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Check out the incredible job that our very own Kevin M did on an instructions for fitting a new bridge. It even gets me excited about doing it some day.
Thanks Kevin. I am sure that many people will save some money and maybe even get the job done better after watching your tutorial. 
"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."
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Whoa sweet!! Yea this would have saved me tonnes of money when my bridge broke. 
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The timing is great. When I got my EBay fiddle, the bridge feet didn't come down flush with the body. So I put the spare bridge on. Well it touches but.... I was going to get a new bridge and adjust the feet to fit perfectly. This is very good for me, and will make the job much easier.
Thanks Kevin M. Healy you have saved the day.
Shalom 
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BCShalom said:
The timing is great. When I got my EBay fiddle, the bridge feet didn't come down flush with the body. So I put the spare bridge on. Well it touches but.... I was going to get a new bridge and adjust the feet to fit perfectly. This is very good for me, and will make the job much easier.
Thanks Kevin M. Healy you have saved the day.
Shalom
Just let me know if you need any help or clarification.
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This is the kind of post that can help thousands of people but Kevin will only hear of a few. Most will use it in silence. 
"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."
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Thank-you for your time, Kevin. That is an excellent tutorial!
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Very nice tutorial, Kevin - thank you!
Your method of marking the bridge feet before starting to carve is excellent and will save a lot of time, and the way you mark the string projection with pencil lead is pure genius! Common Sense is obviously hard at work in your shop - I have not seen either of these little gems in any book or on any website 
Mary in Springfield, Oregon http://www.thefiddleandbanjopr.....dpress.com
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CatMcCall said:
.....Your method of marking the bridge feet before starting to carve is excellent and will save a lot of time, and the way you mark the string projection with pencil lead is pure genius! Common Sense is obviously hard at work in your shop – I have not seen either of these little gems in any book or on any website
I reacted to those ideas and home made tools as well. I hesitate to ask but you would be the perfect person to do one for sound-posts as well if you have time and feel up to it. Have you made or changed a lot of sound-posts? Is is something we could do given some great instructions and limited tools?
How about you Cat? You made at least one right? Maybe many more
"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."
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Fiddlerman said:
I reacted to those ideas and home made tools as well. I hesitate to ask but you would be the perfect person to do one for sound-posts as well if you have time and feel up to it. Have you made or changed a lot of sound-posts? Is is something we could do given some great instructions and limited tools?
How about you Cat? You made at least one right? Maybe many more
I haven't moved a lot of sound posts - I have only two fiddles at this point - but would be willing to share what I did. I picked up a different type of post setter that I haven't tried out yet. It is something that anyone should be able to do with a sharp knife and a bit of sandpaper. I'll see if I can get something photographed this weekend. The sound post in my cheap fiddle needs to be moved anyway 
Mary in Springfield, Oregon http://www.thefiddleandbanjopr.....dpress.com
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When I was a kid, I remember my dad set a sound post with a couple of strings and a pencil or was it two pencils? He had some washers tied to the ends of the string for weight and fishing the lines our of sound holes and special knots that only came lose from one side. I wish I had paid more attention to how he did it. I remember it took him a long time to set it correctly. But, as I say it is just a fuzzy childhood memory of what my dad did. Possibly my imagination run a muck?
I'm sure this doesn't help a bit.
Shalom Shalom 
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BCShalom, I have taken apart a lot of violins and found string tied to the sound post. I always wondered how someone put in a soundpost with string.
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Interesting tutorial, Kevin, thank you! i've just examined my bridge - and found out that it has a gap on one side (dunno how to say that- it does not touch the violin). I'll try to fit it.. /rubs hands/ but first i'll go get some extra bridge... just in case... 
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This post is definitely a keeper!
Thanks, Kevin for the detailed explanation and photos.
With your permission, I'd like to add it to the information on Violaman.com, if Fiddlerman hasn't already done so.
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Go for it. you can post it anywhere you would like to
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Kevin M, I wish I had paid closer attention. I was Ten, Violins didn't impress me to much then, except when my dad played, Under the Double Eagle. Grandpa was in the Nationalist Socialist Movement before Adolph came along. After Hitler too over we Jews weren't too welcome anymore.
So sorry I didn't pay attention, or I could tell you how he did it.
Shalom Shalom
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Kevin M. said:
BCShalom, I have taken apart a lot of violins and found string tied to the sound post. I always wondered how someone put in a soundpost with string.
If you look inside my Six Foot Fiddle you will find that there is a string tied around the sound post. I only had to fish the darned thing out a half dozen times before I figured out that if it had a string attached it would be easier to remove when I knocked it down. Again. Slow learner here...
Mary in Springfield, Oregon http://www.thefiddleandbanjopr.....dpress.com
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I've moved, raised and set sound-posts just never cut one. That would be a great challenge for me. I know of the tools that they make for this. I almost bought one but figured that I really don't need it. Now I am back to thinking about it again.
"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."
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Fiddlerman said:
I've moved, raised and set sound-posts just never cut one. That would be a great challenge for me. I know of the tools that they make for this. I almost bought one but figured that I really don't need it. Now I am back to thinking about it again.
Cutting is the easy part! Getting the darned thing up is harder by far until you've practiced a few dozen times 
Mary in Springfield, Oregon http://www.thefiddleandbanjopr.....dpress.com
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But I want to cut one that fits %100 perfectly with the right amount of tension. Is it just a matter of having the right tools? I can set one up pretty quickly now a days. Of course I always use the tool that makes a slight slit in the post but I think it is the most common.
"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."
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Fiddlerman said:
But I want to cut one that fits %100 perfectly with the right amount of tension. Is it just a matter of having the right tools? I can set one up pretty quickly now a days. Of course I always use the tool that makes a slight slit in the post but I think it is the most common.
You don't need special tools to shape the ends of the sound post - a small file or sandpaper will do it, as the ends don't have to be shaped very much to match the inside of top and bottom plates. The length is the biggie, and you may have to cut a few posts until you get it just right.
There's a great tutorial by Leif Luscombe here that has great pictures of the fit of the finished sound post - I don't think I could do better.
Mary in Springfield, Oregon http://www.thefiddleandbanjopr.....dpress.com
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