#1
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Enlarge bridge saddle slot
I want to install a Baggs LB6 pickup in a guitar that has a 3/32 inch saddle slot, so the slot has to be enlarged to 1/8 inch. The last time I had this done, it cost about $200 and took several weeks. The luthier did a good job, but I’m wondering if there’s a way that I could do it without tooling up and building/buying a proper jig. I don’t mind slow and manual.
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#2
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Not really. A router requires a guide to make a straight, uniform slot. I have enlarged saddle slots with a chisel, but I don't recommend it.
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#3
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$200 and several weeks? Yikes.
Although it takes enough time to rig up a router guide and a appropriate way to secure it, the job is simple for anyone that's reasonably competent with tools. The only thing that should have taken "several weeks" would be fitting your job into the shop work queue. It's a 30 minute job. |
#4
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new saddle, too
A new saddle 1/8" thick, will be needed. And as long as the saddle's getting swapped, maybe a review of setup (this is called 'specification creep') would be a good thing to do.
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#5
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intonation
Quote:
Ron |
#6
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I agree. I've done this a few times now. It took me years to collect all the right tools, knowledge and skills to make and use a guide template to hold and align the Dremel router absolutely perfectly, so that you don't accidentally destroy the bridge slot. But, once you have the skills and tools, it's pretty easy .
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Leonard 1918 Gibson L-1 1928 Gibson L-4 (Blond w/Ebony Fret-board) 1930's Kalamazoo KG-32 1930's Gretsch F-50 1934 Gibson L-7 1934 Gibson L-50 (KG-11/14 Body Shape) 1935 Gibson L-50 (Flat-back) 1935 Gibson L-30 (Flat-back) 1942 Gibson L-50 (WWII Banner Head) 1948 Gibson L-50 1949 Epiphone Blackstone "a sharp mind cuts cleaner than a sharp tool" |