It always strikes me as strange the way so many run-of the-mill guitars get made with such high actions.

Often enough you find quite decently made instruments, but with actions that make them virtually unplayable. I make a habit of having a look at any guitar I come across in charity shops and boot fairs and such, and that's almost invariably the case. (There are exceptions, and I've got a couple of good instruments that way.)

Why I say "strange" is because, while it's easy enough to raise an action that's too low, to lower one is much more of a problem.

When it's just that the nut is too high, that's easy enough - even before you've got round to cutting it lower, you can just stick a capo on the first fret. If the bridge is too high that's more of a problem, but not too difficult. Though I'd be interested if anyone has any suggestions for how far you can lower a bridge.

But more often than not it's not that the bridge is too high, but that the neck angle is wrong, and that's major surgery.

But it seems a pity to give up on otherwise decent enough guitars. Any suggestions anybody?