The Gouzouki Project - Modifying the Bridge

Finally moving onto the body now for modifications to the guitar bridge. The guitar has six strings and six corresponding holes in the bridge. The gouzouki has 8 strings organised in 4 pairs, so the bridge needs modifying to suit.

First, I needed to fill in the string pin holes that run through the bridge and body, to restore some strength there. I drilled out each hole to 5mm and then made some 5mm dowelling by planing down a piece of scrap, then hammering it through a 5mm hole in some scrap aluminium. A little bit of glue in each and job done.

Then I set up a fence and platform clamped to the body and routed out a slot across the old holes, before shaping a piece of scrap rosewood to fit in it.

Once it was all glued up and planed/sanded back level with the bridge I gave it a couple of coats of oil to blend in. Not perfect, but good enough for what I need. So the bridge and body of the guitar are now solid again.

I marked out and drilled for the new pin hole locations, then reamed them out to put a taper on for the pins to fit properly.

It was then I realised that the 2 (supposedly matching) new pins I’d bought from Faith are actually slightly bigger and don’t quite match. No big deal - I’ve put them on the 2 centre strings and just reamed the 2 holes out a bit bigger to suit.

Moving on to the saddle, I realised that I’d need to change the slot for the saddle as the gouzouki needs a wider saddle to deal with the intonation adjustment for the tuning, which is very different to a guitar.

I followed a recommendation to use Corian, as it's very dense but easily shaped. I routed out the slot, leaving just enough depth in the old slot for the under saddle pick up to sit in, but making sure it would just be in contact with the underside of the saddle. Then cut a piece of Corian the right size to sit snugly in the slot, ready for the final set up.