The Bridge
By John Fisher
Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for life.
After looking in different supply places for a mandolin bridge and the expense involved, I decided to make my own. It wasn't that hard and it was a rewarding experience. I made this compensated bridge out of ebony.
I was planning to get thumb wheel screws for adjusting the height of the bridge. I didn't have them at the moment so I just shaped the bridge to be the right height without any adjustments at the moment. You can see that I installed threaded posts made from 1/8" screws for the future thumb wheel screws. To be honest, I prefer just making a one piece bridge because the sound of a one piece non adjustable bridge will sound better with a better vibration contact with the top of the mandolin. So I intend to make another one that is just one piece.
Here is the top view of the bridge showing the compensations for the strings
Here is a diagram of the bridge with the approximate dimensions. Depending on your mandolin it may vary slightly. This is an adjustable bridge although a one piece non adjustable bridge can be made.
Here is the top view with measurement of the compensated bridge.
Experience is the best teacher but the hardest.