any tips for shaping a bone saddle?

[DT]

i just bought a blank bone saddle and i have to sand it down to the shape of the stock one... what grit sandpaper do you use to finish it off, and how long should this take>

[Oahu]

Oh good! I can answer something technical.

First you need calipers. Good ones. Calipers are the technical way to measure things. I think the digital ones are best, and they can be found cheap and new on ebay. Measure often through the process.

First put the two saddles next to each other, make a mark with a permanent marker across the bottom of the newsaddle. It needs to be close but not exact. This is why the calipers are important.

Get some 150 and some 400 grit. Start with the 150 and when you approach the desired height of the saddle go to the 400. Be sure to measure often and in lots of places to make sure you're not accidentally sanding too hard on one side. The best way to avoid this is to tape the sandpaper down and run the saddle flat across it. This may take a while, but the time will be worth it in not having to throw the blank away.

If you're shaping the top be sure to grind out the box for the B string. Use a fingernail file or carpenters file, but if you do use the carpenters file be very very very careful. Make sure to not leave the edge the strings rest upon sharp. It needs to be pointy, but not sharp. One or two quick light swipes of the 400 should take care of it. Don't round the edge.

Good luck, and I am sure you'll love the bone saddle.

[DT]

eh, i ended up just shaping it by eye... the blank i bought was about a millimeter or so shorter than the stock one so i actually lowered my action to a perfect level by doing it... it turned out pretty good, the intonation is still dead on and the volume is much greater now- definitely bassier than it was before. The only problem was that the bone saddle was a bit thicker than the stock one, and now its in there so tight i dont think i could ever get it out if i need to... cant think of a reason i would need to though, it sounds great

[DT]

oh by the way i only needed to shape the top, and there was no B offset, so it was just a matter of shaping the saddle until i could set the saddles side by side and the edge of the new one was the same distance below the radius of the old one along the entire length... the worst part ended up being shortening the blank, since it was about a half inch too long- my hands were dead from all the sanding by the time it was done