Cheap, fast, and easy way to shim stuff

[dmc69]

I find electrical tape to be very easy, very forgiving, and very clean looking to shim stuff with.

I tape multiple layers on the bottom of the thing that needs to be shimmed, then use and exacto knife to cut around the edges. If it's too thick, you remove a layer. If it's too thin, you add layers.

Sure you can argue with me about how plastic might not be good compared to wood, but I find the utility and efficiency of this to far outweigh any miniscule effect it'll have on tone of the guitar. Tone is in the fingers

Just thought I'd share a quick tip with you guys.

[Kazinator]

Having read Pirsig's Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, I use sheet metal snipped from beer cans for shimming. Also, wood veneers. Depends on the situation. If one of the parts being shimmed is already metal, then metal it is.

I have some beer can strip under the locking nut of my main axe. Speaking of which, I should add one more layer. The action is unnecessarily good near the nut. It might be better to have a little more squeeze for chording, and also space for open string ringing.

Electrical tape, hmm. I don't know; it's not what I would think of as a tone material. In non-acoustic situations, maybe.

 

[dmc69]

---

Kazinator wrote:

 

Having read Pirsig's

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance,

I use sheet metal snipped from beer cans for shimming. Also, wood veneers. Depends on the situation. If one of the parts being shimmed is already metal, then metal it is.

 

I have some beer can strip under the locking nut of my main axe. Speaking of which, I should add one more layer. The action is unnecessarily good near the nut. It might be better to have a little more squeeze for chording, and also space for open string ringing.

 

Electrical tape, hmm. I don't know; it's not what I would think of as a tone material. In non-acoustic situations, maybe.

 

 

---

 

Hmm beer cans. I never thought of that. I'll try that next time.

Electrical tape isn't something I'd say is a tone material either, but for electrics, I don't see a problem. I've done it with a strat that needed the neck shimmed and it turned out to sound pretty much like all my other strats, even those with tight neck pocket fits and wood on wood contact. Then again, I made sure there were no gaps, and every tape surface touched the heel.