material from the new
blank. However, if your
original saddle was too low,
you’ll need to factor in additional height as you trace
the contour onto the new
saddle. To do this, simply
slide the old saddle up a little higher against the blank
before tracing its contour.
3
4
6
8
Tip: You can always sand
the saddle lower, but you
can’t add height back. When
in doubt, err on the side of
having your blank a bit too
tall initially.
5
4. Check the line you just
traced on the new saddle
blank with the radius
gauge to confirm the
radius is correct.
5. Sand the new saddle blank
to match the old one.
When sanding the new
saddle, it’s imperative that
its thickness, height, and
length are correct. Getting
this right is harder than it
sounds and requires frequent checking against the
original saddle.
Using 80- and 400-grit
sandpaper adhered to a flat
surface, sand the thickness
of the new saddle so it
fits snugly into the saddle
slot (Photo 4). Sand off
just enough thickness that
you don’t have to force the
saddle in, but keep the fit
snug enough that the saddle
doesn’t rock inside the slot.
Check your progress by trying to insert the new saddle
into the slot (Photo 5).
Part of this process
involves rounding the
saddle’s left and right edges
so they fit into the ends
of the slot. An easy way to
do this is to gently roll the
end of the saddle blank as
you sand it on a flat surface (Photo 6). The goal
is to have each end of the
saddle match the curved
7
3. Using a gauge to determine the fretboard’s radius or curvature.
4. Sanding the saddle blank to fit in the saddle
slot.
5. Frequently check the thickness of the saddle blank as you sand it down. It should fit snugly in the saddle
slot, but don’t force it in.
6. Rolling the ends of the saddle blank to round them off.
7. Checking the rounded ends
of the saddle blank against the curved slot ends.
8. Using 80-grit self-adhesive sandpaper and a radius block that
matches your fretboard radius, sand down the top of the saddle to the line you traced on the bone blank. This allows you to reach the desired height while maintaining the correct radius.
end of the bridge slot
(Photo 7). The ends of
the saddle shouldn’t bind
or have any room to move
from side to side.
6. Once the blank fits cor-
rectly into the saddle
slot, use a radius block
equipped with 80-grit self-
adhesive sandpaper to sand
the top of the saddle down
to the line you traced onto
the blank (Photo 8). This
operation sets the basic
saddle height while making
sure the saddle follows the
fretboard curve. Matching
this radius ensures that the
string height will be consis-
tent across the fretboard. If
you don’t do this, you may
end up with some strings
too low and others too
high, making the guitar
difficult to play.
Tip: I recommend placing
the radius block in a vise
and sanding the saddle blank
upside down. If you attempt
to sand the saddle blank
while it’s in the bridge, you
can easily slip and damage
the bridge or the guitar’s top.
