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I saw a post recently on bridge making jigs and I thought I would post about how I construct mine. I make pinless bridge, which means they are a little more complicated- or at least my design is.

I first setup my fence on my router table with stops- making sure they are equidistant from the bit. I use a 1/8" downcut spiral bit to route the saddle slot. After testing on scrap, I move on to the blank. In order to achieve the angle of the saddle slot, I attach a 4 mm square on the treble end of the blank. This is important. Carefully lower the blank into the bit and slowly feed it through until you reach the other block. I then hold the blank in that position and turn off the router. I only remove the blank once I am certain the bit has come to a complete stop.

I then draw the center line on the blank- referencing the saddle slot- not the length of the blank itself. I line up that center line with the center line on my master bridge template.

I then rough out the shape on the bandsaw- get close to the line so my router doesn't have to do much work later.

I line up the roughed out bridges center line with the center line on my routing template. The bridge is held on by double stick tape and two toggle clamps.

I then route using a bottom bearing bit to follow the template. I also leave in my adjustment wrench to use as a starting pin. It is essential that you route carefully- never route uphill on the grain. If you do- the last picture will show you what the result will be.

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After the bridge has been shaped, I transfer the center line to the front edge. I also mark the outside of the saddle on the top and the front- no real reason- I just like to. I then mark a line 4mm from the bottom of the bridge blank of the front side. This is where the bottom of the string holes will hit.

I then use my drilling jig to drill the holes. The jig consists of a moveable plate that sets the angle of the drill and a spacing template that is held in place with toggle clamps. Line up the drilling template so the it is centered with the bridge blank. I make sure that the saddle side of the bridge is parallel to the plexi drilling template. This is important. But more important is that the show face is against the adjustment plate- otherwise your strings will be coming out of the bottom of the bridge. I then drill with the corresponding bits.

The blank is now ready for carving and final fit and sand. Here is what mine looks like all done.

And as promised- the final picture is what happens when you route uphill on the grain.

Thanks for reading!

_________________
ELEVATE || Next Level Lutherie
http://elevatelutherie.com
&
http://ensorguitars.com

Thanks for sharing!

This tutorial is much better than the one done by Tony in NYC!

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http://www.CostaGuitars.com
PMoMC