Official Luthiers Forum!

What tools do you guys use to do string slots at the top of your bridge pin holes? SM has job specific tools but as usual they seem pretty high.
Just wondered what you all used.

Thanks
B


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Different thicknesses of jigsaw blades ground down at the back and fitted with a handle for initial slotting, refined with a 5.5" Bahco Round Needle File.
Cut the string ramps with dremel and round bits.

_________________
The name catgut is confusing. There are two explanations for the mix up.

Catgut is an abbreviation of the word cattle gut. Gut strings are made from sheep or goat intestines, in the past even from horse, mule or donkey intestines.

Otherwise it could be from the word kitgut or kitstring. Kit meant fiddle, not kitten.

I use something similar.

_________________
A man hears what he wants to hear, and disreguards the rest. Paul Simon

I had used homemade jigsaw blade style slotting saws for a couple years—they work, and will get the job done. But they have a tendency to grab/jump.






I finally picked up the two sizes from Stew Mac, and if you are going to do more than a few bridges worth of slotting, they are absolutely worth it. The teeth on theirs are symmetrical triangle teeth, negative hook angle—they cut slower, but much smoother than the jig saw blades I've used.

If you could find jigsaw blades with very low, or negative hook angle, those would work best.

I use an old coping saw blade, then triangular then round needle file...

I got one from SM many years ago, probably 20 years now, and still use it. It looks like it was just a jigsaw blade mounted in a handle though. The pull saw option seems like a better idea though.

A long time ago Sylvan Wells described using the Bosch blade we all use by hand in a jig saw. Scary but I tried it and that is what I have done ever since. I think in many respects you have better control than you do by hand and no issues with the blade catching and jumping out of the hole.

Here is my rig.



I do it after countersinking the hole and reaming for the bridge pin. Protect the top of the bridge with some tape. You can make a starter notch by hand to center the cut if needed. Scares me a little every time but I have never had a problem.
Finish with needle files for proper width on the larger strings.

_________________
It's not what you don't know that hurts you, it's what you do know that's wrong.

I've been using a narrow end mill in a Dremel, finding it easier to avoid damaging the pin hole rather than using a saw.

Why worry about stewmac prices? Just buy it. If everybody built guitars, prices would be lower, but then so would yours.

Like Terry, I use my jigsaw. Has thick cork on the bottom. Lots of control and quick. Mario P (aka: Grumpy) turned me on to that tip. Finish up with micro round file.

_________________
My Facebook Guitar Page

"There's really no wrong way, as long as the results are what's desired." Charles Fox

"We have to constantly remind ourselves what we're doing....No Luthier is putting a man on the moon!" Harry Fleishman

"Generosity is always different in the eye of the person who didn't receive anything, but who wanted some." Waddy Thomson

Ballsy!

I'm getting out the power tools on my next one.

I also you a jig saw with a thin blade. Scared me to death at first but it has worked great.

Kent

https://www.amazon.com/Xacto-X215-Blades-15-Pkg/dp/B000BREQDO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1550804129&sr=8-1&keywords=xacto+keyhole+saw+blade

Also fit a fret slot perfect for easy radiusing, cleaning, deepening...just plain handy.

Ya gotta try 'em, you'll like 'em.

_________________
Brian R, Wood Mechanic
N8ZED

I use the stewmac saw they were selling 10 years ago. It cuts on the push and works great except for sometimes the blade bends and you have to straighten it out. I use a chisel to shave the top of the groove for the windings.

I also tried the power jigsaw after seeing many doing it on here. I was pretty scared so I tried it on a cheapie and what do you know, it worked a treat! That cork bottom idea sounds like a good bit of insurance, however when you are pushing down and forward on the jigsaw it's pretty solid and steady as she goes.

New username, same Pat Mac

_________________
Pat

The cork is also soft so as not to mar the bridge

_________________
My Facebook Guitar Page

"There's really no wrong way, as long as the results are what's desired." Charles Fox

"We have to constantly remind ourselves what we're doing....No Luthier is putting a man on the moon!" Harry Fleishman

"Generosity is always different in the eye of the person who didn't receive anything, but who wanted some." Waddy Thomson

I use a Dremal with a 113 bit.
Mike

_________________
Mike Collins

You guys have me almost convinced to use a jig saw but dang, one mistake and....

I'm thinking the same thing. Everyone seems to have success with it, I'd be the one to screw it up. All I have access to is a really, really old jigsaw. I really have no other need to get a newer one. Are there any features that your saws have (that mine would not) that makes this doable? This might be a dumb question, but not as dumb as using it on a guitar without asking. . .

_________________
Bryan Bear PMoMC

Take care of your feet, and your feet will take care of you.

How do you not overshoot the depth of the slot with a jigsaw? It just seems like such overkill.

I have been using the new Stew-Mac slotting saws and files and they cut very smoothly and let you sneak up on the required depth without any pucker factor.

For those thinking of trying the jig saw, make up a test piece with some 3/16” holes with the bridge pin countersink. Drill as many holes as you need to get comfortable doing the job. It’s really very simple. You don’t need to push the saw much at all and just pay attention to the blade.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

_________________
My Facebook Guitar Page

"There's really no wrong way, as long as the results are what's desired." Charles Fox

"We have to constantly remind ourselves what we're doing....No Luthier is putting a man on the moon!" Harry Fleishman

"Generosity is always different in the eye of the person who didn't receive anything, but who wanted some." Waddy Thomson

We use a cordless Milwaukee M12 jig saw equipped with a Bosch 101AO blade...the jigsaw's plastic shoe cover eliminates the need to tape the bridge for protection, and the variable speed capability of the Model 2445-20 saw makes precise control easy. Final cleanup is done with a needle file and the StewMac bridge slotting files.

After years of using a mix of cordless tool brands in the shop, we've moved to the M12/M18 Milwaukee line for everything. Just the cost savings on batteries is a good reason, but Milwaukee seems to be making the right tools for us at affordable prices.

_________________
For the times they are a changin'

- Bob Dylan

Bryan, I used an older cheapie one, and while it would be nice to have that smooth and quiet Festool feeling, the old cheapie was pretty adequate.

I'm surprised that no one else has mentioned using chisels to widen the slot for the windings. That's how I learned as a repair apprentice when I started and just figured it was standard. I do like using Sharp chisels whenever possible, you just have to be careful not to take more off of one side than the other. I just shave the sides rather than trying to do it all in one go.

New username, same Pat Mac

_________________
Pat

Thanks Pat. Good to know!

_________________
Bryan Bear PMoMC

Take care of your feet, and your feet will take care of you.