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I am in need of a new bridge. Someone was adding tapes to the neck of my violin and said the bridge was warping and would need to be replaced! I nabbed a bridge from the local shop and have a general idea of having to use sand paper to get the thickness the same, putting a piece of basic sandpaper on the body and rubbing it against the new bridge to get the feet shaped right, and my old bridge as a bit of a template for thickness and whatnot, but that's about it. It seems pretty straight forward, but there isn't much out there in terms of picture tutorials on the internet.
Since this place is super helpful with DIY, I'd post here before I started.
Here are my questions:
How long should something like this take?
How much could I potentially screw up my violin?
I'm afraid that the sandpaper might make micro scratches on the violin body from loose grains...anyway to keep that from happening?
What kinds of interesting tweaks are possible with a bridge? I know country has a slightly modified bridge, but I haven't seen anything else really.
http://www.dalemfg.com/acousti.....nt_013.htm
Here's some pretty pictures but I think there is a lot to see on YouTube that may interest you.
Are you also making the string slots? That requires a lot of attention. I guess your old bridge will be the pattern(?)
Otherwise, if you lift string tension during removal of a bridge then the the sound post might fall down. Maybe not but don't jar the violin. ( Do you have a string lifter?)
Some folks would never touch a bridge with sandpaper or a file but some do. The other choice is to use a knife or little plane to whittle down to thickness. I always use sandpaper or a file because otherwise I would be a mass of bandaids.
Setting up a proper bridge can be a matter of an hour or two depending on your confidence, skill and tools.
Remember to put lead pencil marks in the slots .
There are no reliable tweaks that I know of or ever found even though those claims are made.
A "country" bridge might be flatter curvature for double stops but most play regular bridges.
For most violins, bridge thickness/taper is the important parameter.
Yeah, I like the pre cut swivel feet Glaesel type (Amazon $16.00) and I've used them but all the precautions for installation still apply.
Regular advisor
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I may end up just getting a fitted bridge and practice on the blank that I have. I'd really like to try carving the holes as per the link Oliver sent, but since it's a lot more involved than originally thought, the blank I have will just be for experiments. Thanks everyone!
(No more math?!?)
http://www.audubonstrings.com/.....s_id/22755
I do not know how brave you are or how rich but a string lifter is a neat thing to have and can save lotsa trouble even with just putting on a new pre-cut.
( If you want MATH then you have to pay your July dues 
I did not surf on string lifter price. May be cheaper elsewhere.
Regular advisor
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That's pretty handy. Getting a bridge changed is around $20 + the cost of the bridge. Just using it twice would pretty much pay for it.
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Fitting new bridges tend to cost more than that here in the US. You can easily pay between $40 - 150 including the bridge.
"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."
Honorary advisor
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When I changed my bridge, it took me nearly 3 hours with some sandpaper and a file because my pickup(which was under the bridge) added nearly 5mm to the height. The fact that the wood was crazy hard also seems to have added to the time. But it's very fulfilling when it's done 
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What kind of pick-up did you get Daniel?
"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."
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3 hours...>__< I don't know if I'd have to patience to do such fine detail work for three hours.
@fiddlerman My local music shop told me that it would cost $20 for labor + $8 for a bridge. They also told me sanding it was all I really needed to do if I did it by myself, so I guess you get what you pay for.
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Also, labor is less expensive in Pallet Town right?
"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."
Regular advisor
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Haha. I'm guessing that it's not super expensive because it's just one of the college and/or high school students doing it with a piece of sandpaper and a pencil. It could also be that the guy I asked misquoted the price. It wouldn't surprise me, since it was one of the younger ones. (That or I'm getting the cute girl discount!)
Honorary advisor
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I don't really know, but if I had to guess, it would be a transducer. I get the worst treble humming from it 
-wow Just realized I hit the 100 post lol
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