TJ Thompson Belly Reducer
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- Опубліковано 2 сер 2015
- Dan Erlewine demonstrates the TJ Thompson Belly Reducer and TJ Thompson explains why he created this clever system to begin with.
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Thompson Belly Reducer
www.stewmac.com/1380.html - Навчання та стиль
Dan's books and videos give me the confidence I think I need to do a lot of work on my guitars myself. No more paying someone else that doesn't love my guitars as much as me
Of all the places you could be pinching pennies, are guitar techs really the people who need LESS money? The most successful guitar techs are still in the bottom 10% of income earners. Jeff Bezos is a gazillionaire. Learn to do something yourself that takes more money out of his pocket and less out of ours 😂. We’re struggling enough as it is. Start doing your own insurance or something lol.
It's wonderful to see these restoration technologies popping up!
Steam bending is a process used to make snow shoes, wagon wheels, furniture and many other things. Google it if you're curious . Lignum is the compound in wood that holds the fibers together and it will soften enough at temperatures above 240 degrees F to allow slippage of the wood fibers into a permanent change of dimension. There is not nearly enough heat applied here for that to take place, so i believe this produces a temporary compression of the wood from which it will soon spring back. I think the idea is to reduce the belly long enough for it to be sold and then the belly becomes the buyer's problem.
But do you know how to apply a constant 240 F heat to the belly and clamp it so the fix is more permanent? And for how long you need to do that? This maybe possible with a lamp, but I believe it won't be easy to constantly heat the wood at this specific temperature.
Mr.Erlewine is the man! He can any guitar & he always uses the best tools...Love Stewmac tools hate their prices!
1dabirdman quality is worth paying for but I agree. Some of their products are way overpriced.
Thanks, Dan. It'll happen to all, if not most, guitars eventually. Glad to know there's a procedure to add life to our guitars.
Wow, this was so good. The old Emperador I have has this exact problem, including the concave dip toward the hole. My new tool shopping list is growing along with my new confidence. Tks!
I may follow on after with the Bridge Doctor having seen your excellent video on that. ua-cam.com/video/nxJpM4xoXg0/v-deo.html
This is what I've been looking for. I think I can do this procedure. I have a CONN F-9. Thanks for the video.
You sir, are a master. I was going to shim it out until I found this! Thank you so very much !!
Wow my old Eko 12 string has spent the last 40 years getting a puku (belly in Maori) that makes me look like a super model! Three years back it wouldn't play with six strings so I decided to use the detachable neck and make an electric 12. Still not finished but this tooling has me thinking about having the best of both electric and acoustic
Thanks Stew I got a couple of old guitars with a belly
I have this issue on 2007 larrivee, but the bridge glued fine, eould it need to be removed to fix the plate..?
Very good!!! This guitar is re-born!
This is some inception level video. Video inside another video inside another video.
I have a mid-90's Takamine FP360-SC. My local guitar shop says that because of the way the top is routed out to accommodate the aluminum piezo block, there's not much they can do to reduce the belly bulge that's crept in over the decades. Is this a fact?
2:06 pause. “Custom made for D. Erlewine 4-93. Still using tools from “93. Thats awesome.
Nice! I have an Ovation USA balladeer that has some belly warp on it. it's a beautiful guitar but making it very hard to play with that warp. I really would hate to attempt this myself because it's an expensive guitar. I'm wondering how much something like that would cost? and if it would even be worth it? And even though I have electric heat in this apartment in the summertime it can be hot and humid. so I'm thinking if it's going to end of doing that again would it even be worth fixing?
Dog Rox Ovations are fan braced. The tops ripple more than belly. Either way, their pinless bridges lean forward and create high action and murderous intonation. No way to use a bridge truss as there's no tail block to push against, so Belly Reducer is almost your only option. It could be fixed by taking the top off, but it may not be worth it.
Yeah that's what I'm assuming that the bridge doctor won't work because there is no block. but it is swelling upward in back of the bridge giving it a bulge. I'm using extra light strings on it to help with the tension. That seems to help a lot. the only thing I'm curious about is it because it's TOO humid or NOT enough humid? That's causing it?
Perhaps they should make cauls that overcompensate the correction in order to negate the return of the belly?
Why didn't they use stainless, to hold the heat longer?
A fella could press some custom stuff in thinner or whatever available material and stack 'em for more stiffness
alloy is more heat conductive.
Do you use the old bridge or do you have to make a new one?
thanks
If you listen to what the inventor said, the main reason for solving the bellying problem is to avoid replacing the bridge plate and devaluing the instrument. So no, use the orginal bridge, just clean/scrape/sand off the old glue and make sure it is flat before regluing to the newly flattened top.
What is the size of clamp?
super
I clicked on this because I thought it was to help my fat stomach.
Beat me to it
I have a brand new one and it's warped..
WOW!
Is your am tehaking Tour rediendigue
Is there anyone out there who tell me if they have used this on a guitar more than 5 years ago with the guitar not having the belly return?
Yes
You can use simple wooden blocks
So it means the topwood should be completely flat in the normal circumstances. I used to think there should be a little curve across the top. Which is correct?
What about the braces on classical guitar? They would be on the way ....!
None of the pieces fit inside the guitar because of the inner bracing. How can this work without one piece fitting inside under the bridge plate?
lol my 9yr old Tanglewood guitar is in the same states as this (and barely played !)
Wow, nifty. :)
In the last shot, the straight edge was still not sitting flat, it was better, just not perfectly flat.
how long should you let it act?
Answer at 3:12
It depends on how long you want it to stay put. If you want a permanent fix then don't take it off.
Didn't work on my belly thoo
How about some update on how this holds up. I have my doubts.
I don't see why two pieces of stainless plate, shaped to the bridgeplate footprint would not be just as effective. Certainly a lot cheaper than these, at around £100 a pop, for what is essentially two slightly machined billets of alumin-I-um... (clamps not included !!!).
Thanks, i was looking for that info, if clamps where included.
I do like many Stew-Mac tools but I find this to be ridiculous, Why? the main reason I've found for excessive bellying is the top has pulled loose from the x-brace behind the bridge and or the tiny maple bridge plate is beyond help, the fix is to reglue the top to the braces and or replace the bridge plate (with a wood that is less likely to bend, I use Koa) in a larger size. And before you go all crazy about originality 17's are meant to be played most owners would prefer a good player over originality.
David Haxton I got a 1930’ kalamazoo kg-11 ladder braced with a huge belly, any recommendations or ideas? Thanks in advance
@@fleadoggreen9062 Ladder braced guitars can be problematic in this area, I would check to make sure the braces and bridge plate are secure, you may have to replace one or more of the braces. Gibson (Kalamazoo ) didn't always use the best brace stock.
David Haxton thank you
I have found this to be a temporary fix as the belly returns after a short while.
Yeah, you kinda need to do a little more than clamp on hot cauls that cool off quickly. I put a 60 ohm resistor on each caul, with thermistors on each caul, to keep them from making charcoal out of the guitar. I run a variac on the resistors and have thermocouples that monitor the temperatures. It lasts a little longer that way. I have some more tricks too, that help out.
Just long enough to sell it to some sucker 🙄
Why are these soo costly?
You got your concave and convex backwards. Is this a long-range fix or temporary?
@@arshdeepsaluja1376 Because a lot of people are emotionally attached to their guitars making them an easy target for con artists.
This is a temporary fix at best. Use it and go through some seasonal shrink and swell cycles and you'll be right back where you started in no time. Bridge Doctor is best. I put one in my 1937 0-17 5 years ago. The guitar is phenominal. Top is dead flat, intonation is excellent, the sides and back no longer simply reflect... they contribute more to make a more complex voice. Consider the Bridge Truss! I have installed countless versions of my own in my customer's acoustics. 0 complaints. I love ya Dan, but this time it's a no go.
I was looking for a solution to the belly bulge on my guitar. The first video I found that demonstrated the Thompson Belly Reducer actually used it to first flatten out the top of the guitar, and then the guy used the Bridge Doctor to safeguard against the belly issue recurring.
@@poit57 The Bridge Doctor would have done all the work of flattening in just a few minutes. The Thompson BR was totally unnecessary in my opinion.
So yeah, I know this is 4 years later but.....did you have to adjust the neck quite a bit after installing the JLD? I put one on my 1952 Gibson LG2 and the action seemed to raise more than I liked. FWIW, I had my belly flattened by a luthier and a few years later noticed it was bellying up again, that when o installed the bridge doctor
There's a big future in belly reductions...
Physical trainers HATE him!
0:00 this is a Martin 00-17 0:50 this is a 0-17 lol which one is it
Yeah, he made a flub, I think. I make about a thousand a day. To me, that looks like an O and not a OO. What say you?
In ancient egypt. Water+wood spike can make rocks spilt. That's the basics of this repair.
En dut are dute a gare fith lee
Don't trust a guitar without some belly bulge. It's normal. A ton isn't, but some is normal
This isn't to get rid of the slight belly caused by string tension, but to flatten a warped bridge plate so the bridge can sit flush.
seems brutal , not convinced
Cut back on sugar and pizzas.
Sorry, but this hardly reduces the belly, and is temporary at best. I love Erlewine's experience, patience, and expertise...but this looks like a paid add and Erlewine got paid off to sell a lame tool. So many problems with this concept that don't address the actual issues. It should be $19.99 - but wait! There's more!
The guy is a master at guitar repair but the bottom line is that these are ALL commercially motivated videos. Nothing wrong with that but "Caveat emptor". Buyer beware!
That is why I like to look through the comments section with stuff like this. A lot of red flags here. It looks like this expensive tool solves the "bridge belly" problem but from the comments it looks like it solves it only temporarily which is just what I suspected.
having worked with wood for many, many years I can tell you that when wood gets deformed it retains a certain memory. Depending on the wood, the severity of the deformation and the time, after fixing the deformity there is ALWAYS some return to the deformation.
Look through the comments and you'll find reports of some major "spring back" (for lack of a better term) in a short period of time.
Add to that the fact that StewMac charges outrageously high prices and, for me at least, this tool is a rip off. Too much money for a short term result.
If I could make this myself, I would try it but I wouldn't buy it.
Yeah, no.
@@mrfester42 I agree with you. I dont think the tool will retain the flat top because once you take the clamp off, the wood will still be structurally weakened which is what causes it to bow in the first place. You need to either brace or glue or add some sort of stiffener to the wood top there to prevent it from warping back to "normal"
@@mrfester42 It is possible to permanently change the shape of wood, but it takes heat above 240* F for a considerable time. Pressurized steam is the only practical heat source. This fix will produce an elastic change that will spring back in short order.
Can I return my bridge doctor that I bought from StewMac and it didn't work, lol. Sorry Dan I like you a lot but this is ridiculous.
I've never installed one and I don't trust it. I use the JLD Bridge System and Bridge Doctor and always does the trick. And, as you know, no drilling is necessary with a Bridge Doctor.
The bridge doctor works because it is permanently installed.. This one would work too if it was not taken off.
That's cool and Dan is the man but why are people spending $35,000 on an acoustic guitar that is idiotic. Just buy a nice new over priced wooden box with strings for only $2-3,000 and it will sound just as good and won't have these problems.
It's basically a Ponzi scheme to scam people who have more money than they know what to do with. The trouble is that it inflates the prices of the brands who are co conspirators . I paid $600 for a guitar that would be $4000 if it had a different name on the headstock.