Anything not really cheap or really old should make short work of bridge saddles.
Quick luthiery/manteinance questions not deserving a thread
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Anything not really cheap or really old should make short work of bridge saddles.
This site may earn a commission from merchant links like Ebay, Amazon, and others.
wheresthefbomb
Well-Known Member
Before today I would never have suspect that "quick luthiery/maintenance questions" would be an unsafe thread to view while eating dinner. Yummy.
swimrunner
Member
Tune-O-Matic saddles are typically brass, which is not so bad, but generally speaking yeah, expect some wear. I would look at Hosco or MusicNomad Diamond Files for burners (there may be other options) if those nut files have proper handles/were expensive. For brass, it doesn't need to be diamond (I'd recommend diamond if working on steel).
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I bought this pack of what are essentially cheap jeweler's files on Amazon, I can say they work well on T6-6061/7075 aluminum. I expected them to be single use, but they have held up under normal use here and there for a while now. I wouldn't put them against steel or iron, though.
Otherwise get a Nicholson.
Otherwise get a Nicholson.
Invest in some Grobet files, they'll last forever. Get a small selection of cut 4 or cut 6 square and 3 square files and you'll be very happy, they're a joy to use and leave a great finish. They also have an Inox line that is 72 Rockwell C hardness, literally can file other files with them.
Moongrum
Well-Known Member
I always end up getting my guitar modded by a tech at some point, so I never have had to do a setup.
Any recommended youtube vids on how to do a standard setup on a fixed bridge guitar that I can follow along with?
Since winter, my guitar's action on the higher frets has gotten higher. Maybe I need to straighten the truss rod (neck looks straight to me idk), or lower the bridge saddles or something.
Any recommended youtube vids on how to do a standard setup on a fixed bridge guitar that I can follow along with?
Since winter, my guitar's action on the higher frets has gotten higher. Maybe I need to straighten the truss rod (neck looks straight to me idk), or lower the bridge saddles or something.
Dumple Stilzkin
Pointy star bastard.
What do you guys like to use to clean up really really dirty hardware? I got some edge tremolos in great shape, just need a massive clean up.
Naphtha soak for a couple hours, dry them off, then a soft bristle brushing with 3-In-One oil or WD40. An old toothbrush does great, anything harder and you can damage the finish. Polish when done with a clean, new microfiber cloth.
Full disassembly before hand of course.
I don't think most people (even experienced people) can eyeball the straightness of a neck just by looking down on it unless it's reaaally bad. It's just such a precise measurement. I usually can't eyeball it like that unless the relief is really high, like above 0.025" of relief. I really need a set of feeler gauges to do the job properly. Fretting the 1st and neck-joint (anywhere between 16th and 20th) frets to create a straight edge with the thinnest string will give me a decent first impression of where my neck relief is.
I don't remember any good videos to follow along with, but I do remember a couple where I appreciated the dude's tips and tricks. I'm not usually a fan of Rhett's and the way his content is presented, but I'm glad I watched these two:
What I know of how to clean and maintain floating bridges has mostly been from Max (really not the first time he makes this exact post
) and Rich at IbanezRules. It has worked well for me for the last couple of years since my collection grew and I had to do more frequent setups to have all my guitars in shape. Just gotta have all the materials handy. Moongrum
Well-Known Member
Ah, that's good to hear actually, I thought I was just a scrub because I can't see it with my naked eye lol.
I'll check out the videos, thank you
Hope they're useful!Ah, that's good to hear actually, I thought I was just a scrub because I can't see it with my naked eye lol.
I'll check out the videos, thank you
Also, to clarify, I don't consider myself a very experienced person when it comes to setups
I just have experience with my own gear and understand the basics. I just can't conceive of a human having THAT precise an eyesight, but maybe I'm just too close minded. Anyone that can comment on StewMac's Gripper truss rod wrenches?
Just for context, I have a guitar with a pretty stiff truss rod where I have had to apply quite a bit of force, which destabilizes my grip on the provided allen key, and it has slipped a couple of times. I fear the nut may be starting to strip, at least enough that anything but a firm grip may slip. I can still get a hold of the nut with the key, but I don't want to keep trying in case I make it worse. Thankfully, the neck is set up exactly the way I want it at the moment.
Just for context, I have a guitar with a pretty stiff truss rod where I have had to apply quite a bit of force, which destabilizes my grip on the provided allen key, and it has slipped a couple of times. I fear the nut may be starting to strip, at least enough that anything but a firm grip may slip. I can still get a hold of the nut with the key, but I don't want to keep trying in case I make it worse. Thankfully, the neck is set up exactly the way I want it at the moment.
Eh, they're good for the odd adjustment here or there, but if your truss rod nut isn't already stripped it certainly will be if you over do it with the grippers, which are basically what you get when you combine EZ outs with a wrench.
Depending on the rod, I'd just bite the bullet and replace the nut. You'll probably have to eventually if you have to use stuff like the StewMac wrenches.
A good set of long/extra long ball end wrenches are my go-to. Even if the threading is suspect a tap from a mallet on the butt of the wrench, which mostly does what the grippers do, will be enough to get that extra bite.
Thanks Max! Wouldn't ball end wrenches have a higher risk of stripping? I don't have any, but I feel like they wouldn't have as accurate a fit as a flat ended wrench.
I got one of the grippers anyway in case I need to do some last minute adjustments, but I'm gonna start looking into a more permanent solution for this (e.g. replacing the rod's nut.)
You can do some damage with a ball end wrench, just remember to turn with the nut.
A lot of the time it's less a bad nut and more of getting a wrench squared up, and a ball end fixes that.
Yeah that makes sense actually. It's kind of exactly the problem I have. The angle is funny and the rod is hard to turn, which makes my angle weird so it slips out. Probably gonna get a set of those too just. for general use.
narad
Progressive metal and politics
I'm sure this situation has come up before, but I wanted to do my first refret for a while, just waited for the right low-value neck to come my way, watched a ton of videos, got really excited. It's practically ASMR. So sat down to do the refret, heated up the fret with the soldering iron a bit, saw some glue residue seep out, grabbed the fret pullers, and ... what? It can't get the fret?? It just can't get under it anywhere. On the edge of the board, the frets are sat back a little, and the frets themselves are very flat, trapezoidal, flaring outwards. Its like trying to lift a pyramid from the ground without digging into the sand.
I can upload pictures but I think you get the point. I took a thin razor blade and tried to kind of scrape under it, and I can get it under the fret in some parts, but there's a big difference between the width of the razor blade and the fret pullers. Any tips?
I can upload pictures but I think you get the point. I took a thin razor blade and tried to kind of scrape under it, and I can get it under the fret in some parts, but there's a big difference between the width of the razor blade and the fret pullers. Any tips?
narad
Progressive metal and politics
Wound up having a go with it throwing all the tricks at it. None of them worked. The only thing I could really do is start from the center of the fret, where the grippers could actually get under it. Unfortunately it was pretty impossible to stop chip-out starting from the middle and also needing a ton of force to finally get the grippers to slide under there :-/
On the last 4 frets or so I switched to the Hosco narrow tool instead of the stewmac fret cutters. Then I was able to get it going pretty cleanly, I think?
And more oiling for the body:
On the last 4 frets or so I switched to the Hosco narrow tool instead of the stewmac fret cutters. Then I was able to get it going pretty cleanly, I think?
And more oiling for the body:
Honestly @narad it doesn't look that bad to me. At least the chipping seems to be only happening directly underneath the fret so it should be mostly invisible once refretted. You might want to re-radius or at least scrape the fretboard though to have it as good as it can be. Another option if you have access to a grinder is to buy random of the shelves pliers and grind them down to thin and flat just for that job...
Now my turn to ask a question:
I want to cable a 1 volume, no tone, HH guitar with a 5 way switch and have access to classical HH tones, a single like neck tone and some decent clean tones. I was thinking an Ibanez 5 way or a schaller megaswitch. Anyone can tell me how bulky they are? I can't find the info and I'll have a 30mm deep cavity.
Side question: I am also considering the 5 way + 2 way toggle setup that some ibanez have nowadays. Seems like there is a pcb on the switch though. Any idea if this can be translated to a pushpull instead?
Now my turn to ask a question:
I want to cable a 1 volume, no tone, HH guitar with a 5 way switch and have access to classical HH tones, a single like neck tone and some decent clean tones. I was thinking an Ibanez 5 way or a schaller megaswitch. Anyone can tell me how bulky they are? I can't find the info and I'll have a 30mm deep cavity.
Side question: I am also considering the 5 way + 2 way toggle setup that some ibanez have nowadays. Seems like there is a pcb on the switch though. Any idea if this can be translated to a pushpull instead?
