Double Bass Sanding bridge feet down...

[bassfacer22]

I have a Eminence Bass.

-with the action all the way down the fit seems funny (bridge to neck lineup) and I won't be in a position to use a luthier due to the circumstances of traveling everyday etc..

I want to know what sand paper to use if I was to lightly sand the feet of the bridge to the body of the bass by putting the sandpaper between the bridge feet and body of the bass and then sand the bridge feet slightly to the curve of the body.. just very little.. to get the feet to be sanded to the curve of the body..

is this ok and what type of sandpaper would I use?

 

[megafiddle]

I have a Eminence Bass.

-with the action all the way down the fit seems funny (bridge to neck lineup) and I won't be in a position to use a luthier due to the circumstances of traveling everyday etc..

I want to know what sand paper to use if I was to lightly sand the feet of the bridge to the body of the bass by putting the sandpaper between the bridge feet and body of the bass and then sand the bridge feet slightly to the curve of the body.. just very little.. to get the feet to be sanded to the curve of the body..

is this ok and what type of sandpaper would I use?

I am assuming that you have adjusters and that when both adjusters are all the way down, the top of the bridge does not align with the neck? "the fit seems funny (bridge to neck lineup)"
Or are you saying that when the adjusters are all the way down, the feet do not have good contact with the top?

First, about sanding the feet to the top - I have done it successfully with nonadjustable bridges, using 100 aluminum oxide (open coat) paper. It's tedious, as you have to confine the sanding strokes to very short lengths, and make sure the bridge remains perfectly vertical the whole time. If you do try it, grip the feet as low as possible, right down by the sandpaper.
If you have adjusters, you have the additional problem of holding the feet aligned while seating them. One solution is to tack glue a strip of wood across the feet to hold them aligned. You also have to make sure that the feet are stressed apart just as they would be when the bridge is under tension.

If the feet-to-top fit is changing as the bridge height is varied, then there is a problem in the fitting of the bridge adjusters; the lower half of the legs are not parallel as the legs are extended. As the bridge is raised or lowered, the bridge feet should not move.

If it's just a matter of keeping the gap of one adjuster a little different than the other, and all else is good, then I would not worry about it at all.

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