Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by ChickenboneJohn on December 11, 2014 at 7:13am

25 1/2 is the SHORTEST distance, so that's for the treble strings, and the bass strings will be always be longer than the theoretical scale length. Having said that, it's normal to add a small amount of  additional compensation of a few mm to the theoretical scale length, to compensate for the rise in pitch which occurs when you fret a string.

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Permalink Reply by john mackay on December 11, 2014 at 8:16am

thanks john

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Permalink Reply by john mackay on December 12, 2014 at 2:05am

what I have is like in the picture so I will have to have it fixed,the strings will go through the body.

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Permalink Reply by Tom T on December 12, 2014 at 3:54am

Just a thought. If you put a small wood block inside top of the box and ran the strings through small holes in it, you could then allow the bridge to float being held down by the strings. If necessary to reposition the bridge to achieve good intonation, you could cut short, thin slots in the top where the strings go through. The slots should be hidden by the width of the bridge and you would have that all important option to "tweak" things just a little.

I've floated the bridge on everything I've built and glad I had some wiggle room in tuning.

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Permalink Reply by john mackay on December 12, 2014 at 10:31am

the way this box is made I had to make the neck fit the lid.

so I will have to drill 3 small holes for strings to go through anyway like you said.

thanks any way.

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Permalink Reply by darryl kernaghan on December 12, 2014 at 11:48am

Tom's idea seems your best option,i float all my bridges now,alternative might be to vary bridge height for different stings,but,little scope for that with this arrangement

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Permalink Reply by The Phrygian Kid on December 12, 2014 at 1:15pm

A little bit more effort in naming your discussions would probably be appreciated too John.

'Question..?' ....

Remember this stuff needs to be searchable mate :)

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Permalink Reply by Scott aka Farmer Ted on December 12, 2014 at 3:12pm

A little more compassion and personality goes a long way. Short sighted off-the-cuff remarks and rebukes aside, if you don't have something positive to say, then the answer to your other question "how long does it take to dig a hole" was just given.

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Permalink Reply by john mackay on December 13, 2014 at 4:59am

oh really Kid and how could I give it a name if I'm not so sure what to call it eh?

let not forget that I'm new to all this cbg malarky and just because I've made 4 so for doesn't make me an expert does it not.if I was a know all I wouldn't be asking on here would I? wink.

it is a question???? and that's good enough for me.

if you or any one else don't like it you don't have to reply to it ,let alone read it.

I'm thankful that there are guys on here who are willing to pass their expert advice.

and yes I can sussed those who do know and those who think they know

 anyway let not get beat up about it.this is suppose to fun .   

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Permalink Reply by ChickenboneJohn on December 12, 2014 at 6:32pm

John, once you get the hang of accurately installing fixed bridges, the fear and worry will go out of it. Scale length plus 2mm to the treble side of the saddle (measured to the point at which the string will actually come off the saddle) will be fine. As long as you measure and fix accurately it will be OK.

One other word of advice, make sure it's centred accurately on the neck / string layout - I usually put a couple of straight edges down the side of the neck projecting over the body to make sure the bridge is positioned symetrically.

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Permalink Reply by Ron "Oily" Sprague on December 12, 2014 at 6:34pm

Follow CBJ's suggestion, then use a temporary floating bridge and saddle, string er up, adjust tol you get it right, and mark the angle the saddle needs to make for proper compensation. Then you can glue down your permanent bridge, and install a slanted saddle. Cut the saddle slot in the bridge BEFORE you glue it down. ;-)

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Permalink Reply by john mackay on December 13, 2014 at 5:08am

I got it all done see my other post here's my latest build.

I had a problem with the bridge lifting up once I started to tightened the strings up.

no matter what I did even moving the holes and at angle didn't work so I put a long and narrow screw through and it did the trick.its not some thing that I wanted to do but never mind at least its working ok.

my youngest likes it so I've decided to give him the guitar as well as the solid that I made for his Xmas box.

oh what a good Dad I am

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