Bridge clamping cauls

[scott gannon]

Hey folks. Got a washburn needs bridge reglue. Any advice on clamp cauls. Looking at stew-macs or lmi has the fox bridge clamp that looks like a winner for a rookie. Thank you all in advance.

[Chris Rochow]

Simple, effective...cheap =  on a appropriate size 1/8 - 1/4 " wood... plop on some 'bondo' , about 3/4" thick all over.   place a piece of wax paper over to prevent it from sticking to guitar.  Now place the bondo and wood, up against the underside, IE; over the bridge plate.  Make a steady impression...hold a few minutes for it to set.  = perfect caul!

[nathan clark]

The stew Mac outer caul works well.  You can use a c-clamp from the home improvement store with a deep capacity.  Here's how I deal with the inside caul:http://fingerlakesguitarrepair.com/pages/repair-descriptions/tools-...

[Tom Mitchell]

Hey Nathan, that's a great step-by-step "how to" you have.  I'll be doing my first bridge replacement soon, and have the link in my "favorites" now so I can refer to it when I'm ready to proceed.

 

The only modification I'd add to your procedure for the inside cauls is to add two large, short woodscrews, one driven into each "outside end" (in the certer of the "triangle"), and close to where the caul makes contact with the soundboard.  With the woodscrews in place, you'd be able to use a pair of strong magnets on the top of the soundboard to temporarily hold the inner caul in place until you have your clamps on.  That might streamline things, and speed up the process a bit.

 

That would work for Chris' suggestion, too!

 

My $0.02......