Members Ryan Trevisol Posted August 11, 2006 Members Share Posted August 11, 2006 So how should I go about this? I'm upgrading my dad's Epiphone les paul studio to chrome hardware, and I took all the hardware off last night. The problem is, the Gotoh nickel stop-piece and bridge screws don't have the same threading as the crap that was on there (not a surprise). So I need to remove the studs from the guitar. They're not screw-ins, they're just in there. How can I get them out? I tried using the stop piece as a lever to try and get any movement out of them but they're extremely solid in there. I read where I can use a claw hammer on the screw in the post, but I really would like to re-use this bridge on a little side project I might have coming up. Anybody have a safer way to remove the tune-o-matic bridge and stop-piece studs? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members k4df4l Posted August 11, 2006 Members Share Posted August 11, 2006 http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Knobs/Special_tools_for:_Electronics.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Prages Posted August 11, 2006 Members Share Posted August 11, 2006 Here's what I'd do. Go to a hardware store and find a bolt that matches the threads and is about an inch long. Now, find a piece of wood that's about 1/2 " thick, and a washer that fits the shaft of the bolt and is bigger in outside diameter than the bushing you are trying to remove. Now, drill a hole in the wood that's bigger in diameter than the bushing, but smaller in diameter than the outside of the washer. Maybe use a rag or something to protect the finish of the guitar. Lay the wood over the bushing, stick the bolt through the washer, and screw the bolt through the wood and into the bushing. As you tighten it up, it should pull the bushing out. It shouldn't be really hard to pull out using this method, unless they've used some super-strong epoxy to glue the bushings in. If they have done that, then I'm not sure what your options are. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members espgold Posted August 11, 2006 Members Share Posted August 11, 2006 Use a thin wooden dowel or metal slug about an inch long and thin enough to slip easily into the hole in the stud. Drop it in there then screw the post in against the dowel and it will safely press the stud right out. It's worked like a charm for me several times with no chance of "slipping" and damaging the finish of the guitar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Prages Posted August 11, 2006 Members Share Posted August 11, 2006 Originally posted by espgold Use a thin wooden dowel or metal slug about an inch long and thin enough to slip easily into the hole in the stud. Drop it in there then screw the post in against the dowel and it will safely press the stud right out. It's worked like a charm for me several times with no chance of "slipping" and damaging the finish of the guitar. Yep, that should work as long as the studs aren't closed on the bottom...and I've seen a few that are. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members espgold Posted August 11, 2006 Members Share Posted August 11, 2006 Good point, Prages....better check first to make sure you can see wood at the bottom of that hole! I'v been frustrated by the bridge stud issue a few times. I love the look of nickel hardware but every time I order up a set of nickel stop and TOM, there's an issue somewhere with studs and bushings. You can't just change out the studs cause they are different sizes so you're left with some compromise to get it all together. The best solution I've found is to only buy Fender style guitars No, seriously...on my ash Agile the nickel studs I bought were smaller diameter than the originals so I was going to fill and redrill but that, even tho I've got some tool skills (bow-hunting skills, numchuck skills:D ), seemed like a big risk. Instead, I bought high-quality wood filler and filled the empty stud holes half way up. Then I pressed the stud and screw assy into the goo until it bottomed out at which point I mounted the stop bar and aligned the whole thing. I made sure the screws were all the way down and at this point a good deal of the filler had been squeezed out onto the top of the guitar. I removed this carefully and let the thing dry for a day. Still solid as a rock and no sign of any funny business Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members gordy_sg_no1 Posted October 11, 2010 Members Share Posted October 11, 2010 my trick to break the glue is to heat the studs up with a soldering iron then use the dowel trick and i can almost guarantee that it will work as i've taken out inlay out using heat, so dont give up on the lester. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members SDshirtman Posted October 11, 2010 Members Share Posted October 11, 2010 this is even simpler then Prages method. Same principal but no drilling. Should cost less then 2 bucks at home depot. Check out post number 157 here. http://acapella.harmony-central.com/showthread.php?t=2640888&page=8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Dega500 Posted October 12, 2010 Members Share Posted October 12, 2010 Hey Ryan, I just did the same thing on my Black Epi Custom but I didn't have trouble with the threads on my Gotoh bridge and tailpiece studs. The bushings were just way too small for the holes already in the guitar. i just left the gold studs in it for now until I can find out excactly which size bushings it takes. I'm glad you asked this because I'll be doing this soon. Dega Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Grantus Posted October 12, 2010 Members Share Posted October 12, 2010 Dynamite? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 's mel gibson Posted October 12, 2010 Members Share Posted October 12, 2010 Dynamite? A really tiny amount? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.