (one of the hardest woods known)
Ebony
Pernambuco (very stiff for the weight)
Brazilian RW
Honduran RW
Black locust, which is my favorite alternate wood. It is very stiff and hard, and only marginally denser than sugar maple. Snakewood, Honduran RW and ebony are too heavy, IMHO.
On most of my builds these days, I use antique sugar maple, either from old upright pianos or from the bottom of Lake Superior (Timeless Timber).

Harder woods tend to produce more sustain and punch. and stiffer woods tend to reduce top belly. Adding weight only reduces volume. Although a bridgeplate made from dense wood can be made smaller to reduce weight, it can cause structural problems when it is narrower than the bridge itself. BTDT.

[Frank Ford]

For decades, some of us have been using small bridge plate overlays made of linen reinforced phenolic. (Garolite, etc.) The stuff is available quite thin, is monumentally tough, and can be glued to the bridge plate and easily popped off if necessary. Mostly a repair technique here, but I wouldn't hesitate to include it in new construction.

[mercy]

Osage orange

[printer2]

I just used a piece of hickory.

[Tinkeragain]

Does anyone know where to get 1/10" bridge plate maple, other wood, or other suitable material?
Thanks

[M Hayden]

I make my own - just bandsaw it and thickness with a drum sander.

[yellowesty]

I made a bridge plate with a layer of rosewood, a layer of carbon fiber, and another layer of rosewood. The total thickness was around 0.080". It splintered a bit when I drilled the bridge pins and gave me no discernible advantage. I didn't repeat the endeavor.

[JonWint]

Originally Posted by Tinkeragain

Does anyone know where to get 1/10" bridge plate maple, other wood, or other suitable material?
Thanks

Did you try StewMac or LMII? Additional thinning req'd.

http://www.stewmac.com/Materials_and...ate_Stock.html

http://www.lmii.com/products/mostly-...x/bridge-plate

[tjp]

I use mostly Jatoba, about .08 think. Maybe the toughest wood I've ever seen.

An idea that's been rattling around in my head is to make a fairly large bridge plate , maybe .08 or so, out of spruce to help control belly. Then add a thin slice of jatoba approximating the footprint of the bridge on top of that, to handle string wear.

Maybe solving a problem that doesn't really exist though. As Doc said, "Never trust a guitar without a belly".

Since we're talking about that area, last week I was in the local shop, and they had two old Martins for sale, both fresh off of neck resets. One was due to belly (a D-18). It sounded good. The other was concave in front of the bridge, with almost no belly (D-45). That was was utterly amazing. Bass for days... Anyhow, it was interesting and just reinforces the theory that the bridge is a fulcrum, and we need to thing about the forces in front and in back of it.

[rogthefrog]

Originally Posted by Tinkeragain

Does anyone know where to get 1/10" bridge plate maple, other wood, or other suitable material?
Thanks

I got mine from RC Tonewoods:

http://rctonewoods.com/RCT_Store/bridge-plates-c-136/

[rogthefrog]

Originally Posted by tjp

I use mostly Jatoba, about .08 think. Maybe the toughest wood I've ever seen.

An idea that's been rattling around in my head is to make a fairly large bridge plate , maybe .08 or so, out of spruce to help control belly. Then add a thin slice of jatoba approximating the footprint of the bridge on top of that, to handle string wear.

A number of prestigious builders use oversized bridge plates, so there's precedent.

[John Arnold]

An idea that's been rattling around in my head is to make a fairly large bridge plate , maybe .08 or so, out of spruce to help control belly. Then add a thin slice of jatoba approximating the footprint of the bridge on top of that, to handle string wear.

A number of prestigious builders use oversized bridge plates, so there's precedent.

This is different from an oversize bridgeplate. For over 25 years, I have used the large spruce patch technique to repair damaged tops. Some of them have had little or no original top remaining under the bridge. The triangular patch typically extends about 1" below the bridge, and all the way to the X-brace crossing above the bridge.
There is an advantage of using spruce patch installed with the grain in the same direction as the top. Spruce is very strong and stiff along the grain, but flexible across the grain so that it will freely vibrate. A conventional oversize bridgeplate installed with the grain running across the guitar is not very resistant to the torque of the bridge, since thin wood can bend easily across the grain. A large hardwood bridgeplate is also much heavier than the spruce patch/small bridgeplate combination.
The large spruce patch coupled with a small bridgeplate is not only structurally superior to an oversize bridgeplate, but it also sounds better. In fact, I have never had a customer say that they could hear any difference when compared to an original, unmolested guitar.
I have often considered using the same technique on new builds, since it has been so successful on repairs. But most of my builds are vintage 1930's inspired, and feature a 1 3/8" wide maple bridgeplate on the belly bridge guitars, and a 1" wide plate on those with a 1" wide rectangular bridge.
I do know that the bridgeplate on the spruce patch guitars can be even smaller than that.....5/8" or 3/4" wide is good enough.