Cracked Eko 12 string bridge

Hi, folks

What do you reckon is the best to stabilise this:


It's on an old Eko 12 string.  No great shakes value-wise - our band's guitarist has had it stuck in his loft for years and for the sake of a set of strings, we reckoned it's worth a try to get it cleaned up and playable.

There's nothing I can do with replacing the bridge itself - as you can see, they pop-riveted the bridges, bless 'em, but I'd like to just make sure the crack doesn't flex and make the tuning unreliable, especially as it is the 'main' strings row of pegs. 

What do you reckon?  Wick some thin cyano and then, once that's cured, gap fill with Z-poxy?
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Comments

  • ICBMICBM Frets: 71956
    I've done these by wicking in heated epoxy so it penetrates right under the bridge, then clamping it flat with a block inside the guitar and one on top, and as much force as can be applied.

    Looking at the saddle slot, that might have been done once already...

    "Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski

    "Just because I don't care, doesn't mean I don't understand." - Homer Simpson

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  • paulnb57paulnb57 Frets: 3044
    I cant imagine the pop rivet is original.....bodge repair is my best guess....tear it off and make a new one, you kow you want to!

    Stranger from another planet welcome to our hole - Just strap on your guitar and we'll play some rock 'n' roll

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  • ICBM said:
    I've done these by wicking in heated epoxy so it penetrates right under the bridge, then clamping it flat with a block inside the guitar and one on top, and as much force as can be applied.

    Looking at the saddle slot, that might have been done once already...
    Mmmm - that's a thought.  I've got a bridge clamp from my acoustic builds which would certainly be man enough.

    I also wondered about that squeeze-out, but I'm pretty sure Paul has had this from new and hasn't ever had anything done to it.  The Eko has the adjustable bridge and so the squeeze out doesn't actually interfere with anything mechanical, so dunno...maybe it was always there?  Pretty certain the pop rivets are original and  they seem completely sound (the  plastic cover on the middle one actually fell off as the pegs were being pulled.  I've had a mirror in the sound box and there is no sign of retro work)

    I'll see how runny I can get the epoxy.  Actually for using Z-epoxy as a finish I think I remember you can thin it - would that be an alternative to heating it, do you think?
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  • paulnb57 said:
    I cant imagine the pop rivet is original.....bodge repair is my best guess....tear it off and make a new one, you kow you want to!

    It is, actually !  

    I just found this article.  This example is identical inside with the rectangular metal 'washers' 
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  • ICBMICBM Frets: 71956
    paulnb57 said:
    I cant imagine the pop rivet is original.....bodge repair is my best guess....tear it off and make a new one, you kow you want to!
    The pop rivets are original :). It's just that the brown plastic cover has fallen off that one.

    "Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski

    "Just because I don't care, doesn't mean I don't understand." - Homer Simpson

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  • ICBMICBM Frets: 71956
    Andyjr1515 said:

    I'll see how runny I can get the epoxy.  Actually for using Z-epoxy as a finish I think I remember you can thin it - would that be an alternative to heating it, do you think?
    Not sure, I've never used it. Standard high-strength Araldite works well if you heat it.

    "Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski

    "Just because I don't care, doesn't mean I don't understand." - Homer Simpson

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  • WezVWezV Frets: 16543
    I would go straight to warmed z-poxy... put the bottles in hot water for a few minutes and it will be plenty runny.

    flatsawn wenge is a bad choice for a bridge and I am not surprised it's split, but it should be fine once repaired.

    it is worth checking if the bridge plate needs work at the same time.

    also, the flatsawn wenge fretboards on these old Eko's can suffer from bad fingerboard divots.  It seems like the light grain wears a lot quicker than the dark grain, and being flatsawn you get wide areas of lighter grain.  It's all fixable but it was enough to convince me to stick to quartersawn wenge in necks
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  • paulnb57paulnb57 Frets: 3044
    Wow! Pop rovets! Live and learn.....
    Stranger from another planet welcome to our hole - Just strap on your guitar and we'll play some rock 'n' roll

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  • WezV said:
    I would go straight to warmed z-poxy... put the bottles in hot water for a few minutes and it will be plenty runny.

    flatsawn wenge is a bad choice for a bridge and I am not surprised it's split, but it should be fine once repaired.

    it is worth checking if the bridge plate needs work at the same time.

    also, the flatsawn wenge fretboards on these old Eko's can suffer from bad fingerboard divots.  It seems like the light grain wears a lot quicker than the dark grain, and being flatsawn you get wide areas of lighter grain.  It's all fixable but it was enough to convince me to stick to quartersawn wenge in necks
    Yes - I checked the bridge plate when I was marvelling at the pop rivets.  It's actually fine.  I might add another layer of ply as added security for the pegs anyway - I'll see how the fix looks.

    I'll have a go with warming the z-poxy and see how it goes.

    Thanks for the tips, folks :)
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