HTS Vacuum Clamp Bridge

Remove strings / pins and saddle.

The wood is cleaned and prepared for refitment

Typical of tops that have bridges breaking away is some distortion of the soundboard.

So a bit of moisture / steam and clamp it flat over night.

Next day we can continue.

We put some masking tape on the inside of the guitar under the bridge pin holes, this is to help create an air seal.

This is my vacuum clamp unit, places like LMII sell these.

To protect the top fom any inadvertant damage or possibly from the clamping jig, we mask it up.

This Tanglewood has been exposed to a little bit of a warm enviroment, as such the top has rotated a little and the bridge has started to seperate.

Fit still looks good, but paper goes easily under the edges.

We remove the bridge as per attached link.

Test fit we have coverage under the vacuum clamp unit

This tutorial is an addition to the Bridge removal and refit tutorial, the difference being the use of a Vacuum Clamping system instead of throat clamps.

Bridges lift for many reasons, High or Low Humidity, Broken internal braces, Exposed to heat (example sit in the sun or left in a car), excessive string tension, premature glue failure, literally lots and lots of reasons for failure.

Approximate time to complete 1 -1.5hrs