Glueing the Bridge
On lutes, the bridge is glued before the top goes on the body. This means that the luthier must work with precision and anticipation, for that the bridge will be perfectly located once the top is glued onto the body. The finish will also be applied later – the process of removing finish from the bridge area as it is known from guitar making is not necessary on a lute. The reason for this specific technique is most likely found in the absence of an accessible sound hole.