Should I glue down side bridges & top?

[David Knutson]

Working on a 12/11 HD using plans from Folkcraft. The plans show the side bridge straddles the top and the pin block. I made the conclusion that this meant the side bridge and top are not glued down. Now I'm wondering if this was wrong as I'm not sure what is going to keep the side bridges from being pushed towards the middle. Is this going to be a problem?

It's not too late to fix this if necessary. The options I'm considering are -

1. Move the side bridges outward about 1/8-in to where they clear the top and then glue them in place. This will change the string lengths and I'm not sure of the impact that will have.

2. On my build, I used a 3/4-in wide, 2-in tall full-length block for the lining. This gives me room to glue a spacer in place under the side bridges and glue the bridges in place. In my build this would leave a 3/8 in shelf for the top to sit on. The top will be trimmed fit.

3. Glue the top and bridges in place.

Suggestions/Ideas?

[Barry Daniels]

No glue is necessary.