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Whats the best way to remove a martin style bridge that was glued with titebond? Sure don't want to damage the finish.

heat the bridge whilst shielding the body with cardboard covered with alfoil. have several thinned palette knives. when the glue softens with the heat start to work the knives in under the bridge. if the bridge is hot enough, i.e., the glue is soft enough, it doesn't take a lot of force. be aware of the direction the grain is running, i.e. runout, and avoid digging into the top. leapfrog the knives to prevent the glue retacking.

heat can be a heating lamp, a specialty bridge heating tool, a clothes iron, etc. i usually use an edge banding iron.

Heat, thin pallette knife, and patience!

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http://www.presnallguitars.com

What has worked for me is a damp rag on top of the bridge, a clothes iron with no steam on top of the rag...give it some time to heat the entire bridge area then slide a piece of dental floss under the bridge, she should pop right off. If it is too difficult to slide the dental floss then you have not heated the bridge enough. I did this recently on a finished top and it came out perfect.

Greg

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Gwaltney Guitars

I use heat and very thin palette knifes to slowly work it off.I have a small heating blanket that is designed for this.
Hmmm,the dental floss trick sounds good.
Also as some have said, make sure you pay close attention to the grain direction.   You don't want to dig into the spruce.You want the direction going away from your knife probe. Frets.com probably has some good info. on this.

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Anderson Guitars
Clearwater,Fl. 33755

My daughter`s hair dryer and alot of patience with the palette knives worked for me twice. Don`t rush it!
Coe

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Give me 50 cents worth of regular.
Check my oil too, if you don`t mind,,,

Floss sounds like a great idea, Greg.

One more detail - if there is runout, it will likely run in opposite directions on either side of the top center seam. Take your time, you'll be fine.

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now known around here as Pat Foster
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http://www.patfosterguitars.com

I make a mask out of corrugated cardboard. It's important to use corrugated vs cereal box type cardboard and the corrugations act as a heat sink. Then I just set a clothes iron on the bridge and let it heat for awhile. I've got a cake decorating knife that is much longer than the bridge so I only need one. Very slowly work it back and forth until the glue starts to give. DO NOT PRY THE BRIDGE UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES!!! I can't stress this enough. Any you'll want to because it takes a long time for the glue to let go. If you have the ability to boil water in your shop you can heat the knife as well. Make sure you wipe it dry before you work it under the bridge as there will be bare wood there.

Paul is so right about taking your time and do not pry it, I've done that before, not good!....that's one reason I like the dental floss, you can't hurry it along, when the glue is hot enough the floss slides along, otherwise you know more time with the iron is needed.

Greg

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Gwaltney Guitars

Has anyone tried using a guitar string in place of dental floss? Seems like an E string would work for this. Guess I'll have to try it out. I'll report back I've attempted.

CrowDuck

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Chris Nielsen
Soquel, CA.

trick on figuring out grain direction ... when looking at the top from an angle, say the soundhole side of the bridge, the darker side you see is end grain looking back at you (ie, the grain is coming towards you,) the lighter side the grain is going away - so you woudl lside the palette knife in from the side you are looking from, into a lighter side of the top.

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Tony Karol
www.karol-guitars.com
"let my passion .. fulfill yours"

Funny you should mention the E string option...I actually tried it and found it a little more difficult to get it started compared to the floss, but it is easier to work it along once it's under the piece as it is much stiffer/stronger. If the glue is soft the floss works fine and it contours a bit better and no worries about scarring,scratching....I'm not sure which one I'll use next time.

Greg

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Gwaltney Guitars