Beveled edge on bass bridge

[John M. Formsma]

Hi Folks,

I am not an experienced woodworker, so forgive what will probably be a very
basic question. I am somewhat of a dunce when it comes to this sort of
thing, not having done it much growing up.

I am working on recapping my first bass bridge (of a piano I bought for
myself), and have attached the bridge cap to the body just fine, trimmed it
flush with a router, etc., etc.  So far, so good. I am having trouble with
making a beveled edge on this curved bridge. The original bevel angle on the
bridge was about 30 degrees. Is this bevel normally done with a jointer with
the wood passing through at an angle? I do not have a jointer yet, and was
wondering if there was another way to create the bevel so that it would look
like the original.

The tools available to me are a router with a 45 degree chamfer bit, a
Wagner Saf-T-Planer, a radial arm saw, and a table saw. I don't really think
either saw will do, and I've tried the Saf-T-Planer with poor results. One
other thing I tried was a palm sander, which will work (sort of), but it
takes so long. I tempted to just use the 45 degree chamfer bit (that would
be the easiest), but do not know if the different angle will make a
substantial difference in the bridge.

How do you guys do this, and what would you recommend?

Thanks in advance.

John Formsma
Blue Mountain, MS

mailto:jformsma@dixie-net.com