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Is that how they all are? Every saddle blank I have gotten from 1 of the big suppliers is warped or bent. Makes fitting to the slot a pain. Are yours like that too? I've gotten them like that more than once.

I don't think that I have got a warped one, but they are always a little oversized and I have to sand the faces to fit the slot. These came from the big two suppliers that are also sponsors of this forum. If they are warped too much to be sanded to fit, I bet that either one of those suppliers would replace it free of charge and thank you for calling it to their attention. Pals, Vic.

+1 on what Vic said. Never accept poor quality. All of our sponsors are high quality but staffed with imperfect humans. At times, things go wrong. And they appreciate being alerted. I have had all sorts of stuff repaired/replaced no questions asked.

Mike

Yup, I get bent ones all the time. I've always just assumed that's how it was...

Don't know where you get yours but my supplier sends good stuff. I don't but things like this off ebay.

_________________
John Hall
blues creek guitars
Authorized CF Martin Repair
Co President of ASIA
You Don't know what you don't know until you know it

I think I'd be inclined to try a little experiment. Maybe take the worst bone blank, soak it in hot water and clamp it down on to a flat surface, wait for it cool and see what (if any) difference it's made. I have no idea if this will work, but you never know, it may just save you an unwanted trip to the post office?

I've never had any issue with a warped saddle. I believe I'm about to switch to a thick saddle and I see even less chance of war page on a thick one.

We're not talking about 1 or 2 bent saddles. I have a stack of at least 5 or 6, from 1 of the 2 largest suppliers we all use. All warped. 2nd time I've gotten all warped ones. I will call them and see what they say, but I'm not too confident in their bone products anymore. I've used them in the past but it's a pain to hold them flat while sanding and then manipulate them into the slot. I think I will try soaking some in hot water tonight and then clamping to a flat surface. Can't hurt. I'll let you know if it works.
Wendy

Out of curiosity John, where are you getting yours?

I don't think a saddle blank is something you want to try straighten out under pressure Wendy. It could be just poorly cut. I would be inclined to just take the 2 minutes it would take to flatten it out on a sanding block. You're going to have to do a little sanding on it anyway.

I know what you mean though. It's not much fun to thickness sand those little fellows. If I ever decide to take up a life of crime, I won't have to worry too much about finger prints. Now if I could just figure out a way around the DNA thing.

Happy New Year,
Danny

Wendy, I recently had the same thing happen. I received a dozen saddle blanks, and they were all warped. I've run into this in the past, when buying from a discount supplier, but this was the first time I'd had problems from this very reputable source. I contacted them on the phone, and they were very good about exchanging the crooked blanks for straight ones. In the future. I'll probably order blanks that are more generously over-sized. It's easy enough for me to sand out .030" of warp as long as I still have a saddle blank when I'm done.

I buy mine thicker than needed, and the warped ones are just sanded flat with my Gilbert disk sander on the drill press.

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Waddy

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I guess I'll have to start buying them thicker, since sanding the warp out of these leaves them too thin. I'll also call the supplier and see if I can get replacements. It's been so long since I've gotten straight ones, I just assumed it was the norm, since it was coming from a reputable supplier and 1 of our sponsors.

Last night I soaked 1 in boiling water for 15 minutes and then clamped it flat. haven't had a chance to get out to the shop and look at it this morning.

If you need to flatten bone or ivory products you can soak them in phosphoric acid (naval jelly) until they soften then clamp them flat and let them dry. Using decrepitated ( dessicated ) salt will speed the drying and rehardening process.