OK, this is my first time posting pics, so it may take a few tries.
The first is the old bridge/saddle. The saddle has a thin shim underneath it.
When I take the shim out, it is too low to use as is, and I may want to shave some off the bottom of the saddle to lower it further.
So, I filed down the top of the bridge until I could use the existing saddle without the shim. This took a while. Shown here is when I was done taking off material, but before I did a final sanding of the whole top of the bridge.
I strung it up and I'm trying it like this for now.
I think the action is still a tad higher than I want, but I'm going to stick with it for a week or so and see how it feels. I will probably end up shaving some off the bottom of the saddle to lower it more, which will likely mean taking more off the top of the bridge as well. I really just wanted to see how this worked before I went too far with it. Seems to work fine.
The strings are 0.5" off the soundboard of the guitar at the saddle, so I think I am fine taking it down more if I want to. The action is about 0.110 at the 12th fret, and there is about .008" relief in the neck, measured at the 7th fret between the 1st and 14th fret.
Are the pictures always this small?
You're doing a great job. You are on the right track. You can shave some more, deepen the saddle route, and file the bottom of the saddle as you say. A very fine job! :D
The pictures are nice even if they are small. I don't know how to get them bigger in your case, usually the size is too big. What a nice piece of work :D
I nearly did this on my 1970 Martin D35, but sold it within acceptable tolerances. A luthier did my 1969 D28 and it turned out beautiful.
Like a bird on the wire,
like a drunk in a midnight choir
I have tried in my way to be free.
get rid of the shim so you have more saddle inserted. The issue you may run into is the saddle will no longer stand straight, or the bridge may crack due to forward stress on the saddle. Notching the pin holes is a good idea if you are doing this.
get rid of the shim so you have more saddle inserted. The issue you may run into is the saddle will no longer stand straight, or the bridge may crack due to forward stress on the saddle. Notching the pin holes is a good idea if you are doing this.
Thanks.
I did remove the shim. That was why I needed to take down the top of the bridge (look at the second picture in my last post)
Yes, I did notch the pin holes on the highest few strings, especially the high E.
