Acoustic Guitar Bridge Replacement

Written By: Mitchell McCaskill
  • Comments: 3
Acoustic Guitar Bridge Replacement

Difficulty

Easy

Steps

10

Time Required

12 hours - 1 day

Introduction

This is a step by step replacement guide for the bridge of an acoustic guitar. Replacing the bridge on a guitar may be necessary if the bridge is damaged or falling off. This is a fairly simple task and can be accomplished very easily by following this simple 10 step guide. No prior guitar repair experience or special tools are needed to accomplish this task. Just be careful, follow the steps, and it should turn out great!

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    • Remove the guitar strings.

    • Use a paper towel to remove any dust and debris from the neck of the guitar.

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    • Apply a warm heating pad to the bridge to loosen the glue.

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    • Carefully remove the bridge of the guitar with a putty knife or something with a thin dull blade.

    • Be careful to not scratch the finish of the guitar.

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    • Carefully remove any excess glue or debris on the body of the guitar from the old bridge.

    It's a good idea to scrape any excess glue so that you get a straight wood to wood glue bond from both the bridge and soundboard. A chisel or carving knife is good for this job.

    Ryan Field -

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    • Apply wood glue to the new bridge and attach it to where the old one used to be.

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    • Use a C-clamp to gently clamp the bridge to the body of the guitar.

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    • Wait and let the glue dry.

    • Time will very based on what glue you use, but to be safe, let it sit for at least 12 hours.

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    • Remove the clamp after glue has dried.

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    • Restring the guitar.

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    • Play!

    This is the most ridiculous thing I've ever read in my life.

    Pat Beer -

Author

Mitchell McCaskill

Member since: 17/09/20

211 Reputation

One comment

This is a good guide Mitchell. I would encourage anyone attempting this type of a job to go watch some of the videos on YouTube by Mr. Ted Woodford. He goes into great detail about the various pitfalls of removing bridges, they aren't always as simple. Personally I don't think this repair is something to be classified as 'easy' as well. Different guitars can have very very tough adhesive bonds. I had to remove a Taylor bridge once that was a bear to get off and ensure that it went back on cleanly. The bridge can also warp and deform once it comes free of the top, so it's a good idea to clamp the bridge to a known flat surface. I appreciate the steps you outlined here though.

https://youtu.be/lsFBqPsB7VE

Ryan Field -