Official Luthiers Forum!

What method do you folks use for saddle slotting and are there jigs out there besides the stewmac version?
-j.

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“If God dwells inside us like some people say, I sure hope He likes enchiladas, because that's what He's getting”
-jack handy

i have been using a dremel in a cochran base for the last ten years or so.

a few months ago i was utterly bowled over by david collins
jig. it was also shown here in a recent post. doubt i have the metalworking chops to reproduce it but i may still try. it can be seen here:

   http://www.luthiersforum.com/forum/forum_p osts.asp?TID=10984&KW=David+Collins#forumTop

lmi also sells a saddle slotting jig. my shop build version is loosly based on theirs.

I built the Slyvan Wells jig to use with my dremel with the bridge off the guitar. It works very well.

Ron

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OLD MAN formerly (and formally) known as:

Ron Wisdom

Somewhere in the middle of Arkansas......

Well...are you talking about "repair" work where the bridge is still on the guitar or building new bridges from wood blanks?

If #1, then Stew-Mac is a really nice unit, with all the see-thru advantages and adjustability.
If you are building from scratch, then you can make your own that works for your style/shape of bridge.

If I can find a photo of mine, I'll post it later.
Mine uses a laminate trimmer, fitted to a clear plastic base and a 1/8" downcut spiral carbide mill. Works slick as a whistle!

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Hank Mauel

I use a pin router.
I am about to post a tutorial on making a classical bridge that will show the whole process.

Check out the recent thread "My new saddle mill" to see my saddle mill and
David Collin's mill as well. This is my tool of choice for slotting a bridge that
is already attached to the guitar. I have never been happy with the results I
got with the rigs based on the Dremel tool.

I use my milling machine to cut slots in new bridges before I glue them
down.

Louis

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- Louis Freilicher

Oh No! Not another learning experience!

For cutting blanks off the guitar, the small parts holder that Lee Valley sells works great on a router table.

Small Parts Miter Jig

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David White, Toronto

"All my favourite singers can't sing."

I use the horizontial mortiser on my Inca table saw. I use an end mill and I tilt the table a few degrees to tilt the saddle back a little.

                           Paul

I shall be using the StewMac bridge slotter and their bridge intonator tool to get perfect intonation on my first steel string build. Anyone else have and use the intonator tool ?

I got me one of them stewy mac jigs on ebay and just play'in around it seems OK, came with the little dremel base thiny ma jig as well so all is shweet

Cheers

Kim

Like Louis, I've never been satisfied with a Dremel cut. Even if they did have
decent bearings, a 1/8" shank is just too flexible to handle much load and it
can be rather difficult to get a clean even cut. It can be done, but really
needs to be cut in several shallow, slow passes. Most Dremel bases are
incapable of plunging and very difficult to keep straight as you reset the
height. The Bishop Cochran jig is the only one I know of that can plunge
consistantly straight.

I built my jig around a laminate trimmer as did Louis, Hank, and many
others. For bridges off the guitar I sometimes use my milling machine. The
"My new saddle mill" thread is on page three of discussions right now, and
may provide some ideas if you want to make your own mill.

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Eschew obfuscation, espouse elucidation.

I made a jig from scrap plywood based on the one shown in Kinkeads book. His uses cams to hold the bridge blank but I found that they didn't hold things firmly enough so in the end I just used fixed blocks to hold it in place. It aint pretty but it works as long as you arent in a hurry (multiple passes with a dremel)

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Richard

Laminate trimmer with Stewmac down cut spiral bits in an 1/4" adaptor here. Some day I will make a more permanent mill or jig for it, for now I "plunge" as best I can by tipping the trimmer in and following a fence. The method leaves something to be desired, but it sure beats the Dremel IMO.

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Rian Gitar og Mandolin