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Just wondering is there a specific reason for finishing the guitar without the saddle glued to the top. I understand the preferred method is to finish and then route or scrape away the finish and then glue the saddle. While doing some prep work before finishing I had it all set up and was tempted to attach it and then tape it off but was wondering if that creates other issues down the line.

Thanks in advance,
Pat

I think you mean bridge, not saddle. The saddle is the (typically) bone insert in the bridge that the strings go over.

Attaching the bridge before or after finishing isn't the issue, it's attaching the bridge after the neck is set. Since accepted practice is to finish the body and neck separately, by default the bridge gets put on after the finish.

So why wait to attach the bridge until after the neck is set? Because that's the only way to tell -- for sure -- where it should go. One can measure and get close, but until the neck and body are joined there is bound to be uncertainty.

Any why finish the neck and body separately? For one thing, it's easier to handle the separate parts. Also, the finish won't glue the neck to the body. You might not care about that, but 50 years from now when the guitar needs a neck reset, the luthier trying to get the neck off won't curse you for finishing them together.

They're typically finished first, then scraped to accommodate the bridge and fretboard extension. The reason is neatness.

It's hard to keep the bridge and extension clean while finishing. Plus you get a buildup of finish around the bridge, extension, and heel if you attach all of these things before finishing.

You can glue everything, then tape if off very carefully to finish. You will find a buildup around the tape. If you use an xacto knife very carefully to score through the finish, before removing the tape, it'll work. Just be careful when doing so, because you can inadvertently scratch something you don't want scratched.

I find tape to interfere in the finish process, I use tape on the fretboard extension but not the bridge

I use tape on the location of the bridge before finishing, but only enough to mask off an approximate area where the bridge goes.The area is smaller than the bridge itself. The idea is to save myself a bit of scraping when the time comes to locate the bridge properly.

JLT wrote: ↑Thu Jul 07, 2022 4:30 pm I use tape on the location of the bridge before finishing, but only enough to mask off an approximate area where the bridge goes.The area is smaller than the bridge itself. The idea is to save myself a bit of scraping when the time comes to locate the bridge properly.

You're asking for trouble. Inevitably, the bridge will fail. You have to remove all finish from under the bridge, clear to the edge.

The subject of whether to finish guitars with necks assembled or not has come up on the forum before, and I (still a beginner) need convincing. Maybe many builders finish the parts separately, but some finish the assembled guitar (Robbie O'Brien is one widely-followed lutherie instructor who does, Jonathan Kinkead another). I can see the logic with French polish but I wonder how, with a sprayed finish, you avoid getting too much finish on the cheeks of the neck, thus affecting the neck to body joint. I also have not seen enough photos of neck joints on sprayed guitars to see how it looks - I like the look of finish flowing over the joint. I also think the issue of neck resets should be rare enough in the lifetime of a guitar to not be an issue, and you have to repair the finish where the fretboard extension has been unglued anyway, so why not do the neck joint too? I have had to reset one neck on an early build and the finish repair went well. And a bolt-on neck joint was much easier to redo than a dovetail. I am not doubting the wisdom of those who finish components separately - I wonder if it is more a matter of just doing things differently - with pros and cons on both sides. Bruce W.

here is my experience
Martin never finishes the neck on the guitar
Gibson always finished the neck on the guitar

here is where the different philosophies show up gibsons often have finish separation at the heel and when you have to do a reset it causes a big pile of finish issues , The finish builds up heavy in the corners and as the wood shrinks and expands this is the first place it loosens

Martins , you never have these issues as the finish area is separate.

Apologies for the late response COVID finally caught up with me thanks for the responses now I have a plan.

Pat