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How tall and what material to use if you will reduce it? Can i use sand paper? I bought a violin bridge because a violin player told me it was too low. I was hoping it will also make a change of sound. Ill tag a photo
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I bought a violin from eBay that came with a broken bridge, so I took it to a violin shop and paid $75 to get a new bridge (part and labor). I don't think it's something you can easily do at home.
Regulars
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Fiddlershop sell bridge blanks and there are several threads on this forum on how to cut the bridge to fit the top and the correct curvature for the strings the finished heigth depends on the height of the finger board and how high you want the action to be above the finger board approximately 5mm for the G string and 3 mm for the E string seems to work as a starting point some prefer higher, but with steel strings you maybe able to go a bit lower. Files,knifes, sandpaper, etc. Can all be used. Don't forget to thin the blank out, there to thick and need thinned out for best sound production good luck.
Mark
Master the Frog and you have mastered the bow.
Albert Sammons
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THANK YOu so much for your reply. Apreciate it. I wish i could brig it to proffesionals. However here there are nothing like that because violin here is still not yet that wuite popular and luthiers do not exist much here. If they do itms pretty expensive. So the 5 and 3 mm is between the finger board and strings. MAy i ask what us the stabdard himeighh if the finger board to the violin?
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@antreidez - check this useful site - I think the question you are asking is the "Fingerboard height over the belly at the bridge end" - http://www.makingtheviolin.com.....asurements
I seriously recommend not copying my mistakes. D'oh - 
Please make your own, different mistakes, and help us all learn :-)
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My two cents, and a few tips if you indeed go diy with the bridge
By the way great website @BillyG
(buy a few more if possible, success at first time is never guaranteed in my experience)
Disclaimer: I am no luthier, and what I am about to describe is my own experience according to what I've found over time, and what I realised during the time I tried to carve bridges from blanks, for my backup violins.
1. As I said before, getting some more bridge blanks could be useful.
2. Before adjusting the string height, you should adjust the feet. That's the trickiest part according to my experience. You have to carve the bridge feet, so they are flush with the violin's top, (and before that you have to find the correct placement)
You can do this carefully with sharp knives, and then put some chalk powder on the feet during the carving. Place repeatedly between the carving process the bridge on its place, to monitor (with the help of the chalk marks) if the feet of the bridge sit properly.
This can be really time consuming. Another method (not really the best, and not the ideal with expensive instruments) is putting a sandpaper on the top of the instrument. Then with a left to right REALLY SOFT motion (from one f hole to the other and backwards) you can give the feet the right contour. It's vital that you are carefull not to remove much wood, and that at the same time the feet are equally thick. Most important, DON'T press hard. The spruce top of the violin is extremely flexible, delicate and fragile.
3. When you adjust the feet, you are clear to go with the string height. Then you have to figure out where to place the other two strings (D and A) . Simultaneously the curve of the bridge should be in a shape that allows similar (vertical ) distances between the string, so you have the same clearance from the bow. Provided that your current bridge has a perfect curve for the instrument, you could use this as a guide
4. Then you can remove excess wood. There are guides online that show from where you can remove wood. Also you will have to adjust the thickness of the bridge which dramatically affects sound.
5. The string grooves you will have to carve, should be burnished and lubricated (graphite from a pencil should to it) but don't leave sharp edges otherwise your strings will constantly break
6. If you are patient and happy with the results, you can get a parchment piece for the E string groove, to avoid the tube protectors that come with the strings. This can be glued with super glue (though, hide glue is always prefered)
As you may see, all this is extremely time consuming, but funny, and rewarding if you succeed
Let us know of your results, or if you need any more info 
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@Hermes spelled-it-out exactly ! It IS time consuming and a bit fiddly ( LOL excuse the pun ). I made one some time back for my old 4/4 Skylark ( "Violetta" - she's now strung as a viola ). It was an interesting journey, and probably took me about 4 hours - but a HUGE AMOUNT of that time was spent on taking repeated measurements and so on, and being ultra careful about how much material was being removed (you can't put it back !). Even after the 4 hours, the next day I probably spent another 2 thinning down the bridge (by which time the sound-post decided to come loose when I accidentally "mishandled" (ummm... that means "dropped"....) the violin - no - it didn't fall far.... hahaha)
Next time round (if there is a next time) it'll be a significantly faster job.....
I seriously recommend not copying my mistakes. D'oh -
Please make your own, different mistakes, and help us all learn :-)
Regulars
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My luthier uses a belt sander (not for the feet, of course).
The little experience I've had, I'd tend to recommend sanding equipment (whether a block of wood wrapped in sandpaper or anything fancier) over knives. That's hard wood, and it required a lot more force than I was comfortable with applying to try to cut it.
Vises, clamps, and maybe a butcher's glove to keep you from cutting yourself might be a good idea, too, if you're going to use anything sharp. (A vise/clamp is probably pretty useful even with sandpaper.)
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Yup @charles - good advice !
Yeah - it's not "rocket science", but anyone planning to do this needs to understand the principles and fundamental measurements involved, and, if you are someone not already a "diy-er", it may sound frighteningly difficult - but with care, and attention to detail, and some relatively simple tools, it is possible. And indeed, in terms of material, not a great cost at all, in terms of time - well - yes - first time round I would give yourself a full day...
Treating your first bridge cutting/shaping as an "experiment" would be a good idea. The final result, once fitted and played, may "not give the best performance possible", but, that's what the journey is all about - the point is, it WILL work, you WILL have the satisfaction of being able to say "I made this", and you WILL have learned a lot in the process, making it easier and faster to do the next-time-round.... Absolutely...
I seriously recommend not copying my mistakes. D'oh -
Please make your own, different mistakes, and help us all learn :-)
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antreidez said
How tall and what material to use if you will reduce it? Can i use sand paper? I bought a violin bridge because a violin player told me it was too low. I was hoping it will also make a change of sound. Ill tag a photo
As with most things in this world, the more information and experience you gather the better the result will be.
Making a really great bridge is something takes a very long time to learn.
Making a bridge that works for you can be a different story and quite achievable if you follow instructions. As pointed out above, there are plenty of how to videos and instructional sites showing how to cut a bridge properly.
The quality of the wood is quite important but you also need to learn before spending too much money.
We have a couple here on Fiddlerman.com
https://fiddlerman.com/2011/11.....n-m-healy/
And one by Dennis Boring which as much as I have searched, I have not been able to find. Someone help me with this link please.....
"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."
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