Double Bass New Bridge

[ZanVooden]

Hi,

I play upright in a jazz band, and recently while playing the bridge broke on me (i bought the bass from an high school, they were gettting rid of it and i got it from them. so i assume it wasnt treated nicely.) I was wondering, after looking at the cost of a new bridge, and what not, if it would be reasonable to make a new bridge.
Im decent with wood tools and all and i do a lot of wookworking as a hobby.
So, if anyone here, could help me out by, first off is it reasonable, and second what type of wood are they made from, and how difficult would it be.

Any help is appreciated,
david

 

[Silversorcerer]

Bridges are usually hard maple. It is important to have the grain running straight across as well as straight through the bridge and it must be even to prevent warping. I don't want to discourage you, but if you haven't done this before at all, you could at least start with a nice Despiau bridge blank that is already sawn correctly. I started with one of those and used Flexcut knives (the mini-pelican and the detail knife) and a model building plane. I was carving for 24 hrs. minimum after cutting the top with a jig saw. It came out very nice, but be prepared to be more meticulous and patient than with anything you have done before. Making a properly fitting bridge is probably one of the trickiest things an amateur wood worker could undertake and the knives were $20 each and the model plane (a cheap one made in India) was about $25. And you will visit your sharpening stones frequently and those aren't free either. Incidentally, I wasn't trying to save money doing my own bridge. I enjoy the carving and hope to do much more of it.