Sanding Down Saddle

[Zach]

Has anyone tried doing this?  The saddle on my new OM-10 is pretty high, much higher than my C-05 was.  The action is a little bit higher than I prefer,  and I was wondering how hard it is to just sand down the saddle.

Zach

[bikodog]

i just did this on a Taylor of mine.  It was easy enough to do as the saddle is not glued in.  Not sure if Larrivee glues theirs or not.  Hopefully someone else will chime in.

I had Taylor send me a couple spares,  and kept the original one, in case I took off too much.

Just take it easy and take off a little at a time.  I filed mine away at the base as I wanted to lower it quite a bit, then sanded it smooth.  

[sc morris]

i sanded the saddle on my old takamine a couple of years ago.  i didn't really know what i was doing.... but it turned out ok. but, for a nice guitar, i would take it somewhere, at least for some advice on what to do....or have someone do it who knows their stuff.  it should only cost you around $35 or so.  but beware....just because someone works in a guitar shop....doesn't mean they know what they're doing.  i've learned this the hard way.  if you want to find someone in your area....check out some of the other forums for memebers in your town.  the taylor guitar forum is great for stuff like that.....lots of people from lots of areas.  the sight is www.taylorguitarforum.com  

[tiger]

i tried this myself last year on my OM-02....i followed Frank Ford`s words of wisdow from his site and it turned out great! Just be careful to take off a little at a time and keep checking it...i think the way Frank put it was...`there`s a fine line between taking off just enough of the saddle and having to replace the saddle`.

One thing i realized though was that you can do this without taking off your strings, just loosen them up to the point where you can get the saddle in and out o.k.

Hope that helps!  tiger

[unclrob]

Z make sure you have a good flat hard surface to sand on.Its not a big deal,as tiger say's just a little at a time.If you get freaked out call me,I'll be glad to walk you thru it.

[Zach]

I plan on trying it this weekend.  If I have any problems I'll give you a call.  Thanks for the help.

[mergus]

I changed the saddle on my OM-05 to bone and it wasn't hard. The saddles are not glued in. I had better luck using a file in order to keep the surface flat. The trick is to be careful so you don't take off too much.

[BW dreaming]

I need to do this with my new SurfCity.  The action is terrible, but I'm kinda nervous 'cause I've never done it before.  I'm putting it off as long as I can... :)

[Roman]

I've replaced the Tusq saddles on all of my acoustics with bone.  FQMS sells the pre=compensated ones for about $6 or you can get a blank for about $3.  I prefer the blanks since the radius is different from different guitar makers.  Anyway, it's pretty easy once you get the top shaped and get the ends and sides sanded properly.  I use a Dremel saw to cut the basic shape, and then use a couple of files to shape and compensate the top while it's held in a vise.  

As far as sanding the bottom, I use a metal ruler as a guide, lay it flat on a piece of fine sand paper on a flat surface.  The ruler keeps the saddle at the proper 90° angle . . . works like a charm.