Opinions on this bridge repair?

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Re: Opinions on this bridge repair?

Post by andy_tchp » Mon Jan 10, 2022 8:08 pm

Garbage 'repair' and a useless 'tech'.

Fill holes and re-drill to the correct depth/diamater.
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Re: Opinions on this bridge repair?

Post by ChrisDesign » Mon Jan 10, 2022 10:05 pm

Yep, it’s a terrible repair.

If everything is so bad, you have to decide when to cut your losses. I feel paying for a redrilling will cost more than the guitar is worth. I would be tempted to scrap it, sell the pieces on eBay, and buy a 2nd hand Mexican mustang on eBay.
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Re: Opinions on this bridge repair?

Post by theg721 » Tue Jan 11, 2022 4:49 am

Cheers all for all the replies and suggestions. I'll try pulling the thimbles and putting something under them as suggested, and if that doesn't work (which I have a feeling it won't, since the holes have to be too wide for that, but it's worth a try) I'll look for another tech to fill & re-drill the holes. Do any of you know any techs in the UK you can recommend who know what they're doing with offset guitars by any chance? I only went to this place because it was the last remaining local shop after the last couple years.
Larry Mal wrote:
Mon Jan 10, 2022 6:18 pm
I mean, would getting another Mustang body not be a fine solution at this point? The Mexican made Fender bodies are not going to be expensive and will still be of high quality.
To be honest, I had considered it, but I reckon I'd be hard pressed to find another Mustang body routed out for a Jaguar tremolo (it's not a deal breaker, but it was a big part of why I bought this one) and it seems a wee bit wasteful when there's only this one thing (still) wrong with it.
Sonichris wrote:
Mon Jan 10, 2022 6:40 pm
We need pictures - you're telling me that the thimbles being sunk into the body about a 1/16" has made it totally un adjustable? There's more problems than just sunken thimbles.
No, it's a good deal more than 1/16". Here's the best picture I could get with my phone, sorry about the poor quality:

Image
timtam wrote:
Mon Jan 10, 2022 6:42 pm
Any tech who suggests wrapping the bridge posts is basically advertising that he doesn't understand how the rocking bridge works. Or that he just wanted a quick and easy fix rather than addressing the thimble depth problem, as above.
This is what I was thinking, but I was really having some self-doubt on this one, since he was pretty adamant that this was the best solution.
ChrisDesign wrote:
Mon Jan 10, 2022 10:05 pm
Yep, it’s a terrible repair.

If everything is so bad, you have to decide when to cut your losses. I feel paying for a redrilling will cost more than the guitar is worth. I would be tempted to scrap it, sell the pieces on eBay, and buy a 2nd hand Mexican mustang on eBay.
What do you think it'd cost, roughly?

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Re: Opinions on this bridge repair?

Post by pscates » Tue Jan 11, 2022 6:37 am

Whoa, yeah…that is absolutely the problem. It looks like the holes were drilled to the diameter of the top thimble lip/edge and not the smaller shaft. That would absolutely lead to sinkage...the top lip isn't resting on the guitar body, it's just sliding down a hole that's drilled too large. I think I'm seeing that correctly. Others can/will confirm. :)

While it’s a guitar-based repair, IMO there’s nothing terribly “guitar” about it. By that I mean any competent woodworker with a drill press, who understands the situation and can take/transfer solid measurements, could do this plug and redrill job if he knows the measurements/dimensions involved (distance of thimble holes from the neck packet and the distance of each hole from each other, based off a center line. Where you are, it may be easier to find someone like that vs. some offset guru/tech?

He/she just needs to drill a hole the diameter of the thimble’s shaft, so the wider lip rests on the body. Then you’re in business. IMO, you don’t need a new body, shims in the hole, a new guitar, etc. You just need bridge post holes plugged and then drilled the proper diameter. In the big scheme of things, that’s cake.

The wood isn’t soft or weird, I don’t think. A guitar made of steel would have the same issue if its bridge post holes were drilled incorrectly/too large.

Seeing that photo made it pretty clear (and pretty much matches my third drawing upthread). Hell, no wonder you’re having problems! But it’s absolutely fixable.

Image

I'm 92% sure that dimension "B" is 2-7/8". That's the number shown on those to-scale Jazzmaster, Jaguar, etc. PDFs plans that are floating out there, and that's what I get when I open them in Illustrator and measure between the hole centers (2.875", or 2-7/8"). But confirm! Folks here know this stuff like the back of their hand.

Re: dimension "A", with the neck on the body, I suppose 12" from the 12th fret would give you the bridge location? Or is that fudged a bit in real life? I don't know...people here surely will. If you're having no alignment and/or intonation issues, you could use your current hole locations for the above "A" and "B" measurements? But if you are having any issues on those fronts, now's the time (plugging, redrilling) to find out those dimensions and have them drilled perfectly.

NOTE: I know most would figure something like "A" out with a neck in place. Most of the time I've just got a body. I know that "A" on a Jazzmaster is just a speck under 7-1/8", and have never had a problem with that number/placement. I just don't know what that is on a Jaguar/Mustang. Somewhere in the 6" range, I'd assume. I don't know if I have a to-scale Jaguar PDF.

Once this job is done competently, I think your bridge troubles will be over and you'll be done chasing your tail with temporary workarounds, etc. Someone just used a wrong-sized bit at some point, and your thimbles aren't seated/secure like they're supposed to be. Assuming I'm seeing everything as I think I am, a plug/redrill job is the way to go here, letting you keep your modified Mustang body (Jaguar tremolo). Any plug/patch work will be mostly hidden by the bridge, but you could always get creative with some paint or a marker to conceal that raw wood plug if it showed too much.

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Re: Opinions on this bridge repair?

Post by GreenKnee » Tue Jan 11, 2022 9:16 am

I'm not sure where abouts you're based, but I'd always recommend Oz to do work on guitars. He's in Sheffield.

http://www.ozzyowl.co.uk/

Here's a job he did on my American Original Jaguar.
http://www.ozzyowl.co.uk/the-workshop/r ... er-jaguar/


He's got a Supersonic and a Telecaster of mine at the minute, giving them bone nuts and a good setup. I don't think I'd trust anyone else with my guitars.

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Re: Opinions on this bridge repair?

Post by jorri » Tue Jan 11, 2022 10:29 am

Yeh that's a clean drill hole. Clearly for some other bridge or just plain mistake as suggested.

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Re: Opinions on this bridge repair?

Post by LVC » Tue Jan 11, 2022 12:44 pm

theg721 wrote:
Tue Jan 11, 2022 4:49 am
Larry Mal wrote:
Mon Jan 10, 2022 6:18 pm
I mean, would getting another Mustang body not be a fine solution at this point? The Mexican made Fender bodies are not going to be expensive and will still be of high quality.
To be honest, I had considered it, but I reckon I'd be hard pressed to find another Mustang body routed out for a Jaguar tremolo (it's not a deal breaker, but it was a big part of why I bought this one) and it seems a wee bit wasteful when there's only this one thing (still) wrong with it.
If all else fails, the Harley Benton MS-60 is £140 shipped to the UK: https://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton ... dition.htm
You could even recoup some of that by selling the neck and the parts you don't need.
It has a TOM style bridge, though, not a rocking one.

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Last edited by LVC on Sat Jan 15, 2022 12:55 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Opinions on this bridge repair?

Post by mackerelmint » Tue Jan 11, 2022 1:35 pm

If you've got a drill and a flush-cut saw, you can easily do the fix yourself.

If you try putting something in the bottom, I'd suggest also wrapping the thimble in paper enough to create a tight fit. Tape is a garbage fix, but paper's at least made out of wood, and that's why it's good enough to use in neck pockets for shimming.
This is an excellent rectangle

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Re: Opinions on this bridge repair?

Post by luau » Tue Jan 11, 2022 4:18 pm

theg721 wrote:
Mon Jan 10, 2022 6:08 pm
Sonichris wrote:
Mon Jan 10, 2022 5:21 pm
The bridge has the adjustable height screws in the posts still, right? they are like 3/8" long, and should be more than long enough to get the bridge up where you need it.
Nope, the thimbles are genuinely that deep into the body that the height screws aren't long enough.
Longer screws would be the easy fix although it might take a hacksaw and a file to fashion something passable yourself.

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Re: Opinions on this bridge repair?

Post by hexes » Thu Jan 13, 2022 3:50 pm

I’d get a refund from that tech. This is not any sort of repair and there is no reason that should have cost you anything at all.

Fill and Drill is the way. as stated, any good woodworker can do that. You can find doweling in poplar and alder for a harder wood easily. Only concern is if you have a ground wire going to the treble thimble. You’ll have to re-establish your ground.

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Re: Opinions on this bridge repair?

Post by Lost In Autumn » Fri Jan 14, 2022 2:59 am

tammyw wrote:
Mon Jan 10, 2022 9:06 am
If your thimbles have sunk that far, then they must be close to breaking through the back of the body. :o

I can't imagine something like that happening other than the holes being drilled the wrong size, and the fix should be to fill them with some good wood and re-drill correctly.

Is there anything else funny going on with the bridge? Are the bridge post height screws already fully extended? They need to still be engaged in the metal part of the posts. Are the plastic ends on the posts intact and undamaged?
this.
the original holes should be doweled and redrilled. This is the only way to repair the problem, short of a new body.

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Re: Opinions on this bridge repair?

Post by pscates » Fri Jan 14, 2022 10:27 am

Yeah, I think everyone is onboard the "plug and re-drill" train at this point. That's really all that's going to truly address/solve the issue (short of custom-sized thimbles or something crazy like that). :w00t:

That pic provided above made it super clear what was going on; someone just took a a measurement from the wrong part of the thimble and used a larger drill bit than they should've (matching the lip diameter vs. the smaller shaft). If I lived anywhere near the OP, I would've have this fix done for them three days ago. Alas, I'm on the wrong side of the Atlantic, it sounds like. :)

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Re: Opinions on this bridge repair?

Post by ChrisDesign » Sat Jan 15, 2022 10:19 am

eBay has many options. Here is just one mustang: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Fender-Japan ... 635-2958-0
"I own a '66 Jaguar. That's the guitar I polish, and baby - I refuse to let anyone touch it when I jump into the crowd." - Kurt Cobain

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Re: Opinions on this bridge repair?

Post by PorkyPrimeCut » Sun Jan 16, 2022 5:49 am

As others have said...

Fill & re-drill the holes.
Or buy another body.
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Re: Opinions on this bridge repair?

Post by pscates » Sun Jan 16, 2022 10:23 am

Well, as covered throughout the thread, the Mustang has a Jazzmaster/Jaguar trem (and that's a big part of the reason it was bought), so that's a little tougher than just snagging a used Mustang body off eBay or wherever. I think the OP is going with the plug/re-drill thing, once they find someone nearby to do so. They seem quite happy with the rest of the guitar, from what I've read. No need to employ the nuclear option (chucking the entire guitar, the body, etc.) when there's only one issue that is easily remedied (and allows the OP to keep the body, neck, electronics, pickguard, strings, etc.).

The first person they find with a drill press, knows how to measure and who understands the issue, they're in business. :)

I still think the OP improves their chances/casts a wider net if they also consider/seek out competent woodworkers, as there's nothing particularly "guitar-y" about the issue. They're not after a fret job, neck/truss rod repair or any sort of pickup/wiring expertise. They just need someone who can plug and (accurately) re-drill two new holes, once provided with the relevant dimensions/specs. It's a basic woodworking project/fix, IMO. It just happens to be a guitar, yes...but it could just as well be a jewelry box, spice rack, cabinet door, footstool, etc. for the specific repair needed.

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