- 1). Loosen and remove your guitar strings.
- 2). Pull the saddle out of the bridge slot. Most saddles are held in place by the tension of the strings. For tight fitting saddles, you may need to use a pair of pliers to grasp the top of the saddle and remove it from the bridge. Work slowly. Do not damage the bridge while working the saddle out of the slot.
- 3). Reduce the thickness of your saddle blank to match the bridge slot. Saddle blanks are slightly oversized to accommodate a wide variety of bridge slots. Place a sheet of sandpaper on a flat work surface and remove the excess width by sanding one side of the saddle blank until you have removed enough material to slide the saddle into the bridge. This will usually not take too long. Check your progress frequently by test fitting the saddle blank into the bridge slot. The proper width should fit snugly into the groove without being forced.
- 4). Hold the saddle blank upright against the end of the fingerboard. Lay a sharpened pencil flat on the fingerboard. Place the pencil's point against the blank and slide, do not roll, the pencil across the width of the fingerboard.
- 5). Sand the top of the blank down to the radius line. Working with the sandpaper on a flat surface, check your work frequently. When you are through, the top of the saddle should have a curve that matches the top of your fingerboard.
- 6). Round the top of the saddle. Sharp angles on the saddle can cause strings to stress and break. Hold the saddle at a 45-degree angle to the sandpaper on one side and sand until you create a bevel on that side. Flip the bridge over and do the same thing for the opposite side. Then, gently sand any remaining edges off the top of the saddle. When you are through, the top of the saddle should have a gentle, uniform curve across the entire width.
- 7). Insert the saddle into the bridge slot on your guitar. Restring and tune your guitar. You will now need to adjust your new saddle's height. String height or action is an individual preference. Too high and your guitar will be hard to play, too low and your open strings will buzz.
- 8). Remove excess material from your new saddle. Loosen and remove your strings. Pull the saddle out of the bridge slot. Reduce the height of the saddle by sanding the bottom of the saddle. Again, use the sandpaper mounted on a flat surface to keep the saddle level.
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