Desopolis Posted May 24, 2007 Report Share Posted May 24, 2007 (edited) Its damn near impossible to get a cheap acoustic guitar thats left handed. I recently came into possession of a decent old right handed Alverez that is missing the nut.. Oh noes.. I'm a luthier, I should know how to fix a nut.. but heres the the issue, the bridge saddles are adjusted in a different position for string intonation. Is there a easy solution for this? or is the only option to remove the bridge and replace it with a left handed one? If thats the case I see myself just playing it as is for a while... perhaps I could remove the saddle, fill it with some spare wood I have, and re route the slot for the saddle at a different angle.. opinions? Edited May 24, 2007 by Desopolis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GregP Posted May 24, 2007 Report Share Posted May 24, 2007 If your main option will be that you're going to replace the saddle ultimately, you could always try working with what's there. I don't know how easy it would be to take it off, though. If you decided to give it a try without taking it off... man... dunno. I've done some stupid stuff before and it worked out all right for me, so you might get lucky. But the key word here is "stupid". Since I'm a bit dumb, though, and IF I were dumb enough to try this stunt... I'd want to make sure I had a heck of a good jig in place (to provide a stable surface and NOT relying only on the top for support, as well as to protect the rest of the guitar), that my depth was set right (using the existing slot and some cardboard or something as a feeler) and that I had the right sized bit. another problem I can see-- even cutting a new slot at an "opposing" angle, there's going to be a lot of overlap with what was already there. It's not like the crossover will be perpendicular or anything, so you'll have several centimetres (at least) of area in which there's primarily your "filler" that's supporting the new nut. It'd have to be one heck of an amazing job to not come apart on you when routing the new slot... Ultimately, trying to cut a new slot doesn't seem like a very safe (to the guitar I mean) or elegant solution, but I have a soft spot in my heart for people trying dumb things. Greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fryovanni Posted May 24, 2007 Report Share Posted May 24, 2007 Greg- That is an interesting take on the situation, and options. Des- Some people prefer to route for the saddle slot after the bridge is in place. There are examples of jigs that they use out there(on the net that is), so I would not rule that out. However you will need to make a good quality jig to be able to control this accurately. I personally pre-slot before attaching(just seems easier for me). I am sure you are more than capable of handling this in either one of two ways. One filling and re-slot, or Two remove and re-place. You should look up bridge removal and look up the slotting jigs that people use(to get a feel for the two methods). Look at bridge heating blankets(bluescreek sells them for maybe $30 and they would make the operation a pretty straight forward simple task). Personally I would opt. for remove and replace(just seems simpler and will leave you with a better final product). If you opt. for just filling and re-slotting. Spend the time to make a good jig and you will do very well. P.S. Look around at the MIMF and OLF for examples of jigs and methods. Peace,Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GregP Posted May 24, 2007 Report Share Posted May 24, 2007 Yeah, as a non-acoustic-builder, I didn't want to overstep any bounds and say "yeah, go for it!" but I suspected that with a proper jig it could be done. If such jigs are found at OLF or MIMF then perhaps I needn't have waved my "paranoid" flag so visibly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fryovanni Posted May 24, 2007 Report Share Posted May 24, 2007 Yeah, as a non-acoustic-builder, I didn't want to overstep any bounds and say "yeah, go for it!" but I suspected that with a proper jig it could be done. If such jigs are found at OLF or MIMF then perhaps I needn't have waved my "paranoid" flag so visibly. Yep jigs are out there. Stew Mac-click here are a few- link here is a fill and re-slot-link Here is a link to exacly what you are trying to do.Lefty convert Peace,Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GodBlessTexas Posted May 24, 2007 Report Share Posted May 24, 2007 perhaps I could remove the saddle, fill it with some spare wood I have, and re route the slot for the saddle at a different angle.. opinions? Bingo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desopolis Posted May 25, 2007 Author Report Share Posted May 25, 2007 awesome! I'm going to make sure I research it before I get to far, my fear is that I'll mess up the top when removing the bridge, or that I wont get it back into the correct position in relation to the soundboard(MUCH less likely a issue, but still on my mind) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erikbojerik Posted May 25, 2007 Report Share Posted May 25, 2007 I would try this with the bridge still attached, it removes an unneccessary step and I don't think it will make it any easier. I'd do this with a Dremel in one of those mini-router bases. Make yourself a mini table out of MDF that you can mount on the soundboard over the bridge, recessed in the back to accomodate the bridge height and with the access for the router bit only as big as you need, so that the mini router base can span the access slot. If this were a scratch build I'd slot before mounting the bridge, that way if you goof you can just make a new bridge. But on an existing instrument, I'd leave the bridge on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
borge Posted May 25, 2007 Report Share Posted May 25, 2007 having played lefty strung rightys i (and paul mccartney) had good results with this sort of mod http://images.misupply.com/products/origin...hone/158573.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hector Posted June 16, 2007 Report Share Posted June 16, 2007 "perhaps I could remove the saddle, fill it with some spare wood I have, and re route the slot for the saddle at a different angle.." go for it! been there, done that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.