Acoustic Guitar Construction

Mark -- you are going to do fine, problems occur when the maker concludes they should try such and such. Its simply not about trying anything -- adjustment results, are all about "cause and affect". And "cause and affect" is all about (as John mentions) the simple math involved. The most common mistake when neck heel trimming is required is taking off too much material -- we are talking shaving tiny increments to drastically change the neck angle.

There was one other point I was going to make -- regarding the break angle of the string, the angle coming over the saddle from the nut side on a properly set up instrument will be consistant no matter how tall the bridge or saddle. Of course the angle going down into the pin hole will vary, but this can be controlled by the camber that is carved in the string ramp and in fact is one of the main reasons for having string slots/ramps.

If I were to change the bridge height does the saddle slot depth need to be changed the same amount

Beau J wrote:If I were to change the bridge height does the saddle slot depth need to be changed the same amount

That's kind of an open ended question. Change the bridge height why?

Assuming I have the neck angle correct and the height of the one bridge that I currently have would cause the string height to be slightly higher than desired it seems based on this discussion that lowering the bridge height and thus being able to lower the saddle is a way to get to the desired string height. I do understand there are other things like nut height and neck relief to be considered as well. I like the thought of making the bridge after the neck is set correctly to the body to help compensate for the slight variables that may occur.

OK, so the answer to your question is "maybe." I like to have the saddle slot depth about half the saddle height i.e. 1/2 above and 1/2 in the slot. That should give it the proper support. Not deep enough and you run the risk of the string tension cracking the bridge.

I believe Tim hit the "nail on the head" The depth of the slot is not the issue, nothing will happen if its too deep, heck some makers slot all the way through, with the thought that having the saddle sit on the sound board is a good idea. The slot needs to be deep enough so the saddle does not tilt toward the nut and as Tim mentions, what is likely to happen is a crack will develop and split off the from edge of the bridge.