Order Bridges

Old Cutting Board Hard Maple

I've had this wood in my shop for the past 10 years. I re-visited making a few bridges from it of late and was very surprised how great this old maple sounds. It's very similar to the 1941 gym floor wood. It's very balanced in tone and has a nice clear high end. I guess my ear has gotten better in the past 10 years and I just didn't realize what I had in this wood. Some of this wood has a darker color than other pieces, much like the old countertop wood.

Price: $22.00 + $4.00 shipping in lower 48 .....$14.00 shipping to Canada.. shipping to all other countries @ $18.00.

I offer sizes: 1/2'', 9/16", 5/8'',.656", 11/16'', 3/4", or custom height
Your choice of spacing: Standard, Crowe, or a spacing of your specifications. I offer radius tops as well.

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Old Countertop Hard Maple

I am very fortunate to receive some more of this great bridge wood from my friend Rock Bartley from Kalamazoo MI. This hard maple came from an old countertop that Rock was demoing on a carpentry project of his. I probably have enough of this wood to make about 65 bridges from. This and the Drop Forge wood are the best bridge wood I've put on my banjos in the 10 years I've been making bridges. The countertop was installed in the 1930's. It's It falls right into pre-war time period.

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click on sound file below to hear Rockin' Chair Hard Maple on my Kalamazoo tenor conversion.

Rockin' Chair Hard Maple

This hard maple came from a disassembled rockin' chair that was given to my wife by a co-worker. Not sure of the age exactly but it's at least 35 years old. This wood has nice volume, clarity and sustain. Reminds me of the Wurlitzer Organ wood I use to have. Looks and sounds very much like the Organ wood that Y.Z. Newberry sent me years back. Very " bell like " tone.

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Click on sound files below to hear the 1941 Gym Floor Hard Maple on my RB-00 Kalamazoo/Sullivan conversion mahogany banjo.

1941 Gym Floor Hard Maple

Thanks to Steve Shepherd for sending me this old gym floor wood that came from a middle school gym floor in New London, NH. The school was built in 1941. This wood is much like the Drop Forge maple except it has a brighter top end with a nice mid range. It has a nice "pop" coming off the strings and is very responsive. Great volume and power!

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Click on sound files below to hear the Drop Forge Hard Maple bridge on my curly maple banjo with TN20 ring/RK 3-ply rim

Click on sound files below to hear Doug Knecht play the Drop Forge Hard Maple bridge on his Yates V33 ring/rim & Davis mahogany neck .

Drop Forge Hard Maple

I was very fortunate to have Parker Buckley, a customer, send me some old hard maple that was used to hold the weights on a drop forge hammer at the Irwin Auger Bit Company. He had been holding onto this wood for the past 30 years. This maple has really nice mid range as well as a great 4th string. Very powerful tone with plenty of volume. It sounds great on both my curly maple banjo as well as my mahogany.

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Click on sound files below to hear the Table Leg Hard Maple bridge on my RB-OO Kalamazoo/Sullivan conversion.

Click on sound file below to hear the Table Leg Hard Maple bridge on my style 3 copy Memphis Belle no hole/Cox 2-ply rim

Table Leg Hard Maple

I got two large hard maple tables from a local Dillard's clearance store at the Asheville Outlet Mall. My wife works there and the manager was going to throw them in the dumpster. I was able to salvage them and boy! I'm glad I did! This is excellent sounding hard maple. It is nice and bright with just the right sustain. Very responsive and volume to spare. The tables are around 25 to 30 years old. Sound files coming soon.

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Click on sound file below to hear the Table Top Hard Maple bridge on Royce Burt's TB-11 conversion

Table Top Hard Maple

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Click on sound file below to hear the Old Gym Floor Hard Maple on my mahogany banjo with Memphis Belle no hole ring.

Old Gym Floor Hard Maple

This Old Gym Floor Hard Maple was discovered and given to me by
my good friend Kirk Barker from Suches, GA.. Kirk and Barry Abernathy drove up one day and brought me some of this maple flooring that came out of a school gym around the area he lives. It is some great sounding bridge wood. Very much like the Select Maple but a little more volume. This wood is around 60 to 70 years old.

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Click on sound files below to hear the Birdseye Hard Maple, with African Blackwood top, on my mahogany banjo with Memphis Belle no hole ring.

Click on sound file below to hear Jason Johnson play the Birdseye Hard Maple.

Birdseye Hard Maple

This Birdseye Hard Maple comes from a new exotic wood supplier
here in Western North Carolina. You will find some birdseye markings in the grain of these bridges. I hand pick close grain 2" x 2" x 18" blocks. I've tried African Blackwood as well as Gabon Ebony for top wood and both sound great on this wood. This is one of the closest in tone to the old flooring wood that I've come across.

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The short sound file "John Henry" is Roasted Red Maple with a Katalox top
The "Hide Head Blues" sound file is Roasted Red Maple with Ebony top.

Click on sound file below to hear Royce Burt playing his TB-1 conversion and Bowtie with the Roasted Red Maple bridge

*New* Roasted Red Maple

This *New* second batch of Roasted Red Maple has some beautiful markings on the quarter sawn back side. The grain lines are nice and straight and are closer than my last batch. This wood is a little darker. Just like the last batch, this wood has excellent tone like most Red Maple. Nice sustain with a richness to the notes. Excellent 4th string as well.

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click sound file below to hear John Mark Batchelor play the Red Maple Bridge

Click sound file below to hear Tim Purcell play the Red Maple Bridge

Red Maple

Red Maple Bridges are made from the finest red maple selections. The tone is very clear, open, with good volume and sustain. A great choice for melodic style players as well as Bluegrass Scruggs style players.

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Click sound files below to hear Tim Purcell play the Ambrosia Red Maple Bridge

New Ambrosia Red Maple

Ambrosia Maple is simply Maple wood that was infested with the Ambrosia beetle. Don't let that turn you away!! It has turned out to be some of the best bridge wood I've come across. It is very much like the regular Red Maple I have except for the color variations from the beetle infestation. This new Ambrosia Maple has quite a bit of dis-coloration through out the wood. I stay away from the beetle bore holes but you may see some coloration in some places on these bridges. It has volume to spare and very balanced all over the fingerboard. It produces a nice 4th string bass tone too.

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Click sound file below to here the *New* Select Hard Maple played on my RB-OO Kalamazoo/Sullivan conversion

Click sound file below to hear the "New" Select Hard Maple played by Doug Knecht

NEW Select Hard Maple

**Just in** New Select Hard Maple! This new select hard maple is the best new hard maple I've come across to date. This maple comes from a local exotic wood supply house. It has great note separation and with just the right balance of sustain. I have two varieties of Select Hard Maple. One comes from outside North Carolina and the other comes from within a 30 mile radius of Asheville, North Carolina. Both are very similar in tone.

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New Black Locust

This *New* Black Locust comes from a local hardwood lumber yard. The wood originated from southern Virginia. Locust has been a favorite bridge wood to many open back clawhammer players. The hard dense wood tends to give a nice quick decay with great volume and note separation.

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4 String Bridges

4 string bridges available in your wood choice as well as your choice of height and string spacing. Email me your specifications...purcellbridges@gmail.com

4 string tenor regular style. Works with Mike's Tenor Mute.

Price: $22.00 + $4.00 shipping in lower 48 .....$14.00 shipping to Canada.. shipping to all other countries @ $18.00.

I offer sizes: 1/2'', 9/16", 5/8'',.656", 11/16'', 3/4", or custom height
Your choice of spacing of your specifications. I offer radius tops as well.

Rockin' Chair Hard Maple​

1941 Gym Floor Hard Maple

Drop Forge Hard Maple

Table Leg Hard Maple

Table Top Hard Maple

click sound file below to hear John Mark Batchelor play the Red Maple Bridge

Click sound file below to hear Tim Purcell play the Red Maple Bridge

Red Maple

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*New* Ambrosia Red Maple

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*NEW* Select Hard Maple

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*New* Black Locust

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4 String Bridges

4 string bridges available in your wood choice as well as your choice of height and string spacing. Email me your specifications...purcellbridges@gmail.com

Rockin' Chair Hard Maple

New Ambrosia Red Maple

NEW Select Hard Maple

New Black Locust