Official Luthiers Forum!

Routing a saddle slot on a new build.
Forgot to tighten the router body plunge base retaining clip for the cut.
Fortunately the router body''s weight seems to have ensured a flat bottom, and ended up with the slot's width even but 0.3 mm (12 thou) wider than planned.

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The name catgut is confusing. There are two explanations for the mix up.

Catgut is an abbreviation of the word cattle gut. Gut strings are made from sheep or goat intestines, in the past even from horse, mule or donkey intestines.

Otherwise it could be from the word kitgut or kitstring. Kit meant fiddle, not kitten.

Enter the saddle blank..

Yuppers.
Adapt your bridge saddle to fit. No one will notice and you'll look like a genius if they do.

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"Act your age, not your shoe size" - Prince

Do you route your saddle on or off the top?

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Measure Twice,

Karl Borum

Personally, this is why I create the bridge entirely off the guitar.

I’m glad for you that your saddle slot is a consistent width and that you’ll be able to get away with it.

For me it’s no challenge to get the saddle slot and pins in just the right spot.

But the risk of doing it after glue up is not worth the reward IMO. The reward only being that the saddle slot is in the right place, which can be achieved by other means. Whereas if you experience a bit breaking, the brushes on your router going out, or a power outage mid cut etc., you’re faced with either having to fill and reroute the slot or worse, having to remove a fresh laid bridge, both of which are time sucks. I build in a very risk averse method…

Bridge glued on the top.

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The name catgut is confusing. There are two explanations for the mix up.

Catgut is an abbreviation of the word cattle gut. Gut strings are made from sheep or goat intestines, in the past even from horse, mule or donkey intestines.

Otherwise it could be from the word kitgut or kitstring. Kit meant fiddle, not kitten.

Used to rout it off the top, just I prefer doing it this way and use a floating saddle to set intonation for the particular guitar's set-up (strings, action etc.
Each to his own.

_________________
The name catgut is confusing. There are two explanations for the mix up.

Catgut is an abbreviation of the word cattle gut. Gut strings are made from sheep or goat intestines, in the past even from horse, mule or donkey intestines.

Otherwise it could be from the word kitgut or kitstring. Kit meant fiddle, not kitten.