Saddle slot help

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Saddle slot help

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DavidT

Posts: 181
Joined: Mar. 17 2005
From: Seattle, Washington, USA

Saddle slot help

Hi,
While lowering the action on my guitar I ran into a situation where I need to make the saddle slot deeper. The slot is 2mm wide and the saddle is really low now.
Has any one tried to make the slot deeper? Which tool do I need to do this job?
Thanks for your feedbacks.
Dave

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Mar. 25 2005 21:02:49

Guest

RE: Saddle slot help (in reply to DavidT)

Hi Dave.

I have lowered the saddle slot itself a couple of times. If it doesn't have to be lowered more than to the level of the wings it's not to difficult. You don't need a motor tool and a router jig. Remember that once, guitars were made with hand tools only. The most difficult part is to make the saddle slot completely level in the bottom.

You need a very fine razor saw. (Stew -mac have got one which is 0,08") a 2mm chisel and a 2mm thick file with cut edges. These are special tools, and therefor expensive, so now you should think about if it's worth it, or if it's better to have the thing done by a luthier.

Work process. You cut with the razor saw along the 2 sides of the saddle slot, remove the centre part with the chisel, level out with the file and make yourself a new saddle. Thats it.

You can, of course, do it all with the file only, if we only talk about a very small amount of wood.

Making saddle slots deeper is normally a part of a process where yo in order to lower the action of the guitar have shaved the bridge height so that the saddle could be lowered more than originally. If that's what has happened, you can run into break angle problems and this can only be fixed by changing the tieblock to a 12 hole tieblock. That's outside my domain. I do not have the tools for that, but I know of luthiers who do it here in Granada

Anders

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Mar. 26 2005 7:24:23