Gibson j45ADJ #2. Gibson 's Gift to Luthiers
Posted: Fri Feb 10, 2023 1:55 am
Like I said about the 1963 Gibson J45 ADJ, Gibson's gift to luthiers everywhere is their ill-conceived bridge.
This is a 1967 with the same bridge design, made of BRW. This one broke entirely. The wood that holds the saddle to the screw has also broken. My client is an avid originalist; he wants all original parts whenever possible. I explained to him that because of bad outcomes in the past, I will only replace bridges which have broken entirely. I don't try to fix them anymore.
So, I'll be using the BRW bridge blank in the photo to make a replica of Gibson's ill-fated bridge, along with the saddle. The blank is large enough for the bridge and saddle.
However, mine won't move and break like Gibson's. As you can plainly see, Gibson used a little glue and glued that puppy right to the finished too, a huge NO-NO.
For you new folks out there...never glue to finish. Always glue clean wood to clean wood. Even a little finish under a bridge will cause failure.
There's also a crack starting in the top that I'll fix.
I'll update as I go along.
This is a 1967 with the same bridge design, made of BRW. This one broke entirely. The wood that holds the saddle to the screw has also broken. My client is an avid originalist; he wants all original parts whenever possible. I explained to him that because of bad outcomes in the past, I will only replace bridges which have broken entirely. I don't try to fix them anymore.
So, I'll be using the BRW bridge blank in the photo to make a replica of Gibson's ill-fated bridge, along with the saddle. The blank is large enough for the bridge and saddle.
However, mine won't move and break like Gibson's. As you can plainly see, Gibson used a little glue and glued that puppy right to the finished too, a huge NO-NO.
For you new folks out there...never glue to finish. Always glue clean wood to clean wood. Even a little finish under a bridge will cause failure.
There's also a crack starting in the top that I'll fix.
I'll update as I go along.