EX-4: Bridge Position / Scale length problem

[fender3x]

More Glück im Unglück ;-) ...The need to reposition the bridge leads to the opportunity to realign the bridge. If you are doing a non-transparent finish on a solid body, there is really no down side to the plug-and-sand approach. I have more experience with this than I wanted... This is how I plugged the holes the first time:

https://www.buildyourownguitar.com.a...?t=5339&page=4

Went a little nuts with it the 2nd time...

https://www.buildyourownguitar.com.a...ck+gibson+body

The BEST advice I got for doing this to tape all around the dowel and then cut down the excess with a thin, Japanese saw. I had never heard a Japanese saw at the time...but what a useful tool! It allows you cut very close to the surface of the wood.

After cutting sand it flat. Using a lot of filler around the dowel and any place you may have marred the wood.

No one will ever know that you moved the bridge and you will have access up to about the 19th fret, which is about the same as a P-bass.

[Rabbit]

The BEST advice I got for doing this to tape all around the dowel and then cut down the excess with a thin, Japanese saw. I had never heard a Japanese saw at the time...but what a useful tool! It allows you cut very close to the surface of the wood.

Or go one better, a japanese flush cut saw. these have no kerf and are designed to cut dowels flush to the surface. Also useful for cutting wooden plugs flush with a fretboard if you use them for dot inlays.

[MoSch]

Sooo, it's been a while... job and health ain't friends of my bass project ;-)

But meanwhile i got myself a japanese saw and dowels and practiced on cutting boards (i also used those to practice shaping the headstock). Well... some more training until i feel fully prepared, but it gets more promising.
Also I practiced with the cheap drill press - that won't work, I will find someone with the real thing.

Nevertheless I startet thinking about the bushings to mount the bridge.
Especially if I want to drill suitable holes I want to understand how they are working first. So I got some more questions:

1. Are the bushings basically blind rivet nuts that are tightened by deformation by the screw or is it a press-fitted ferrule? In the latter case the dimesnions of the hole would be even more important...
I cannot find proper descriptions of those bushings (and the Babicz homepage isn't too helpful either: https://www.fullcontacthardware.com/...g-body-inserts )

2. Is there a reason why the bridge isn't mountet with the screws through the whole body and sleeve nuts on the back? This seemed to me a very strong connection?

[Rabbit]

Since you are building the instrument, you are free to mount the bridge as you see fit. The intent of an after market bridge is to be a replacement/improvement for an existing instrament. A bit like "bolt on" third party parts for your car. Sure you can bolt on the new parts, but you still have the option of welding them on

[fender3x]

...a press-fitted ferrule? In the latter case the dimesnions of the hole would be even more important...
I cannot find proper descriptions of those bushings (and the Babicz homepage isn't too helpful either: https://www.fullcontacthardware.com/...g-body-inserts )

It's this one. I have found that calling or emailing the mfg sometimes gets you the info better than searching web pages. Babicz wrote back the one time I asked them a question... FWIW.

Is there a reason why the bridge isn't mountet with the screws through the whole body and sleeve nuts on the back? This seemed to me a very strong connection?

Not that I have ever seen written. I think it may be to keep the back as clean as possible, but Danelectros have screws in the back. I also think that is why some three point bridges are string-through. To help keep the bridge in place.

[MoSch]

Hello :-)

short update:
I finally had the guts to fill the wrong bridge holes!











I'm quite happy with the result of my first try :-)

I first made some fitting dowels by putting by putting wooden bars in my drill and using a file while rotating until they were thin enough (the holes seemed not to be of metric measure so I couldn't find suitable dowels here).

Then I glued those sticks into the wrong holes.

Next day I cut them with the japanese saw (indeed a very interesting tool that I didn't know before!).

And finally sandpaper.

It wasn't as bad as expected! Thank you for the encouragement!!!


Next stop: Drilling new holes

[Trevor Davies]

Great work. They look very neat.

[fender3x]

Nice job! Yes, those Japanese saws are a great.

This might be a good idea to consider using a different bridge. The three point bridge that comes with the kit has a tendency to pull out from string tension. They are also hard to adjust. I got early advice to replace mine with something else. I eventually did get rid of it, but not before several failed experiments trying to get it to work right. There are some great 3 point bridges (Babicz and Hipshot) that are drop in replacements, but pretty expensive. There are also some cheaper, but still pretty good two-point bridges with stop tailpieces...