bridge sloting

[tippie53]

I have a milling machine that I use for slotting bridges , but if you don't have one ,Martin used to use a saw for slotting through bridges. Drop in bridges are able to be slotted a number of ways. I used a drill press. You can make a simple jig. A fence that can set the place of the slot on the bridge blank. You can make an angled base that will ride the fence an hold the bridge at an angle that you want to slot.
I use end mills for a better cut. Dremel bits need to spin at a higher speed and end mills can work at a lower RPM. The bit should not be used to cut to the full depth. You nibble to the depth you want in about in 4 to 6 passes.
I will try and get you a pic of one of the jigs I used to use. It works well. You can use the fence to make stops to control slot length.

[Jim_H]

Cool, thanks John,

This is excellent timing, as I am installing a drill press table tonight. I have a cross sled vice I got from Grizzly a couple of years ago. I need to figure out how to build a jig to attach it to my table and cut the slot for a bridge.

Anything special in regards to the mill? I have a variable speed drill press.

[tippie53]

I use this end mill . in fact I like them so much I sell them . Here is the link http://www.bqtool.com/shop/index.php?cPath=22 I use 2f093 for slotting and rosettes. Post a pic of the table you have. A good vise is used with them. Once I see your table I can help with what you may or may not need

[Herman]

Good suggestion. That is the way I'll try next time. Up till now I used the dremel, but it is also not possible to make a pass in one time. With a drill press you go downward straight, but with the dremel it is difficult to put in the cutter straight for the next pass. It is easy to make the top edge of the slot messy.

John, do you have a bit wider cutter in da house (1/8 or so)? If the shipping to Holland is not skyhigh I'll order some.

Herman

[tippie53]

Yes we can ship to you. How many you need?

[glasalle1]

Here is the jig I made for slotting the bridge:

P1070189.JPG

Glenn

[Kevin Sjostrand]

Jim,
I use a cross vise on my drill press with an end mill bit. This works great. The fixture I made to hold the bridge blank is very simple. Set a fence on a block of wood at the angle of your slot and fit the front squared edge up against the fence. You can double side tape it in place, or as I do, I have blocks on the other 3 sides to hold the blank in place for my style/size of bridge. I drill small holes at either end of the slot I want to create. Clamp this holding block into your vise, and line the end mill up with one of the holes and clamp the vise down. As you work the vise across, the mill will follow a straight line between your two holes. Rather than try to raise the drill press table up for subsequent deep cuts, I lower the bit a little at a time until I reach my desire depth, which is 1/8" from the bottom of the bridge blank. With the cross vise, and the holding fixture made, this is a very easy, quick repeatable way to cut in the slot. While you have it set up, so a few at a time!
I do have some pictures in an older thread of my set up, somewhere here.

Kevin

[Kevin Sjostrand]

Here's a some pics of what I do.

Kevin

[Ben-Had]

Cool, thanks John,

This is excellent timing, as I am installing a drill press table tonight. I have a cross sled vice I got from Grizzly a couple of years ago. I need to figure out how to build a jig to attach it to my table and cut the slot for a bridge.

Anything special in regards to the mill? I have a variable speed drill press.

I use my Luthier's Friend to do it and the same mill ends John recommended. They are relatively inexpensive and sharp.

[Ken Hundley]

I have that same cross sled vice, and don't find it to be very accurate. The other trouble I have is the drill press....its a 30 y old press thats tough, but has no depth lock on it. I don't find the dremel router base to be accurate enough either. Kind of annoying. I just end up givin my dad some of my bridge blanks to mill forme at his shop, but its something I would love to try to figure out in my own garage without having to upgrade anything...money being in such short supply these days. Then again, I could always try a through-slot bridge, might be interesting, and would cause a redesign from my current look.