ES-335 12String Stop Bar advice

[Stomp70]

Thanks for the speedy advice Gents.
I'm both glad I am thinking in the right direction but a little gutted that my first kit has these issues !

I was thinking of building out the side of the block to add more strength but I take it from your comments any thought of just gluing (Titebond 2) will be insufficient and epoxy would be a better choice.

My thinking following your suggestions is, If I can get as large a reinforcement as possible in through the F hole and attach to the centre block snug up to the veneer, that will help distribute the load from the post hole. Just need to work out how to apply enough pressure for setting time without creating a problem in another area.

Guess I will have a red hot go, without this fixed the body is all but a throw away.

Again my thanks and if I get it sorted I will let you guys know.

[fender3x]

Guess I will have a red hot go, without this fixed the body is all but a throw away.

Don't throw it away! There is generally something you can do.

I have never done anything like what Jim suggests, and really couldn't. My wife is an environmental engineer and has forbidden my bringing anything like those materials into the house.

Nevertheless I have had this same experience on two ES-335 bodies. The good news is that I managed the repairs with nothing more toxic than Titebond. The bad news is that it meant that I had to use a solid color on the top. I can give some detail of the repair, as well as a "solution" that might not require a repair, but first there are a couple of things that you should check.

The root of the problem is the ridiculously narrow center block, but that may not be the only problem. It may signify an alignment problem. Another way of saying this is that before fixing the hole you should make sure it is in the right place. That means doing a dry-fit to see how the strings line up with the bridge and pickup routs.

On my first one, everything off by about 1 degree including the neck route. On my second one the pickup routes did not quite align with the bridge. On the first one, I had a problem exactly like yours. On the second, I had it when I shifted the bridge to where it needed to be.

So if JimC's plan is "A" let's call this plan B:
The simplest solution might be to plug the holes and use a floating bridge. If you have the same problem with the tail stop--or if you are worried that 12 string force might pull it out, you can also use a trapeze tailpiece. If any part of your stop-tailpiece hole has air under it, a trapeze tailpiece might be advisable. Even if it doesn't, the center block is so narrow that one side will be very weak, so a tapeze might be the best option in any case. 12 strings can pull pretty hard.

Sanding down the tops of plugs without damaging the veneer is difficult, but people with more skill than I've got have done it.

Plan C:
If everything does line up and you want to use the original holes for the bridge with the original hardware, then you could try this. I have managed to glue a piece of wood to the side of the center block with Titebond, and the blocks have held fast. I did not use clamps but it requires strong fingers. I took a small piece of pine or poplar, and put a generous coat of Titebond on the the top and side. I worked it carefully through the F-hole and pressed it as hard as I could into place. I then held it there for 20 minutes. Both the odd position and the pressure made my fingers really hurt, but Titebond can be unclamped after 10 min, so 20 should be enough. I left it to completely dry for two days. After that I could drill into it for the bridge ferrule.

While I could get a good bond on the center block, the new piece was not quite flush with the top, due to the top's curve. Since about 2/3 of the hole was over the center block that was enough to keep the ferrule from going too deep. I really just needed the new piece to keep it laterally stable. This could work for you if most of the hole is over the center block. However, It'd still use a trapeze (and that is actually what I did with mine) rather than a stop-tail piece.

If you have too much hole, not enough center block, as was the case with my 2nd ES335 body, you could try the more invasive plan "D" that I will detail below. Plan "D" is the best I have come up with, but also the most invasive, so if you use it, plan on a solid color for the top...