This is in continuation from the last blog post – https://lkoguitargarage.com/chillyburst-in-hot-soup-i/
So, I stuck the bridgeplate, drilled out the holes (the view as seen reflected in a mirror)
but the top, where the bridge would sit was uncharacteristically warped. Thanks to the missing bridgeplate earlier, the top had been pulled out of whack – one side higher than the other.
Again, the ice-cream sticks came to my rescue. The view above is with them cut to size, stuck and sanded level to the plain of the rest of the top.
Yet, when I placed the bridge on it, there was enough gap to slip in a couple of ATM cards! The other side of the bridge – the one closest to the soundhole – sat fine.
Again some innovative thinking came to my rescue.
I marked the area (the thick red line) on the top where the bridge would not sit flush with the top and smeared it with glue. Next, I sprinkled a healthy dose of sawdust on it, let it set and then sanded it even. Then when I sat the bridge, it sat perfectly.
Glued, clamped and left to rest for 48 hours, it turned out like this:
Then, I turned my attention to the little touch-up areas. Not perfect, but the spots no longer catch your eye from a mile off.
The strap button was removed, its original hole sealed and painted, a new hole was drilled and the strap button installed
Before I threw on new .012″ – .052″ strings, I scrubbed clean the fretboard, oiled it, polished the tarnished frets, and it came out looking like this.
I stretched the strings and tuned up the guitar. Though I never played the guitar before, there is a lot of sustain that I noticed. Only the owner will be able to tell me if the sustain was new (and a result of the instrument acquiring a bridgeplate).
Here’s looking forward to a happy youngster! CHEERS!
