bridge problem

[Gregory Torres]

Barrie,

I think that your repair option is a good choice for some situations, and I also
agree with you regarding clamping, however if epoxy repairs are done carefully
there really shouldn't be any problems such as described (#2) Shrinkage occurs if
you thin the epoxy too much and don't allow for evaporation & the "sponge" effect
of the wood. Also, I use a medium size hypodermic needle to get the epoxy down
into the hole from the bottom which eliminates most of the air pocket problems.
And while wood is the first choice shimming wouldn't necessarily be better for
the sound, especially if the instrument is not made with good quality
wood/strings/scale to begin with? Just another thought.

Regards,
Greg Torres

Barrie Heaton wrote:

> Hi Leslie,
>
> Just taking it one step further, if the split is quite wide, I often
> find there has been compression damage done to the wood at the side of
> the pin.  Clamping would not in my view close the gap sufficiently in
> this situation for a suitable repair.
>
> In this situation (if keeping the cost down is important), I tend to
> shim the bridge, like I would shim the split in the soundboard. I would
> use maple or hornbean from an old birdcage piano damper action rail.  I
> find this method far better for two reasons:
>
> 1. you are using the preferred material "wood".
>
> 2. If you use a thick epoxy resin you cannot guarantee it will
> creep in to all the crack and if you us a thin epoxy you will get
> shrinkage due to evaporation of the carrier.  This could result in
> pockets of air and a loss transmission to the soundboard.
>
> The Last one I did took me aprox 3 hours not counting over night drying
> time, the split was in all of the by-cords only took off by-cords string
> used two of them to put downward pressure on the shim when it was drying
> planed off and re-drilled the pin holes used the old pins, did the job
> on site.
>
> Any comments.
>
> Barrie.
>
> In article <19980504.111402.3382.1.Lesbart@juno.com>, Leslie W Bartlett
> <lesbart@juno.com> writes
> >
> > Hi Dave-
> >       Others have said about what you have regarding the repair, EXCEPT
> >that no one gave any indication of how much time would be involved. That
> >is a very big help, as I'm new at this, and haven't a clue as to how to
> >bill things.  Frankly, I'd be happy just to tune, since I know the going
> >rate, and charge a bit less.  I also find it difficult sell my labor.
> >Thanks for the help.  I do think I'll have to remove strings from
> >hitchpins (assuming the person wants to spend the money), as the crack is
> >quite wide, and will need clamping.
> >
> >Leslie
> >
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> Barrie Heaton                                  |  Be Environmentally Friendly
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