Is it bone?

[grewt]

So I want to replace the nut and saddle on my Larry with bone but i'm not the first owner of this guitar, but i'm not 100% certain that the saddle I have isn't already bone.
I'm sure the nut is not bone because i can tell from the texture and feel if it that it's probably tusq. The saddle i'm not so sure.

Is there any way to "test" it somehow or do you just go by how it looks/feels?

Thanks for any advice.

Steve

[ljguitar]

Originally Posted by grewt

...Is there any way to "test" it somehow or do you just go by how it looks/feels?

Hi Steve…
I've replaced saddles without knowing whether the old one was bone or not, in fact even when I knew it was because it was worn.

I suggest you call Bob Colosi (forum member & sponsor who makes saddles for a living) and chat with him. He is at guitarsaddles.com

He is the most knowledgeable person I know and will likely help you zero in on your info.

[L20A]

Touch the saddle with a hot needle, in a place that wont show if it melts.
Bone doesn't melt.

[Wade Hampton]

Originally Posted by L20A

Touch the saddle with a hot needle, in a place that wont show if it melts.
Bone doesn't melt.

Right. And it'll smell different than plastic - if it's bone, it won't quite be a "burnt hair" smell, but it'll be somewhere in that ballpark. Tusq or other hard synthetics will smell more like plastic.


whm

[ljguitar]

Originally Posted by Wade Hampton

Right. And it'll smell different than plastic - if it's bone, it won't quite be a "burnt hair" smell, but it'll be somewhere in that ballpark. Tusq or other hard synthetics will smell more like plastic.

Hi Wade…
Yes, for me smell is the key. If I'm trimming a saddle (on the side of my grinding wheel), the smell is a dead give-away.

Bone smells like nothing else (your burnt hair suggestion is good). And it doesn't soften like man-made stuff.

By the way, for all your do-it-your-selfers I stick a self adhesive circular sanding sheet on the side of my grinding wheel to sand saddles on because I can hold them vertically and sand the entire length at once and see what I'm doing while doing it.

I only ruined a couple cheap ones when I learned this technique (quite a few years back), and it has served me well. I clamp the saddle upside down in a vice, and mark a line on both sides of the saddle where I want to sand to, and then grind/sand lightly and carefully to that mark.

One other thought, I tap the saddle or drop it a short distance (6'') onto a piece of granite and the 'tone' it gives off is usually a give-away. Man made stuff often clicks instead of ringing.

[vintageparlors]

Bone smell.....think dentist office.

[MikeD]

Originally Posted by vintageparlors

Bone smell.....think dentist office.

It's also similar to the smell from PRK laser eye surgery... not pleasant to smell your own eyes burning as the laser tears into them, but the end results were worth it!

[deja]

Originally Posted by MikeD

It's also similar to the smell from PRK laser eye surgery... not pleasant to smell your own eyes burning as the laser tears into them, but the end results were worth it!

Or the smell of laser cauterization when having a large basal cell tumor being removed from your face - a horrid smell.

[Rick Jones]

Bone smells vaugley bleach like when I sand it, I find.

[ljguitar]

Originally Posted by vintageparlors

Bone smell.....think dentist office.

Thanks for the memories…

[Wade Hampton]

Originally Posted by vintageparlors

Bone smell.....think dentist office.

Oh, yes - thanks for the sensory memory.


whm

[Chris Kemp]

Originally Posted by L20A

Touch the saddle with a hot needle, in a place that wont show if it melts.
Bone doesn't melt.

+1 The hot needle trick works every time.

[devellis]

Originally Posted by Rick Jones

Bone smells vaugley bleach like when I sand it, I find.

Rick, right you are. The bone is bleached to brighten and sanitize it and the smell is distinctive if the friction from sanding isn't high enough to give it the "drilled tooth" smell.