Official Luthiers Forum!

I have used a variety of materials for saddle shim stock when in a pinch including: plastic, bone, copper & brass. I don't make it a practice to shim saddles as I would rather cut a new one if time and circumstances permit but there are occasions when shims come in handy. Just curious as to what different materials you have used?

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tim...
http://www.mcknightguitars.com

I've used the same material as the bridge with good success.

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"I want to know what kind of pickups Vince Gill uses in his Tele, because if I had those, as good of a player as I am, I'm sure I could make it sound like that.
Only badly."

It's a great practice when you have a 40-60 year old piece of ivory in an old guitar. I have used ebony and RW veneer.

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Mark Joy

mjoy Guitars

Tim,
I've used pieces of piano "ivory". My piano tech figures it was really whalebone, which doesn't make me feel much better. But they were gathered from a street where a piano had slid out of a man's pickup--on the way to be refinished. The keys were the only salvageable part. And the material is perfect--it has a very slight taper, so that if one side of the saddle needs to be raised up a bit more, the ivory can be oriented that way. But like you said, the situations that call for this are only occasional.

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From Nacogdoches...the oldest town in Texas.

http://www.stephenkinnaird.com

Thanks for the tip on piano keys. Never thought of them. I have a bag of them in my closet but have never used them or ivory before. I assume you cut them in slivers on a bandsaw?

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tim...
http://www.mcknightguitars.com

I use maple, .020 thick. (I have never gone more than that) Remember a .020 shim will only result in .010 change in action.

I put my spectum analyzer on a guitar before and after inserting the shim and could not see (or hear) any difference .... but some customers might complain so I don't always do it.

I have put the shim in on new guitars that I am shipping out so if the guitar "settles" in a little or if the player wants slightly lower action, it can be accomplished rather quickly.

RE: HGF, it might not be a bad idea to "shim" my saddles before I go, or as Tim is thinking, bring some along. We'll see, I hope not to be messing too much with the guitars once I get to the show. Even though it is "work," I am really looking forward to getting out of the shop and mingling with the players ... oh and the builders too. I am planing it as a "working" vacation. Well seeing as don't have anything strung-up yet, I better get going!

johno38535.3291203704

mahogany veneer

[QUOTE=Tim McKnight] Thanks for the tip on piano keys. Never thought of them. I have a bag of them in my closet but have never used them or ivory before. I assume you cut them in slivers on a bandsaw?[/QUOTE]

I'm not that courageous, Tim. I've always done it by hand w/ a jeweler's saw. One would need a zero clearance throat on their band saw, or one could temporarily bond them to something, then slice them up that way. They are a bit delicate--in small dimensions--as regards such rough handling.

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From Nacogdoches...the oldest town in Texas.

http://www.stephenkinnaird.com

   I hate shimming but admit to doing it . I like to use something that is harder than the bridge and slightly smaller than the slot of the saddle. Most of the time I use stainless steel shims as I use alot of that stuffand it is available to me.
john

I made a batch of ebony shims. They fit perfectly in the slot. My theory is that if I didn't cut the slot as deep, the bottom would be ebony so why not use that as a shim. The only other material I would consider would be bone, same theory as the ebony. If I didn't cut the saddle as low, the bottom would be bone so why not as a shim. Just my .02 worth.

I cut up some curly maple veneer for purfling (using the old pasta cutter trick). When I need a saddle shim, I just use a piece of that.

Many years ago I bought a brand new Ramirez 1a classical. It came from Madrid with a shim under the saddle. As near as I can tell, the shim was made from Spanish cedar.

Best,

Michael

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Live to Play, Play to Live

I use the same material that the saddle is made of, CA it to the
bottom of the saddle and then plane the graft to the correct
thickness. Afterward I belt sand it close to the proper height and
finish up on a surface plate. Often you can barely see that a shim
has been installed. Doing it this way I feel I'm on the most solid
ground for assuring a customer that the sound will not be changed.