Bridge Pin Won't Budge

[T.B.]

All of my plastic pins except one won't budge, help me out please. Thanks.

[Steverino]

Can you get your hand in the soundhole? If so, reach inside till you feel the bottom of the pin and push it out. You may need to use something like a pick or a penny if it's really stuck.

[Crab_Cake]

 

 

just jk but seriously use pliers.

[totamus]

ooh - no offense Crab Cake, but the pliers are just not a good idea. They will mar the pin finish. I will either push up from the inside, or use a pair of Diagonal Cutter to get underneath the ball end and gently pull up. (carefully!).

 

[GrandStation76]

 

Can you get your hand in the soundhole? If so, reach inside till you feel the bottom of the pin and push it out. You may need to use something like a pick or a penny if it's really stuck.

 

 

+1

If you grab it with pliers you can dent the pin.

Its is to get a stuck pin out from the bottom, then sand it a little to lessen the tight fit.

[Crab_Cake]

yah, you are probably right. I use them because I am lazy, though I am really careful with them. Also I have brass pins and I don't need to worry about scratching them lol.

[happy-man]

I've been happy with the planet waves winder/cutter/puller

 

 

Scott O

[Freeman Keller]

As Steverino says, reach inside with a coin and push it out. from the bottom

[GrandStation76]

I've been happy with the planet waves winder/cutter/puller Scott O

 

Best little tool In my case.

[DeepEnd]

I use electrical crimping pliers. The indented jaws fit the "head" of the pin. I pad the pin with a folded paper towel, or a t-shirt if I have one handy.

[halmot]

Best little tool In my case.

 

Seconded. I just wish it didn't insist on disappearing whenever I'm ready to move on to the next string.

[guitarist21]

Usually I just go in through the sound hole with a dry rag or t-shirt and push up on it with the heel of my hand. The coin thing would work too.

 

Ellen

[babablowfish]

Once you get the pin out, remember this for when you put the pin back in. The pins should never be forced in. Just hold them down gently with a finger while you pull the string up so that the ball end sets against the side of the pin and locks there. The tension of the string will force the pin against the side of hte hole and hold it in place.

[T.B.]

Usually I just go in through the sound hole with a dry rag or t-shirt and push up on it with the heel of my hand. The coin thing would work too. Ellen

 

 

Thanks guys, the coin plus rag thing worked.

[bobc]

Thanks guys, the coin plus rag thing worked.

 

You need to fit those pins. They should just about fall out by themselves if they are put in the holes with no strings.

 

If they are kept as tight as you have them, you are going to wind up splitting your bridge in half.

[recordingtrack1]

I use a kitchen fork. Try it, it works great. The curvature of the fork is perfect to set down on the bridge. Hook the two center tines on each side of the peghead and use the handle as leverage.

 

RT1

[Hudman]

 

I use a kitchen fork. Try it, it works great. The curvature of the fork is perfect to set down on the bridge. Hook the two center tines on each side of the peghead and use the handle as leverage. RT1

 

 

Sometimes I will use a spoon. I place the tip of the spoon under the ball of the bridge pins and use the curved bottom of the spoon as a fulcrum on the bridge to gently pry out the most stubborn bridge pins. It works great and never damages the pin or the bridge. It actually works better than any pin puller I ever used.

[recordingtrack1]

 

Sometimes I will use a spoon. I place the tip of the spoon under the ball of the bridge pins and use the curved bottom of the spoon as a fulcrum point to gently pry out the most stubborn bridge pins. It works great and never damages the pin or the bridge. It actually works better than any pin puller I ever used.

 

 

Yo. +1 on no damage.

 

RT

[OldGuitarPlayer]

:lol:

[recordingtrack1]

:lol:

 

There is another thread on the pipe about "how did this guitar get broken?" This post might fit there really well!

 

RT

[kwakatak]

Can you get your hand in the soundhole? If so, reach inside till you feel the bottom of the pin and push it out. You may need to use something like a pick or a penny if it's really stuck.

 

+1

 

This is a much better method than what I used to do - I used my teeth. I had to stop when I took a 2x4 to the side of the head, chipping a tooth in the process. Looking back, it wasn't good for the pins, either!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just kidding folks - I quit using that method because I was marring the pins too much. I'm also damned lucky I didn't swallow one in the process.

[Ugaman72]

I tie a bread tie around the pin as close to the bridge as possible. Then I tie the other end of the tie around a pencil. Then I pull straight up. Works for those stubborn pins.

[T.B.]

 

You need to fit those pins. They should just about fall out by themselves if they are put in the holes with no strings. If they are kept as tight as you have them, you are going to wind up splitting your bridge in half .

 

 

Thanks for the heads up and the advice. Restrung all of my gits, never had any issues with a guitar till yesterday boy, my Walden gave me grief. I bought some slotted Snakewood Bridge pins and they wouldn't say in. So, I put the plastic ones back in for the meantime.

[T.B.]

:lol:

 

 

In the words of Amy Whitehouse - No, No, No.

 

You want my git to lool like this don't cha?

 

[Terry Allan Hall]

I use a modified "church-key" beer opener...I ground out a slot on the business end that fits the pin perfectly...similar to this one, with the slot in line w/ the lettering (no digital camera on hand to show my personal tool, but you get the idea):

 

 

More importantly, the modification didn't negate it's "prime function"...