Bridge base plate

[MPU]

I've been trying to find a Fender Mustang bass bridge with no luck. The bridge is just a basic bent plate with round bridge saddles. Saddles are easy to make and I'm fine leaving them in brass colour. I'd like to have chrome or nickel base plate.
The question is how would you make a base plate and out of what material?

 

[Gilmourisgod]

That’s a lot of tension, I’d think it has to be steel, or a thicker piece of aluminum. Maybe Bruce will weigh in with some genius. Does it have to be that specific bridge? Some of the Musicman ones look very similar.
https://www.amazon.com/WD-Music-MUSICMAN®-STYLE-BRIDGE/dp/B0006ZSTUC

4 String Vintage Bass Bridge

 

[MPU]

String space is narrower than MM. I was thinking brass with nickel plating. Stainless would have right colour, but I doubt I can machine those rails on stainless.
Mustang bridges are string thru body, so not a lot of tension. Maybe aluminium would work also.

 

[Arie X]

to form from sheet metal, you would need to make some tooling and either use a bench vise or a small/med arbor press to get it done. i've done stuff like this just free bending in a vise using a strike block, some parallel bars, and a hammer, but unless you are pretty good, it could come out looking like folk-art. technically that operation is a "joggle" in presswork.

were it mine i'd ditch the brass -just too soft, and go with mild steel. you're nickel plating it and actually the majority of plate bridges are made this way but chrome plated instead.

whatever you do with your sheet metal just make sure that the grain direction goes "down the waterfall" meaning that the grain needs to flow with the bent features rather then being perpendicular to them which could easily result in cracking.

or you could machine it from one piece of bar stock if you are clever and send it out to the plater.

 

[Reedt2000]

I know it's not apples to apples but a generic MM style bridge seems like path of least resistance

 

[Beej]

I know little about metalworking, but I've wondered about something similar using nickel silver sheets, as I've used them for control plates and they were hard to work. Well, compared with wood anyway.

 

[Gilmourisgod]

If anybody can pull this off, it’s @MPU, metalwork like that not in my skill set

 

[MPU]

MM bridges have 19mm string spacing, Mustang has 17,5mm. I have access to sheet metal brake so bends are not a problem. I've made couple of Guild Starfire bridges in the past and have one way to make this kind of a bridge. I can have the bridge saddles turned to correct size, threading is not a problem either. I'm just looking for ideas of making this kind of a bridge, I'm sure I haven't thought of all of the ways it can be made.
The ones I made were two piece brass plate. I brazed the parts together because I couldn't make the bends close enough. It was made like two L- shapes. Sorry about the hi-res 4k3d pic

 

[Arie X]

in sheet metal work, typical press brake tooling would like this:

 

[Bruce Johnson]

I'd make it from aluminum plate, probably 0.090" thick, bending the Z in a sheet metal brake, or in a vise with blocks. The key is to use 5052 aluminum alloy, not 6061. 5052 is made for forming and bending. Smooth and sand the part to 1000 grit and send it out for nickel plating. Or, polish it up to a high shine and coat it with clear polyurethane. Or sand it to 400 grit and leave it like that for a satin aluminum finish.

Aluminum has plenty of strength for a bridge plate like this. You could build it from brass, steel or stainless, but it's a lot more work. I use aluminum for almost all of my custom hardware these days.

 

[rickwrench]

I've built many one-off bridge and neck plates out of .120" CR steel. And, control and cover plates out of 12 and 14 gauge. Hacksaw, file, vise, BFH, drill, countersink, all the sandpaper grits, buff wheel, time...
A traditional "L" bent bridge plate is pretty easy, cold, using a vise and big hammer. The "Z" bend is tougher to do with just a vise and hammer. You need a piece of square steel bar to use as a caul/spacer in the vise.

For saddles you can do what Leo did, originally; short pieces of 5/16-18 threaded rod, drilled and tapped for 6-32 set and adjuster screws.
I've also used 3/8-16 rod for twin saddle bridges (pictured).

Rick