Official Luthiers Forum!

Hi guys,

It's been a long time since I have posted. I have a customer with this Martin 00CXAE guitar and the bridge has come unglued, twice. This model is made entirely of synthetic materials called "HPL", a compressed wood fiber derivative, from what I gathered from a brief internet search. The bridge was reglued once by another repairman but the glue joint failed. Have any of you guys ever done a bridge reglue on these guitars and if so what glue worked for you?


Thanks!
Gil

I'll ask Dave Collins what he uses today and get back to you. But I wanted to point out that the bridge is lifting because the top clearly has issues. You can see the distortion from here and it looks like the bridge gluing surface is anything but level and possibly changing. I would be keen to get a mirror inside and look at the bridge plate, surrounding braces and particularly the bridge pin holes. This top looks like it's distorted to the point where that's the cause of the lifting bridge(s) and that should be addressed first.

Hey welcome back too Gil.

Thanks Hesh. These are pics the customer sent me. I don't have it in hand but I was planning to look it all over when I get it.

Gil just spoke with Dave and he said Martin recommends white glue.

Ok thanks Hesh! And tell Dave thanks!

You bet. He added that he's not all that secure with the idea of white glue and that this may, may be a decent place for epoxy..... Oh the horror.....

But check out what is going on with that top because that's the root cause of the bridge lift.

Yeah I thought about epoxy.

I remember asking the same question round here a few years ago and IIRC, the consensus was epoxy and even CA popped up from very experienced members who had checked with Martin. Maybe the recommendation has changed.


Pierre
Guitares Torvisse

_________________
Pierre Castonguay

Pierre Dave likes epoxy too for these but since this is a public forum and we are Martin certified I offered what Martin recommends. But you're right, for these counter top instruments epoxy may be a better way to go.

Thanks Hesh. I get it.


Pierre
Guitares Torvisse

_________________
Pierre Castonguay

I'm being politically correct Yep me....... Hope you are doing great Pierre!!!

Perhaps my info is outdated but when I contacted Martin about these tops their recommended glue was medium ca glue. Never had one fail on me. White glue and epoxy have failed according to others I have spoken to but I haven’t tried them personally. I would contact Martin directly yourself to be sure. Good luck and please share what you find with us

Yes I am! We're in the middle of a snowstorm up here and the doggies are more than pleased about that!


Pierre
Guitares Torvisse

_________________
Pierre Castonguay

CA is what is was told from the factory along time ago! although they were using a 3m branded CA. ive used every kind of ca for these and never had one come back.

Whoa, CA glue. How do you go about clamping the bridge using CA glue with the extremely short open time? Or don't use clamps and just press hard and hold it in place until it sets? Also how do you deal with squeeze out? That stuff just does not clean up.

easy! 1st make sure to use good CA! make sure both surfaces are degreased. use just enough CA to cover the bottom of the bridge so there will be minimal squeeze out. glue it like you would with regular clamps and wood glue making sure to clean off any squeez out with paper towels. with the bridge clamped, you can use acetone to clean off the CA that has been left behind after clean off and has left a mess on the top. you dont have to worry about the acetone melting the top as it is melamine or whatever. NOTE : THIS IS SOMETHING YOU CANT DO ON A NITRO FINISHED TOP!!!! it may take a couple passes to get the top clean. ive even used zip kicker to rush dry these, but i think its better to let them dry naturally just my 2 cents!