1961 Southern Jumbo Restoration Pt.3

With bridge plate removed and back and sides cleaned up, it's time to tackle the top

- Huw Price

It's fair to say the Southern Jumbo is looking worse than it did before I started this project, at least from the front anyway.

I was looking forward to stripping the top back to clean wood, and I was also hoping that those pickguards that were once added hadn't left telltale 'shadows' on the spruce. But first, I needed to make and fit a new bridge plate.

Despite the skewed placement of the original bridge plate, the fact it came out intact was a massive help in making a replacement. The ends provided an accurate indication of the position and angle of the X-braces, and the pin and machine screw-hole positions showed exactly where the bridge would need to be glued back on.

I decided to create a cardboard template before making the new maple plate. Placing the original plate onto the cardboard, glue side up, I marked the ends where the plate would butt up against the X-braces and the position of the screw and pin holes. I extended the brace lines then drew a line between the screw holes.

This allowed me to position the bridge accurately over the template, and tracing around the bridge showed where the bridge's front and back edges would be. I drew a dotted line between the X-braces 1/8-inch in front of the bridge position and a second dotted line 1/8-inch behind it so there would be an identical plate overlap both sides.

I carefully cut out the template using a fresh blade and a metal straightedge. Ensuring that the template was the correct way up, I applied some double-sided tape to test fit it inside the body. This had to be done by feel before I checked the results using a strip of USB-powered LED lights and an inspection mirror. Having confirmed the fit was good, I removed the template, placed it Over a 3mm-thick piece of well-seasoned maple and scribed the plate outline onto the wood.