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A friend of mine has a 1978 D-28 .The action is extremely high.i figured I could sand the bottom of the saddle to correct it but I couldn`t remove the saddle.It appears like it may have been glued.Also grooves have been worn in the top of the saddle.I didn`t know if it was possible to file each groove lower as happens at the nut or try and get the saddle out by breaking it or whatever, and replace it with a new one.Any ideas would be appreciated.
                      James W B

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James W Bolan
Nashville Tennessee

martins of that era are often ready for a neck set.

but briefly your assessment should be as follows:

what environment has the guitar been in? high relative humidity will raise the top and thus the action. if it has been in humid conditions it must be dried out at rh 45 - 50% for a while before you assess what to do.

after drying, use a straight edge to determine where the neck is pointing. if the straight edge laid on the neck is pointing below the top of the bridge it is unlikely that you will be able to get the action down with work on the saddle alone unless it has an excessively high projection above the bridge, i.e. > 1/4".

measure the action at the 12th fret. should be no more than 6/64" on the bass e and 3/64" or so on the treble e. some like an action lower than this. anything above this has to be doubled to get how much has to be removed from the saddle to lower the action to that level.

is there enough saddle to remove what you need to and still maintain a minimum 1/8" projection above the bridge?

if not it is neck reset time.

as to removing the saddle, if the instument has been in high rh the bridge will swell and the saddle can be difficult to remove. may be easier after drying.

if someone has glued it in, it may have to be routed out and a new saddle made.crazymanmichael38928.0198032407

Thanks crazymanmichael.I really dig the name.I`ve checked the action at the 12th,it`s 4mm`s low E 3mm`s high E.I also discovered the relief in the neck was about .015 which some say is about max.I`ll check your other specs and determine if there will be enough saddle left above the bridge.If I have to route the old saddle out can I use a regular downcut bit on the bone ,or will it wreck the bit? After looking at it the first time I got a bad feeling that a neck re-set may be in order.Since I`ve only just recently finished my first guitar ,this may be beyond my knowledge.Thanks appreciate your help.
                      James W B

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James W Bolan
Nashville Tennessee

James,

It does sound like it needs a reset. However, if your friend takes it to a budget shop they may offer him the cheaper option of removing the bridge and shaving wood off of the bottom. Discourage him from doing this! Bridges are a certain thickness for a reason, and thinning it will wreck the tone. Then he'll need a new bridge AND a neck reset! You often end up paying more when you take the "cheap" route.

an upcut will work much better because it clears the routed material out of the slot and does not cause the bit to overheat. you would have to do it in several passes of course.

don't forget to check on the humidity issues though. if it has been subjected to high humidity to tops can rise considerably and slowly drying out the instrument in an rh controlled environment is the first priority, then remeasure and decide on a course of action.

assuming you have a rh controlled environment, one way to check its degree of humidification is to put it in a sealed gargage bag with a hygrometer. observe the change in rh inside the bag. if it goes up it indicates that the guitar is wet and needs a good drying out. it is possible in extreme cases for a guitar to hold about a pint of absorbed water. if you have a good scale weighing the guitar before and after drying it gives a good estime of the water it held.

Crazyman and Carlton. I checked out Frank Fords neck re set article and checked everything you guys have said.With a straight edge sitting on top of the frets ,it hits the middle of the bridge.I can`t imagine it could ever dry out enough to correct itself.The bridge is 5/16th`s.I`ll bet it`s gonna be a neck re-set.
                        Thanks Guys
                        James W B

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James W Bolan
Nashville Tennessee

it's a neck reset.

5/16 is a thin bridge. nevertheless, before you do the reset, check the humidification of the instrument, dry it if necessary, straighten the neck and then using the math in the s-m downloadable instructons for their neck reset tool you can begin to calculate how much to take off.

Thanks Crazy. Will do.
                         James W BJames W B38930.8283564815

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James W Bolan
Nashville Tennessee