Acoustic Guitar Construction

Hey all...

I made this simple jig this week to make my first bridge. Basically it sets the router up to do a slot at the right angle in a bridge blank. It worked for me, made from scrap material. First I start with a bridge blank, and then drill the pin holes using my template (which was copied from a Martin Style bridge). The template has a slot in it, but that was actually unnecessary. Then I bolt the bridge blank into my slotting jig at the low and high E string holes. That holds the blank down. Then I run the router back and forth, using a plunge router to take a deeper cut every pass until I'm at the depth I want. At the end I have a bridge blank that has a routed slot and holes drilled for the pins. I shaped my bridge by hand after that.

Tj

Continued...

And finally...

Nice. Can it be adjusted for different types of bridges?

Mine really doesn't have any adjustment as you see it. But I'm sure you could rig it up with some knobs to loosen it, change angles, etc... I guess you could drill new holes to position at different angles...

Normally I wind up making a simple jig like this for one or two applications, and then see how I can make it more generalized and adaptable. So I can see re-making the jig in a guitar or two to have more flexibility. But so far it's working!

Here it is in operation

The finished bridge...