belly to shrink

[thomannfan]

Hi
I have an old dreadnought style Hondo that has a clear belly hump issue that I am certain is affecting the lay of the bridge. There is a difference of .03 over the 20th fret between relaxed and clamped belly when I stretch a straight edge from the nut to the saddle.

I have tried both humidifying while placing 20 pounds of weights on the bulge over several days and later on humidifying for a week with clamps compressing the belly. Not a significant change noted over 2 weeks of humidifying and compression methods.

I have not yet applied heat to the top.

Under no tension, the neck is perfectly flat.

The saddle is old and clearly has been worn/filed over time to correct the action.

Bridge is fully contacted.

Neck is not pulling away...yet.

I was using light strings when I noticed the issue.

My questions:

1. Should I have humidified and clamped for longer than a week for the desired effect?
2. Was I missing a step in this process? Not keen on removing a bridge to fix the belly. Under the bridge is nice and flat.
3. Should I have been applying heat to this process as well? If so, duration? temperature?
4. Should I just go and install a bridge doctor?

I know I will need to install a higher saddle as there was real buzz off the bridge due to strings contacting the bridge due to the low saddle. I am hoping that the bulge correction will adjust for the new saddle.

I will post a separate thread from a you tube video that details his successful process and ask if it seems like a good strategy.

Looking forward to your replies.

Paul

[Bowie]

This isn't a simple fix and if you don't want to remove the bridge I would stop wasting your time on it. Once the top has warped and has taken on a new form, there's a good chance humidity alone isn't going to change it. I've never seen this actually fixed with just humidity. You need heat for it to take on a new shape and (hopefully) stay that way. Taking the bridge off lets you get enough surface and leverage to flatten things out. And, the bridge is sometimes part of the problem if it has changed in shape too.

I have had luck with the Thompson belly reducer. If you don't want to spend that amount at least look at the videos and see what they are doing. Sometimes, the wood will warp again if it's an issue with the board, bracing, and tension. But, if something in particular allowed it to warp, flattening it with heat might bring a permanent fit.

[Rudy4]

JLD Bridge Doctor, available through StuMac and many other sources.