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Guitar chord forum - chordie → Guitars and accessories → Reglueing a bridge
Tragedy struck recently. On a very high humidity day the bridge pulled off of my baritone uke. Luckily it came off pretty clean. It only broke a small chip off the corner of the bridge but the rest of the bridge is still intact. Now I just gotta glue it back on the body.
The body is wood, the bridge is plastic. What kind of glue should I use?
Any suggestions would help.
Thanks
Luke
Here's a good article on glues and such.
http://www.fretnotguitarrepair.com/glues.htm
I hope it helps.
Usually hide or titebond is recommended but for a plastic bridge you'll probably have to go the super glue route. I don't think hide or wood glue would bond well with the bridge. Your best option (IMO) would be to get a replacement wood bridge that will fit or cover the old glue area. They're fairly inexpensive and will be an improvement in tone. With a wood bridge I'd go with titebond on a uke. Hide glue holds better but is a pain to prep and a uke doesn't have the string tension of a steel string so it will hold the bridge fine. Be sure to properly prep the glue area by removing any old glue and lightly sanding. Proper clamping is also a must for a secure fix. A simple wooden jig can be made for about 3 bucks that works nicely. Keep us updated on your project 
Best of luck -Pix
Thanks! I'll let you know how it comes out.
Luke
Well. I glued the bridge back on. It turned out to be a wood bridge not a plastic one (the top lamination through me off).
I sanded the bridge to get the old glue off and used Titebond glue to put it back on. I clamped it for 24 hours and let it set another 48 hours. I restrung the uke and started to play. It worked well for a short time. Of course it goes out of tune easily with new strings so I keep retuning as I play stretching the strings before I tune.
About 2 hours into playing the bridge snapped off again. This time it snapped in half. I was tuning at the time and the added tension proved to be too much. I did not tune past the correct note. My thought is it should have been able to hold the tension.
Maybe I over tuned. Is that a possibility? I kept stretching the strings and tuning them. Should I have tuned it and let it sit for a while before I stretched the strings?
Maybe I just did not use enough glue.
My uke is a Koloa barritone uke. It costs $150 I think. It was only about a year and a half old. Is it worth buying another bridge or should I trash it and start again?
I am very discouraged.
Luke
Sorry you've had trouble... The glue was it exterior grade or interior grade? Always go for interior as the exterior will not hold as well. Was the finish applied under the bridge? Some manufacturers do this but it doesn't allow for a proper bond. If it was you'll need to trace and tape off the area and then sand it down to wood for a good bond before it's re-glued. Also, How tight did you clamp it? It's easy to over tighten and squeeze all the glue out if you're not careful. Snug is the key... I'd probably let it sit and cure for a few more days (about 5), Just to be safe...
For sure I wouldn't trash it!! I'd give it another go! But, if you decide you don't want to mess with it... Drop me an email! I'm always looking for projects to work on -Pix
It was Titebond III Weatherproof so I guess it would be exterior glue. There was no finish under the bridge. The glue stayed on the body and did not stick to the bridge. My guess is I did not sand underneath the bridge good enough and did not get a good bond.
Now I will sand down underneath the bridge and tape and sand off the new glue left on the body. Thanks for the encouragement!
Acoustic instruments are so damn delicate.
I tried it again. This time I sanded better and used more glue. It seems to be holding.
One thing I did wrong was only clamping the middle of the bridge directly behind the saddle. I did not put any pressure on the Wings(?) (extension on the sides of the bridge) and now they are not completely flat on the body. I recommend making a jig or using shims to put pressure on all of the bridge (if your bridge has wings).
I'm just happy to be strumming my uke again!
Thanks for the help and encouragement!
Luke
Glad it's working for you
I should have went more in detail with the jig and clamping that I referred to in my first post... Sorry
Damn. You did say that.
I guess I learned the hard way...like usual.
This way I won't forget.
Guitar chord forum - chordie → Guitars and accessories → Reglueing a bridge
