Beginner Bridge Pin Fitting

[fishwatcher]

I recently bought a used Martin XLM and of course could not leave good enough alone. I did an overall clean up, fret polishing, string change, and put in a MacNichol unbleached bone saddle (sanded to proper height and polished a bit for some shine).

I also ordered Bob Colosi Martin sized 2A dyed bone pins.. but they didn't fit as a drop in, given I asked for unslotted pins.. and the stock guitar uses slotted pins.

I went back and forth between.. buying new, proper tools, buying less expensive tools with high likelyhood to do the job, and having a pro do it (estimated cost was $65).

Well.. I took the plunge and think I did a decent job. Here's an illustrated view of my journey.

Any feedback.. is appreciated and of course tips are appreciated for others who want to do this in the future.

Bob Colosi dyed bone pins, sized 2C.. stick up WAY high, even without strings inserted. Some reaming would be necessary. Would my inexpensive Amazon reamer do the trick? (ultimately, yes) Or should I buy a dedicated, known 5 degree taper $pecialized tool from Stew Mac?



Here are those same pins compared to how the stock pins sit. Big difference



I took the plunge with the reamer I had on hand, from a tuner upgrade project last year. These were about $10 from Amazon. I also bought some 30 tpi jig saw blades as a hint from a Frank Ford article on inexpensive bridge pin slotting tools.



Taking it slow.. as I had read in so many posts.. I reamed each hole and sized it per pin, being careful to leave some add'l height on the pin, so I didn't overshoot.

Once I did that.. I used the mini saw blades to slot each bridge pin hole to fit the appropriate string. I used a combination of the saw blade and a bit of sand paper around the saw blade, to get what I needed. I stayed vertical as much as I could, but also rounded off a bit to transition smoothly to the existing ramp of each hole. Here's the end result (sorry I don't have a pic of the empty holes at the moment).



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I'm happy with my results, which probably are not technically perfect, since I kind of winged it.

On the topic of not being able to leave well enough alone.. I've ordered some an indian rosewood end pin to replace the white with black dot plastic one that no longer matches the rest of the guitar.

[charles Tauber]

Nice job.

For bridge pin slotting, I've used this saw blade for a few decades. It cuts on the push stroke - into the hole - which I prefer.

https://www.amazon.ca/Excel-Blades-H...%2C153&sr=8-15

I use it in conjunction with two needle files: one "teardrop shaped" and one rat tail.

The reamer you have is for sheet metal, but works well enough on bridge pin holes. I used one like it for many years before buying one specifically for bridge pins.

[lar]

So the guitar originally had slotted pins, and had existing ramps in the bridge. When you changed to unslotted pins you left the ramps alone (as much as possible) and only put a vertical slot entirely through the bridge (hole) to accommodate the string when used with a solid pin. And the width of the slot that you cut varies with the string gauge. Is that correct?

I sure wish I could find someone locally to do this for me. I asked a luthier and he was against it for reasons I don't understand. Seems like a win to me. I'd do it myself but it violates my rule about trying something for the first time on a good guitar.

[fishwatcher]

Your description is spot on, better than my own.

I called a reputable luthier and it was against what he recommended too. He suggested I return the solid pins and get slotted ones that would fit better.

From what I read and what another very well regarded shop said they would do for $65.. what I wanted was not out of the ordinary.. and is recommended as a best practice by many.