zaazi - 3-31-2019 at 05:25 AM
Hello guys.
My oud has a high action problem (big distance between the strings and the finger board) making playing the oud unbearable.
So I detached the bridge and thinned it. I bought wood glue. It's colored white. I applied the glue, attached the bridge and left the oud with
pressure applied on the bridge for 24 hours. After that I attached the strings to the bridge but while I was tuning the strings the bridge detached
with a loud noise that scared the s*** out of me.
I did all the above again and the bridge detached again.
My question is what exactly is the kind of glue I should be using?
Or what's my mistake here?
Thank you all
The oud is Egyptian made by Bandaari
suz_i_dil - 3-31-2019 at 07:18 AM
Hello
when i had to make it once i remeber i used titebond glue and a long clamp with wood wedges to glue it under serious pressure.
White glue is not the best option because not very stable i have been told toward hygrometry. But it should work i guess.
* did you clean the part of the soundboard wher you took off the bridge ? How ?
* are you sure the side to glue of the bridge has been worked perfecty flat , did you controled it ?
* what system you used to put it under pressure to glue ? I wonder if you putted enough pressure
* i dont know if 24 hours is enough to put it under full string tension. Check alos if white glue is not the kind of glue to let dry an amount of time
before assembling the two parts together. Sometimes it is needed with some glues
You will succeed , full of people on this forum can advise you for that !
PS/ if you have to make it again, it is much les work to fill the holes and drill new ones without taking the bridge.
zaazi - 3-31-2019 at 09:15 AM
Thanks for your answer.
I actually moved the bridge about one and a half centimeter towards the neck to make the strings length shorter. So the bridge is applied on a new
area so I didn't need to clean this area.
When I took the bridge out I started thinning it but stopped and decided to make new holes in the bridge. Unfortunately the long edge of side of the
bridge is not even with the rest of the bridge. I have no idea how to make it even so I am thinking of making a new bridge from a small peace of wood
I have. I thought the uneven area won't matter because it's a small area.
As for putting the pressure I think that's another issue. I improvised and used a thick rubber and wrapped it tight around the oud and then put a
peace of wood between the rubber and the bridge creating pressure.
suz_i_dil - 3-31-2019 at 12:02 PM
hello
so no, don't move it forward. You will indeed shorten stringlength, but you will loose the settle of the notes along the stringlength. You should have
neck length equal 1/3 of total stringlenth, and get this way a perfect fifth at the neck / body joint.
it may seems a detail, but if you change this settle you would get something not in phase with your learning of left hand position. Moreover you may
kill the sound because of the braces on the reverse side of the soundoard. So even if shortening the neck, moving the bridge may not be possible
actually.
Keep it in the same place, really
For the uneven area i dont understand well. Send picture maybe ? You can try to shave it with a plane you block in a clamp or with sand paper on a
very flat surface (in both case it is the bridge you are working, moving i mean on the plane or the sand paper remain motionless) ..Not easy to
explain by words, hope it is clear.
I dont think you will get enough pressure for the bridge with rubber. I glued the soundboard with rubber but a special one, with no elasticity at all.
Anyway for the bridge i dont think it would be enough.
Is the main soundhole open, no rosette ? In this case a clamp would be my oprion, but maybe there are other ways to do. Check the forum, many members
shared oud or luthe making projects, you should found pictures in there on how to glue a bridge
suz_i_dil - 3-31-2019 at 12:18 PM
Check this,on John Vergara website, fellow forum member, who makes wonderful works:
http://www.johnvergaramusic.com/blog/1927-toufik-nahat-2
I think with a single or 2 clamps you can succeed if you use wood pieces to deliver a regular pressure. But take care to your soundboard, proceed
wisely helping of wood pieces to protect the soundboard from the clamp weight
Or no guitar maker in your area who can help you solve this issue ?
zaazi - 4-1-2019 at 09:00 AM
Thank you for these valuable information. I will buy a clamp and try to even the bridge.