Hmm, that's a lot of work. You need a camera man otherwise the vid will be crap. Then when you stumble, you have to do it over again. Then there's vid and sound editing; lapel microphone (which I don't have) otherwise you can't hear the audio, and so on. I appreciate the sentiment though. Now for my progress....
On the left is one of the bridge clamps I made - something I may never use again. I made a caul (on the right - it is upside down here) that was the 'opposite' profile of the bridge. This is so that clamp pressure is spread over the bridge rather than being localized. Note the very slight curve so that it will conform to the bridge wings.
. . .
Best I DO NOT forget to drill holes in the bridge for the tie-on strings before gluing on!! With trial and error, I determined the angle of the hole had to be 10 degrees, so I cut a small block with that angle on one face. Maybe it's not obvious here, but the hole has to "rise" as it passes through, otherwise you'd be drilling into the plate on the other side. That is only a 3/32" bit - looks larger here.
After removing the tape that covered the bridge area (so that I would not have to remove any finish) I made a last minute check for location accuracy. Seemed spot on, so I taped around the outer perimeter. This helps to locate the bridge when glue is applied and keeps glue off of the finish. After clamping down and removing any squeeze-out I removed the outer tape and there she'll sit overnight.
Tomorrow I will fit the saddle into the bridge but without strings, I cannot set the height of the saddle or the nut at the top of the neck. NG is a lucky guy because I lost the spare nut, which is some kind of composite material, so I'm going to have to substitute one of my bone blanks instead. I guess that means the only right thing to do is ditch the composite bridge and use one of my bone blanks for that too, otherwise they won't match.
On the left is one of the bridge clamps I made - something I may never use again. I made a caul (on the right - it is upside down here) that was the 'opposite' profile of the bridge. This is so that clamp pressure is spread over the bridge rather than being localized. Note the very slight curve so that it will conform to the bridge wings.
Best I DO NOT forget to drill holes in the bridge for the tie-on strings before gluing on!! With trial and error, I determined the angle of the hole had to be 10 degrees, so I cut a small block with that angle on one face. Maybe it's not obvious here, but the hole has to "rise" as it passes through, otherwise you'd be drilling into the plate on the other side. That is only a 3/32" bit - looks larger here.
After removing the tape that covered the bridge area (so that I would not have to remove any finish) I made a last minute check for location accuracy. Seemed spot on, so I taped around the outer perimeter. This helps to locate the bridge when glue is applied and keeps glue off of the finish. After clamping down and removing any squeeze-out I removed the outer tape and there she'll sit overnight.
Tomorrow I will fit the saddle into the bridge but without strings, I cannot set the height of the saddle or the nut at the top of the neck. NG is a lucky guy because I lost the spare nut, which is some kind of composite material, so I'm going to have to substitute one of my bone blanks instead. I guess that means the only right thing to do is ditch the composite bridge and use one of my bone blanks for that too, otherwise they won't match.
