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I'm building a kit guitar, but I'm not completely satisfied with the look of the rosewood bridge that came with it. I recently bought a box of bridge blanks on the OLF classifieds, and I decided to go ahead and try carving my own bridge this week to see how it turned out. I traced the shape of my kit bridge onto one of the blanks and cut it out on the scroll saw, then traced the profile on the side with chalk and went to work with files, a scraper, and my Stephen Boone finger plane. I still need to drill the bridge pin holes and rout the saddle slot, along with a little more shaping across the back edge, but I was pleasantly surprised at how well it turned out. Unfortunately, this particular piece had some pretty serious grain runout and cracks, so I won't be using it on a guitar, but it was great practice and helped me realize it's not as difficult as I made it out to be in my head. I'll carve another one and hopefully use it on my guitar now that I know the process a little better.

When I'm doin one I cut the slot first, (while its square and easier to hold in a clamp). Then make the piece of wood look like a bridge is supposed to.
Just a little tip for the next one...

Mikey

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The Biggest Little City, Nevada
www.hammondguitars.com
I love building guitars!

i'd also drill the holes too, at least pilot holes to be widened later- unless you have a good jig and a quality press, it is extremely easy to mess them up- if they are off by a fraction of a hair you'll see it.

Thanks for the link, Todd. I have read about the sanding drum technique, but I wanted to try this one freehand just to see how it turned out. I knew the blank was going to be unusable before I started, so this one was just a sacrificial lamb for me to test my chops a bit. I have very little woodworking experience prior to starting this guitar, so I'm trying to learn some hand tool skills as I go along. As far as the saddle slot and bridge pin holes go, I recently read Todd Rose's bridge making tutorial here on the forum, and I must've gotten my steps mixed up. I could've sworn he routed the saddle slot after the bridge was shaped . For the next one, I'll set up to drill and rout before I begin shaping. Thanks everyone for the advice & feedback!

You can route the slot whenever you want. Some people only route the slot after it's been glued down to the guitar.
I use this jig to route my slots.
I can use it no matter what stage the bridge is in as long the front edge is straight as hat line is indexed to the last fret for placement in my system.
The part the edge guide rides against is set at the correct angle to route the slot.
I tape it down with double stick and wedge it in place with the wooden wedges.
It's fast and easy.

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Old growth, shmold growth!

here's how I usually do it:

using double sided tape, tape the kit bridge to the top of your bridge blank

transfer the outline of the kit bridge onto the blank

drill the pin holes with brad pointed bit

after separating the blank from the kit bridge, cut to just outside the line you marked on the blank.

sand the bottom of the bridge to conform to the guitars top in the area where the bridge is attached....120 grit stick on paper attached the a piece of poster board, and the poster board taped to the guitar top, sandpaper side up

using chalk, mark the underside of the now profiled blank

sand until the chalk marks are gone.if done correctly you will more or less assure yourself of a good fitted bridge

At that point, I would set the bridge aside until I had a good idea how high the bridge needs to be, based on the neck set, 5/16ths to 3/8ths inch or so high, in the center.

Once the neck set is determined, then you can go about making it lighter, and pretty.

I only cut the saddle slot after the bridge is attached to the guitar. It's what has worked best for me