Restoring a 1908 Martin O-17
II. Removing the bridge
The next step in disassembly is to remove the bridge. With an older
guitar like this it is not very difficult, although it had been poorly
reglued at some time in the past. In this case we worked a spatula
under the bridge and it more or less popped off. Sometimes the
spatula method works best if a little heat is applied to the bridge to
soften the glue. For this we use another of the silicone rubber
heaters. (we got these from Luthiers Merchantile, since they are
selling them in sizes and shapes which are designed for guitar makers.
These heaters are also available in a wide variety of sizes from the Watlow
company.)
The chisel is in the photo to suggest another very effective (but frightening to beginners) method of removing bridges. The chisel is sharp, and the bottom (i.e the flat or non-beveled side) has a very slight bevel on it so it will not dig in. We then simply put the chisel at the edge of the bridge and give it a good whack. Do this all along the edge on both sides and the bridge will come off quite cleanly. I first learned this technique from Stu Mossman, and when he showed me I just about fainted since it looked so dangerous (to the guitar). But it works. I recommend that beginners not try this on good guitars until they have practiced and, even better, seen someone with experience do it.
The bridge is off!!
Here is another photo of the top with the bridge removed. It helps
to show just how badly damaged this instrument is.
Here we are beginning to remove the back. The back was originally
glued with hot hide glue -- and although it has been very badly repaired
over the years, most of that work was done with hide glue (lots and lots
of it). This makes the process easier since a little heat and moisture
will enable us to separate the glue line. We use a broad palette
knife to apply the hot water and to separate the joint.
Here is a photo of the treble rib -- as you can see it is too far gone
and we will be replacing it..
Here the back is almost off.
One thing we found when we got the back off is that it is initialed and
dated on the top with the initials FHM - which we believe was Frank Herbert
Martin. Way cool. This photo doesn't really
show it, but it is there - very faint.
This photo shows one of the major challenges in this restoration. The linings are very delicate, and since I will be replacing one rib, I will have to salvage the existing linings or find a way to duplicate them closely. This one will take a bit of thinking.
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