How to Fix a Loose Guitar Bridge

The bridge is the dark wooden piece pictured, where the ends of the strings are attached.

A loose bridge on an acoustic guitar can cause a buzzing sound when the guitar is played. Left unattended, the bridge may eventually come off and the guitar will be unplayable. Fixing a loose bridge on a guitar is effective, if you follow a set of simple guidelines.

Things You'll Need

• A thin knife
• Sandpaper
• Wood or carpenter's glue
• Putty knife or kitchen knife
• C clamps

Instructions

1. 

   Strings attach to the bridge, and must be removed so the bridge can be repaired.

   Take all the strings off completely. Remove them from the bridge and set them aside. Set aside any pegs that are used to attach the strings to the bridge.

2. Loosen the bridge slowly. Work gently around the edges with a thin knife, taking care not to dig into the wood of the guitar body. Once all the edges are loose all the way around the bridge, insert the knife as far under the bridge as possible and tap the handle with the palm of your hand. This will loosen the bridge to the point that it pops completely out.

3. 

   Sandpaper comes in finer and finer varieties, for making a surface progressively smoother. A 120-grit paper will make a surface twice as fine as a 60-grit paper.

   Sand off the old glue from the guitar top. Glue residue left behind by the bridge will prevent firm re-gluing, so remove it with sandpaper. Make sure the surface is clean and smooth.

4. Sand off old glue from underneath the bridge. The bridge surface that will be in contact with the guitar surface must be completely sanded and smoothed.

5. 

   Don't make beads like this. Spread the glue evenly by using a putty knife or kitchen knife.

   Apply wood glue to the prepared guitar surface. Spread the glue evenly with a putty knife or kitchen knife.

6. Apply wood glue to the prepared bridge surface. Thinly coat all surfaces that will be touching the guitar.

7. Put bridge back in place on the guitar, making sure all surfaces that touch have glue on them.

8. 

   A "c" clamp holds the bridge by pressing it to the body. Note that the bolt must be on the outside of the guitar to allow tightening.

   Place C-clamps in position to hold the bridge tightly to the guitar. This will require that you place the clamps in the sound hole of the guitar, so that the bottom part of the clamp will actually be inside the guitar body, pressing upward while the top part of the clamp contacts the bridge and presses it down. You will have to place the clamp "upside down" so that the bolt can be tightened from outside of the guitar. Otherwise, you would have to reach into the sound hole to tighten it.

9. Wipe off any excess glue that seeps from the edges of the bridge when the C-clamp is tightened.

10. 

    Get back to playing in twenty-four hours.

    After 24 hours, remove the C-clamps and restring the guitar.

Tips & Warnings

• Do not over-tighten the C-clamp. The guitar top is flexible and will break if the bolt in the clamp is tightened too much.

References

• www.guitarrepairshop.com