Saddle Adjustment Jig
Source: Repair Tools & Jigs

Tools & Materials Required:
Marking Knife
Dremel Rotary Tool
Sanding Surface
Spray Adhesive
Wood Veneer Shim Stock
Hardwood Scrap Block
5/16″ Stainless Steel Bolts & Nuts
Epoxy Glue

Wood Sources:

I would make this jig from 4/4 hardwood stock. I happen to use a lot of teak for all of my tool aids, jigs and templates. Teak has a natural waxy resin that resists glue so it works great for these setups.

I happened to know someone who worked in a boat factory and he could get me all of the scraps I wanted. This is also my source for my stainless steel hardware that I use on all jigs and forms. If you are lucky enough to find a source like this, take advantage of it.

Making The Jig:

First, select your hardwood and run it through the planer or sander to square it off and give it perfect thickness throughout.

Cut the jig to shape on the Table Saw or Band Saw or use Japanese Pull Saws for this.

Round the corners of the jig to prevent it from damaging a guitar.

Ultimate Guitar Building Tip: I usually round the corners of everything that I can to minimize any damage that can happen if I inadvertently leave a tool lying around and set a guitar face down on the tool.

Now grab a Dremel Rotary Tool, chuck up a straight cut carbide router bit and slip the Dremel into the Router base. Set the Depth to a whisker less than 1/2 the saddle thickness and about 2mm deeper than the saddle height you will adjusting. Rout the channel in each half as shown on the plans.

Note: you can also choose to rout just a bit less than the saddle thickness in one half on the jig only. Then the other half of the jig serves as the compression member that holds the saddle in place.

Drill 3 holes complete through both sides of the jig. Do this by placing a fence on the Drill Press and drilling completely through both pieces, so they are accurately lined up.

Countersink the bold head side of the 3 holes and drill countersunk holes that you can drop the nuts into, so they will be completely concealed.

Dry fit the jig by bolting it securely together. Now you can sand out any imperfections between the 2 halves on the Stationary Belt Sander while you have them bolted together. Now dry fit your saddle into the channel and make any adjustments as needed for depth, width or height.

Put a bit of 2 part epoxy on the nut sides and slide them into place. When all 3 are in place, insert the bolt and tighten them up until the glue is almost set. Then remove the bolts to let the nuts completely set up.

Get Your Shims Set Up:

You will be dealing with different thicknesses of saddle materials and will need to make a few different version of this jig. Minor differences can be handled by making ship stock out of veneer, tapered stick etc. to give the jig more versatility.

Tags: adjusting saddle height, bridge repairs, Guitar Bridge Repairs, how to adjust your guitar saddle, saddle repairs

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