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Guitar hacks (AKA little tricks that make your life easier when dealing with guitars)


dmc69

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I read somewhere recently on this forum about putting springs on a Floyd retainer bar.

 

DSC09867.jpg

 

Sure made stringing up a Floyded guitar easier :p

See the ball ends on the tuning pegs? Another trick I learned from this forum as well.

Does anyone else have any other 'hacks'/tricks to share?

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I cut all my pickup springs so that they're a bit shorter than the screw so that they'll be easier to assemble. Nothing like fighting with those fawking springs for absolutely no reason.

 

Building on that idea, I suggest throwing the springs away and, instead, using surgical tubing: http://www.allparts.com/1-Foot-Surgical-Tubing-p/GS-0330-000.htm

 

GS-0330-000-2T.jpg

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When installing a screw into wood for the first time, I like to rub a little bit of soap on the screw to ease the initial thread-cutting in the wood. When reinstalling after removal, I turn the screw counterclockwise until it 'drops' into the threads cut into the wood, then clockwise until it's tight. Practically eliminates stripping. No biggie for something like pickguard screws, but downright handy for important things like the neck and bridge.

 

Oh! That reminds me. I always make sure the neck attachment screws can pass freely through the holes in the body - if they bind, I generally clean out the holes with the appropriate drill bit. I tell myself it leads to a tighter neck/body connection, but more than anything, it just makes proper neck removal/install easier. It also makes proper sense from an engineering standpoint, which pleases my OCD.

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When installing a screw into wood for the first time, I like to rub a little bit of soap on the screw to ease the initial thread-cutting in the wood. When reinstalling after removal, I turn the screw counterclockwise until it 'drops' into the threads cut into the wood, then clockwise until it's tight. Practically eliminates stripping. No biggie for something like pickguard screws, but downright handy for important things like the neck and bridge.


Oh! That reminds me. I always make sure the neck attachment screws can pass freely through the holes in the body - if they bind, I generally clean out the holes with the appropriate drill bit. I tell myself it leads to a tighter neck/body connection, but more than anything, it just makes proper neck removal/install easier. It also makes proper sense from an engineering standpoint, which pleases my OCD.

 

 

Good tips! I always strip the threads in my body too to ensure a tight neck connection. Not many things are worse than seeing a neck floating off the body because the threads in the body prevent the screws from tightening any more.

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I know it is a simple one, and widely known, but a butter knife is the bomb for removing knobs from the shafts on a strat.

 

 

I use a stack of picks instead. No chance of any scratch. You just jam picks in there and turn the knob, next thing you know, boom, out.

 

Also, a little fun trick is that you can get Tune-O-Matic bushings out by dropping something small in the hole, then just using the post itself and letting it pull the bushings up as you're turning it.

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I know it is a simple one, and widely known, but a butter knife is the bomb for removing knobs from the shafts on a strat.

 

 

I use fishing line.

 

When removing pegs from the bridge of my acoustic when changing strings, I use a teaspoon to wedge them out. Keep one in the case, works like a charm.

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I know it is a simple one, and widely known, but a butter knife is the bomb for removing knobs from the shafts on a strat.

 

 

Edge of my shirt works for me...!

 

Worn-down nut slots can be fixed with a paste made from pencil lead mixed with superglue in the offending gap, then a quick refile.

 

Gets rid of an annoying string buzz (on a short-term basis) until you can find the time to put a new nut on.

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Edge of my shirt works for me...!


Worn-down nut slots can be fixed with a paste made from pencil lead mixed with superglue in the offending gap, then a quick refile.


Gets rid of an annoying string buzz (on a short-term basis) until you can find the time to put a new nut on.

 

 

Every time I read someone's post it reminds me of the things I do. I mix baking soda and superglue to raise my nut slots. I don't even buy new ones, seems to hold. Funny how we all find a way with what we have on hand.

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Every time I read someone's post it reminds me of the things I do. I mix baking soda and superglue to raise my nut slots. I don't even buy new ones, seems to hold. Funny how we all find a way with what we have on hand.

 

 

Two part clay epoxy works pretty well also.

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I normally use a flat head screwdriver for knobs and acoustic pegs, which would explain the scratches on pickguards/knobs/pegs. Picks are an interesting idea, I may give it a try. And I have like 27 butter knives, why didn't I think of that one?

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Every time I read someone's post it reminds me of the things I do. I mix
baking soda
and superglue to raise my nut slots. I don't even buy new ones, seems to hold. Funny how we all find a way with what we have on hand.

 

 

Sssssssh

 

Don't say baking soda.

You'll have OMG_Otters back again.

 

Btw here's a tip.

If your guitar case smells and you use baking soda to get the smell out, do NOT wet the lining.

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I normally use a flat head screwdriver for knobs and acoustic pegs, which would explain the scratches on pickguards/knobs/pegs. Picks are an interesting idea, I may give it a try. And I have like 27 butter knives, why didn't I think of that one?

 

 

For acoustic pegs, I recommend this:

 

BridgePinPullerBottleOpener-11.png

 

In that it doubles as a bottle opener, it's a total win.

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if you're bothered by a loose tremolo arm on your Strat, put a little spring in the hole before you screw the arm in. a spring from a ball-point pen is good, or any spring about that size. i sometimes use a pickup mounting spring, but they're a little big for the job.

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if you're bothered by a loose tremolo arm on your Strat, put a little spring in the hole before you screw the arm in. a spring from a ball-point pen is good, or any spring about that size. i sometimes use a pickup mounting spring, but they're a little big for the job.

 

On this subject, has anyone figured out a surefire way for knowing where the trem bar will be when fully tightened? Drives me mental :mad:

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