Gibson L00 bridge repair

[Tai Fu]

Hi

I just got an old 1930's Gibson L00 with the bridge peeling off. I suspect heat because I notice strings of material under the bridge where its peeling off, but now the difficulty is that it has a through cut saddle.

Also the bridge is very small, with the string hole very close to the back edge of the bridge along with a bridge plate that feels like its too small.

Can anyone tell me how I can remove the through cut saddle without damaging the saddle as the owner would prefer the part be kept as original as possible as to not affect its collector's value?

[onewent]

Try heat and wiggle it out. If worse comes to worse, a new saddle won't effect collector value.  Tom

[Tai Fu]

I've also noticed that the wood under the bridge has a lot of tears under it... what can I do about it, as I still want to use hide glue but if the tear is excessive then I will have no choice but to use epoxy...

I am beginning to re-think the heat damage, because I noticed the guy had 12's on the guitar all the time, and I've just read that L00's are not built for heavy strings.

[Jeff Highland]

I wouldn't consider 12's to be heavy strings. They are standard fitment for most acoustics despite generally being labeled light gauge

13's ,whilst labeled medium, are  these days generally considered heavy

[Scott Supak]

I've had good luck using heated vinegar to remove through-cut saddles. Sucess will depend on what kind of adhesive was used in the first place. This works on hide glue and aliphatics, is epoxy or super glue was used you'll have to cut it out.

I run a single edge razor blade down either side where the saddle goes into the slot then apply the vinegar with a pipette, just enough to wick into the slot. Be sure to wipe any excess from the top as it can blush the finish after a while.

After a few minutes I'll grab the saddle with small flat-nosed pliers and try to wiggle it to allow the vinegar to work in.

Give it time to work and re-apply as needed, this can take a while. If you get any movement you can be fairly confident you're on the right track. If it won't budge, time to start cutting.

 

About the damage to the top, a guitar like this deserves better than epoxy. While I wouldn't hesitate to pull that trigger on some off-shore laminated top piece, splicing in new wood would be appropriate here. As in most cases, there is a wonderfully illustrated feature adressing top repair on Franks' Frets.com site.

Three cheers for Frank!!!

 

[Ned Knepp]

If the wood is still attached to the bridge, you should be able to get it off with some care then glue it all back into place. It might not be perfect but it will be much better than epoxy. 

I also think it very possible that heavy strings are the issue with the bridge. As you pointed out, the bridge is narrow and the bridge plate isn't really any wider. It's just not going to handle the pressure. In fact, judging from your description of the glue, it sounds like the bridge may have been re-glued at least once before this so make sure you get it all cleaned up before you use HHG.  BTW, it's my personal opinion but I wouldn't use epoxy on a guitar this old. 

[LARRY KLOSE]

Re re-attachment of the bridge, look at some of Frank Ford's bridge repair articles on www.frets.com.  Where there's tear-out attached to a mating area, he will sometimes use hide glue right over the torn out area if the fit is clean and tight (and if the bridge was originally in the correct location).  IIRC, he has even used titebond or hide glue to re-glue a pick guard because the glue bonded well to the torn out wood still firmly attached to the guard.

Frank also has a couple of articles about replacing a section of top under a drastically torn-out bridge that couldn't simply be re-glued.  Not for the faint of heart, perhaps, but the hardest part is probably overcoming reluctance to wade into that deep pool of the unknown.

Every situation is different, however, so good judgment is important.  YMMV.

Larry