Accoustic Bridge Mod Really and Truly Complete

When I said this project was done I was mostly telling the truth. The gross modifications were done. The bridge was placed, shaped and intonated.

Upon tuning it up with more than three strings (all I used when filing the bridges) I found a couple of buzzes. One was a poorly shaped channel in the low E bridge. I widened it toward the sound hole. Fixed.

The other one took longer. Remember how I anchored the new bridge to a piece of brass inside the body? Ya. There's a reason luthiers don't use a lot of metal on acoustic guitars. Metal parts buzz and rattle if they aren't 100% secure. I reached inside the body and daubed a little wood glue on the internal metal parts. That took care of the second buzz.

The good news is that the guitar plays quite nicely and sounds quite good now. No buzzes. More importantly, in practical use the intonation sounds good. Open chords with notes up above the 5th fret still sound right. Mission really, truly accomplished.

Accoustic Bridge Mod Complete

This project is just about over. As I expected the individual string bridges required filing to get the action down where it belonged. Tightening the truss rod helped but it was clear that the real problem was bridge height.


The individual string bridges can face forward or backward. I chose not to reverse any of them or change their order. One reason is that I knew I was going to be filing all six of them down anyway so I just made my changes with the screwdriver and file. The other reason is that the retaining spring that holds the screws down on the sound-hole side looked a little...what does Abby on NCIS say, "hinkey?" Well, it doesn't inspire confidence. I doubted that I would get it off and back on without damaging it.

I also started working on intonation while filing. As you can see in these pictures I have the E and A bridges slammed all the way to the back. I didn't move the saddle back enough. It's close. The guitar will be playable and the higher strings have room to intonate in both directions, but I am not not happy with myself on this count.
Access to the intonation screws is acceptable.


In these pictures the black paint on the saddle is not dry. I want a glossy finish and I may need another coat or two of something else to get me there.

Saddle Attachment: Acoustic Bridge Saddle Mod

I have the saddle attached to the top. Two small screws assist the glue and pass through a small piece of brass inside the body to protect the top wood. It is now also clear that the bridge is going to be too high.

I put it in my vice and went at it with a grinding tip on a rotary tool. The goal is to make it shorter without compromising its structural integrity or function. This was not flat enough so I also did some hand filing. In retrospect I think I could have skipped the grinder and done it all with a hand file.

Progress Photos For Acoustic Bridge Saddle Mod

Making an Adjustable Bridge For a Flattop Acoustic Guitar

Friends asked me to work on a Yamaha acoustic with chronic intonation problems. Basically, the guitar could not be tuned. After warning them that I really didn't know what I was doing I took the job.

The guitar's action was fine. The neck did not appear to be warped or bowed. According to my measurements the guitar has a 24 7/8" scale. Rather, it should, based on the distance from the nut to the 121th fret. The bridge and saddle were just a little too far away.
I decided that whatever the final solution was I wanted the current saddle off of the guitar. I used a heat gun and two putty knives to carefully remove the saddle.

I have a Yamaha acoustic of my own that was a gift from another friend. It has a bridge I have never seen on any other acoustic guitar.

It looks somewhat like a Gibson Tune-O-Matic, but the important thing, to me, is that is allows the type of intonation adjustment we are accustomed to on electric guitars. I want to give this treatment to the Yamaha given to me to repair. Among other things, it will give me leeway in replacing the saddle.

As I only caused minimal damage to the removed saddle I am going to modify it to accommodate a Gibson style electric bridge I have on hand.
I have started chiseling the edge of the saddle that faces the sound hole. I believe placing the bridge there will allow me to put the saddle back in its original location, correctly locate the bridge and allow access to the intonation screws on the bridge. I'll let you know how it goes.