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Carbon Fiber Biscuit Bridges
Biscuit Bridge



   
It took me six months to develop a better single cone biscuit bridge — even longer to get around to making a mini-version for ukes and mandolins. Now I am offering them for sale as a separate item. I also make a 12-string version that has a bit wider saddle.

   I ship through USPS (United States Postal Service). Tracking is included for US orders only. International shipping, of course, costs more, but hey, the US dollar is a good deal on foreign markets these days. Postal prices have again gone up. As of February 26, 2018 my shipping rate has increased to $7.00 for USA (including tracking) and $14.00 for international (can't track these orders).

6-string Biscuit Bridge

6-String Carbon Fiber Biscuit bridge. Dimensions nearly identical to National™ maple biscuit bridge. Biscuit is 1/16" (1.6mm) thick.

$29.00 (USD)


12-string Biscuit Bridge 12-String Carbon Fiber Biscuit bridge. Saddle is wider (about
3 1/4" — 83mm) to accomodate more strings.

$29.00 (USD)

 
Uke/Mandolin Biscuit Bridge Uke/Mandolin Carbon Fiber Biscuit Bridge. Same size as National™ maple bridge. Cutouts on saddle are there to allow the same relief as the thicker maple biscuit.

$27.00 (USD)

Custom Orders: Send me your existing maple biscuit and I will reproduce it in carbon fiber for $20.00 extra. Please note: you must also include an order for a biscuit bridge.

Here's a sample custom bridge I built for a customer in Australia. He was using an adjustable bridge that has been on the market for some time that was twice the weight of the carbon fiber custom biscuit bridge.






The adjustable bridge had the saddles off-center which is why you can see a hole that is off-center in my bridge. The hole was drilled and tapped like my standard models - but in an extension piece that also supports the center saddle. Since the saddle is in 3 parts and not drilled and tapped, I needed to add the extensions for stability.

The customer was extremely pleased with the enhanced loudness, sustain and exact positioning of the string slots and sadddle pieces.


   When I began my quest for a better way to transmit sound through a cone I was looking for a material that would be as light as but stiffer than the traditional maple biscuit bridge. When I finally arrived at carbon fiber I was astounded to find that I could build a very light bridge that is a good deal stiffer than any other on the market.

    The material characteristics of the carbon fiber bridge make it a better vibration transmitter. The low weight and high stiffness produce extremely low damping. More string energy is transmitted directly to the cone.

Uke Biscuit Comparison
   
The stiffness of carbon fiber allowed me to use a wafer-thin biscuit. It's only 1/16" (1.6mm) thick! The maple biscuit supplied by National™ is over 3 times as thick. Here's a comparison; A National™ uke/mandolin bridge is shown at the upper left:

   Carbon fiber is tough stuff. It will stand up to string wear a good deal longer than maple. It's also very slippery, and that keeps the strings moving longer and more easily. I use a 1/8" (3.18mm) thick piece of carbon fiber plate for the saddle. That leaves plenty of room for intonation compensation.


   The biscuit bridge assembly comes drilled and tapped for 2.5mm (0.45mm pitch). I send it along with one each 12mm, 16mm, and 20mm long stainless steel pan head screw. The shorter screws work best on Quarterman™ cones while the 20mm is what you will need for a National™ cone. A couple of stainless steel washers are also included. You will only need one washer, but this gives you a chance to lose one.


   Last (and maybe least) is the sheer beauty of the carbon plate I use for the biscuit. It's the same stuff found on expensive custom sports car and hot rod dash boards. If there is any interest, I plan on offering biscuit bridges in colors other than the basic Henry Ford (or maybe Coco Channel) black. Please send me some feedback if you want something more showy.

   Carbon fiber is a lot more expensive and a lot harder to machine than maple. It tends to eat steel tools for lunch. I have to use diamond saws and router blades to cut it. Given the cost of material and tooling, I think my price is pretty reasonable. It will cost you more than a maple biscuit bridge, but (in my not-so-humble opinion) you get a lot more bang (or reverberation) for your buck (or Euro for that matter.)