How to file a new saddle

[cangaroo]

Hi there,

finally four new unfiled saddles arrived at my home ... what's the correct way to file the saddles ? (or maybe a link to a 3d where the argument is discussed).

Thank you !!

[aceonbass]

Buy correctly gauged nut files to file the saddles with, and file the slot to a depth equal to half the thickness of the string. The files can be bought online at places like Stew-Mac and AllParts.

[jamespaul71]

Go to home depot and get a triangular file. All you have to do is hold the saddle with a gripper of some sort and then make a clean pull with the file. Do that a few times in the same direction, not back and forth, and you should have a clean groove. Once the groove is deep enough you can begin digging in and sawing back and forth. You just want to make sure you have a solid groove to cut into so you don't accidentally skip and scrape the rest of the saddle. After you dig in to depth, rock the file forwards and then backwards to get additional clearance. You will end up with a sort of a U or V shape in the center with room on either side for the string angle to rest without hitting the rest of the saddle.

[aceonbass]

Go to home depot and get a triangular file.

Wrong tool for the job, unless you're trying to cut corners and costs on a $2000.00 instrument.

[jdogric12]

I've wondered about this myself. I have cut some new saddle grooves before with the aforementioned "go to HD and buy a triangular file" and was not happy with the results. Dane, is a proper set of nut files from a luthier supply the best bet?

[aceonbass]

Yes. I forget where I got mine. They're all metal with NO slipping plastic handles. Bass Parts Resource is another place to look. Expect to spend about $10-$12 bucks apiece. A small triangular file is good to start the groove with, but that's about it. I will also periodically run a wet finger along the files edge to make things go a little smoother and leave a shinier slot. Keep the file parallel with the fretboard, rocking it backward slightly before finishing.

[jamespaul71]

Go to home depot and get a triangular file.

Wrong tool for the job, unless you're trying to cut corners and costs on a $2000.00 instrument.

Its not about cutting corners, its about cutting the saddles. If the files intended for cutting plastic or bone nuts is capable of cutting the metal saddles without much trouble then go for it. The triangular files I was talking about were like 7 bucks and were slightly rounded around the bottom, and worked in my case. I don't want to dissuade anyone from getting the proper tools, just make sure they will do the job.

[weemac]

Wrong tool for the job, unless you're trying to cut corners and costs on a $2000.00 instrument.

Correct! but that is how Rickenbacker did it for years........

Eden.

[SamBailler]

I fitted 4 new saddles a few months ago. Functioning perfectly well without cutting any grooves.

[berth]

I fitted 4 new saddles a few months ago. Functioning perfectly well without cutting any grooves.

You have a very light touch I suppose.

[cassius987]

String tension will definitely hold the strings in place if you aren't heavy-handed.

My luthier taught me, since I have been buying the new "perfect fit" saddles to retrofit, that he doesn't like to cut the grooves as deep as most people and really only the bottom sixth of the string has to fit in the groove. So it was easy for me to cut my own saddles with a tapered round diamond file (the same one) a few nights ago and I'm really happy with the results; strings are flush, and it was easy to set the spacing.

[johnhall]

Correct! but that is how Rickenbacker did it for years........

Eden.

I can't speak to the time before about 1966 but since then we've always had specialized files for this purpose. Up until about 1975, we ordered these through a jewelry tool supply house in the Midwest called Esslinger. After that, most of the files came from Nagoya, Japan from a company called Nanyo something-or-other. In recent years, files for this purpose have been obtained from the supplier for ESP in Japan. (ESP's main business is actually a school of lutherie and they source tools specially for their students and graduates.)

www.stewmac.com has a variety of suitable files, some probably coming from the same sources.

Not as specialized but more than adequate are any number of files from McMaster Carr:

http://www.mcmaster.com/#hand-files/=956su1