Proper bridge placement

[Sluggs]

This is my first project guitar. A good friend gave it to me thinking I will give it new life and a good home. Long story short, I had to replace the piece that holds the bridge. I cut a small block of 2x4 and bonded it with gorilla glue and now I have to drill new holes to position the bridge. Problem is, i need to put it straight so that the strings aren't crooked at the last frets without going through trail and error. And I definitely do NOT want to eye it out. Any advice? This is my first post with a pic, hopefully the link pops.

 

[Heywood Jablomie]

Well, between the pickups is definitely wrong.........

 

[Tone2TheBone]

Maybe use a straight edge aligned with top and bottom nut slots. Set the straight edge center of low E at the nut and align the edge with the edge of the neck where the low E string would go. Align the other end of the edge with the bridge saddle of the low E. Make a mark on the body with a pencil around that side of the bridge plate as a reference point. Do the same thing with the high E side and make a mark there. You might have to interpolate both sides of the exact position of the bridge if they don't line up perfectly with the neck but you'll get it pretty close. You can still adjust the neck angle after the strings are on anyway. Also if the bridge is a trem make sure you give it enough forward space for the block to move up and down.

 

[DeanEVO_Dude]

Run a piece of string or thread from the low E tuner down the length, thru the bridge, across the back to the high E hole on the bridge, up the length of the guitar to the high E tuner. Makes a nice straight edge to make sure that you are inline, then use a tape measure from the nut to the front of the bridge to make sure it is not cocked. Mark the outter holes, drill, etc.