Takamine bridge beyond repair?

[Stacey]

I snagged this old 1974 F-340 takamine hoping to save it from the trash. I am not sure if it is beyond saving, looks like someone was planning a bridge replacement and gave up. My question is, is it beyond saving? Can I graft a new piece in or fill it and add a new bridge? There isn't a luthier in my area so it would be a home job.

[Stacey]

here are some pics

[Stacey]

Not sure if you can tell from the photo but that is the bridge plate showing through the top. The wood is completely gone there.

[Stacey]

Sounds like I get to add more tools to my tool set. I love new tools! I am eager to get the book, I think this may be something I could get into, and I have another year of being a stay at home mom so this will give me something to do :) Thanks again for the help and info. This seems like a solid site and the people here are straightforward and to the point which I love.

[Frank Ford]

That's a good example of shredded top veneer on a laminated guitar.  And, it can make a fine project if  you'd like to do it. Have a look at this article to get some info about one way to approach such top failure:

http://www.frets.com/FretsPages/Luthier/Technique/Guitar/Structural...

Obviously this instrument simply isn't worth enough cash on the resale market to justify paying for professional restoration, but there's no law against doing whatever you'd like to your own instrument.  You could, for example, mix up some epoxy thickened to the consistency of  mayo and work it in under all the shreds, and clamp on a new bridge.  It can be done quite neatly and often the alcohol needed to clean up the uncured squeeze-out won't harm the finish, but this is strictly backyard homebrew stuff and you'd be making your own rules as  you go.

[Stacey]

Thanks for the link Frank, I will check it out. I don't want to sell it, I have a horrible guitar hoarding habit and would love another to play :)

[Andrew]

The thread Nathan posted has some good information for this case; in particular, Nathan's own post in that thread would be my point of focus - theres a pic in there of wood thats been spliced in to replace the broken laminations that would be key. In my mind thats what you need to do, using either hot hide glue or lmii white glue in lieu of the hide. Medium viscosity super glue would also be very handy, especially for the shredded laminations that are still in place, but be careful of making a mess.

I doubt that's the bridge plate showing through the top, the laminations just appear that way. However, the grain is running in the wrong direction from the plate in your pic. Also, your bridge plate is looking pretty chewed out: may as well give it some attention while youre at it. Easiest thing would be the plate mate that stew mac sells, and its reversible.

[Stacey]

Just looked up the Plate Mate. Looks like a good idea. Have you used one? I'm just wondering if you get any change in tone quality. Also, if it is the bridge plate showing and the hole goes all the way through (I suspect it does) wouldn't that require removing the bridge plate to put in a graft? Reading all the threads it looks like I may want a slightly larger bridge if the patch is successful, what do you think?

[Andrew]

I have used one before on a repair. There seemed to be some brassiness added :p. really though. Mind you i didnt have much chance to hear the guitar beforehand. It didnt seem to me a negative impact on tone, just a change.

It probably would to do things the whole nine yards way, but I dont think thats the situation you have there.

You -may- want a slightly larger bridge, tricky to say without seeing the way the top flexes, in the way of structural integrity. Otherwise it would also hide any finish boogers.

[Paul Verticchio]

Use this instrument to learn on. Maximizing 'tone' from a destroyed plywood top where the bridge should be is an act of futility. Especially, as Andrew pointed out, you have no benchmark with which to compare. A fair comparison in a modern instrument would be a $125 (street) Epiphone acoustic with a plywood top.

I had a solid top 365-S in that series. At the time, they were a very good value for a stage or front porch instrument. They were, however, ONLY good replicas of Martins. They didn't share their tone.  I'm afraid the passing of the years has added some undeserved 'allure' to these instruments. As I said, you have a super specimen to learn on. Restored, it will be a fine utility instrument.

This is going to be a cool project to watch unfold.

Best of luck :)

Best of luck

[Andrew]

I think paul said something that we have kept missing, the learning opportunity. Thats probably the most significant thing here. Youll have a better grasp of good construction, and how things work, which could potentially augment the way you play the instrument.

AND its just way fun :)

[Stacey]

I agree that this will be a great opportunity and fun to boot. I only asked about tone because after looking at the Plate Mate I was thinking of putting it in my other guitar as a preventative measure. I had never heard of one before. So I measured and that hole is 2mm deep... pretty gnarly. I wish I could have purchased that book locally, it's like waiting to open Birthday presents when someone has wrapped them and set them in the middle of the room 2 weeks early! Snail mail is painfully slow Lol! My buddy said I should make a spiceack out of it...geeze

[Stacey]

On a side note. Is there a school to learn this trade? I was looking online (on my phone so my searching is not as good as if I were at my pc) and only see 2 day workshops and such. This just seems like a fun and rewarding thing to get into and having someone that could show me hands on would be awesome.