Help needed on Epiphone setup

[KjunMan]

I am a retired person on a set income wanting to learn guitar. I purchased a Epiphone 6830 which is similar to the FT 140 series guitar. It was beat up so I did some repair to the front that was separated probably from being dropped. I bought it cheap wanting something to fix up as a beater guitar as I own a Seagull S6+. 

The neck seems straight and when I got it the action seemed very good. I am converting it to a Lefty guitar so I did some work on the nut. When it came to the adjustable bridge the saddle was worn badly and I could not get it to stop buzzing or tune correctly. Well, I changed the saddle after some filing but the action is now higher than it was before but it tunes and sounds good. Question is this: How do I check to see how much more I can file down the saddle to have it playable at the lowest setting of the adjustable saddle?

Also, never realized it but the top is bowed some with some obvious lean. The bridge seems tight so it must be the bow. Is there any way I can do something to make it return to normal sans incurring cost of a luthier? Also, what strings would one recommend now that I have discovered this problem. Are ultra light strings good sounding if that is the recommendation?

Thank you one and all for the help. It is painstaking but I am getting there with my playing. Doing so Hank Williams and some Elvis tunes and working on some blues songs. Wish I had started this at a much younger age. 

[DeepEnd]

What you have is an older guitar, probably from the 1970's. The main problems are related to its age. First and foremost, humidify it: http://www.taylorguitars.com/global/pdfs/dry_guitar.pdf. Then, check the relief. Put a capo at the first fret and press down on the low E where the neck meets the body, in this case the 14th fret. Use a feeler gauge to measure the gap between the string at about the 6th fret. It should be .010" or so. Next, measure the action at the 12th fret. Depending on your playing style, you can get away with maybe 2/32" for the high E and 3/32" for the low E. If you have more clearance (higher action) than that, you can probably lower the saddle. As for the "belly bulge," that's probably a structural issue, although it could be agravated by the guitar being dried out. A cheap fix that might work is the JLD "Bridge Doctor": http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Tools/Special_tools_for_Bridges/JLD_Bridge_Doctor.html. Finally, given the condition and age of your guitar, I'd probably use the lightest strings I could find.

[KjunMan]

Thanks for the information. I knew it was old and it had issues when I bought it for $40.00. You mention the lightest strings I can find, do you mean something like extra light acoustic strings if such exist. Would electric guitar strings work on this guitar or silk and steel.