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Bridge screw broke off in body.

thedudebrah

thedudebrah

Jan 9, 2012
657
61
Philly suburbs
www.avenuekings.bandcamp.com
#1
I have a parts P that I was re-stringing yesterday and I noticed that the bridge was so rusty that one of the saddles split in half. So in the process of taking the bridge off, the mounting screw right behind the A saddle broke off at the head. Almost the entire length of threads is stuck in the body. What should I do? Drill the hole out and glue a dowel in and then re-drill the hole? Since its a parts bass I'm not really concerned about the finish, and it'll be under the bridge anyway.

As of right now, I put a replacement bridge on and strung it up and it seems sturdy, but the perfectionist in me wants to fix it. Any thoughts?
 
#6
James Judson said:
This is how I'd do it. Start with a tiny drill cuz that drill will want to go down beside the old screw so you will have to make several holes till you can get the old screw out. Then clean it up with the right size drill that fits the dowel your gonna use.
Click to expand...

What about drilling a few small holes around the perimeter of the existin hole just enough so the top of the old screw is sticking out? Maybe then I can twist it out with pliers and clean up the hole and re-drill/fill.
 
#12
yep, hollow brass tubing, file teeth in the end, set the drill in reverse so it might grab the screw and back it out without having to drill all the way down.
 
#17
They get down to pretty small diameter if you get a good set. Just saying. It's not worth arguing over I guess but I've pullled machine screws as small as the avg bridge screw. Seems silly to me to jury rig something when there are tools that will do what you need.
 
#18
Well, machine screws= metal
Wood screws = wood

Wood working techniques differ greatly from metal working techniques. The tube method was shown me when i was young by my grandfather whom was a carpenter / cabinet maker since the 1930's. No jury rig, no argument. If you want to drill a center hole in a 1/8 (max) screw shank to use an easy out, go ahead; no argument. Our screws will be removed and you'll still be fiddling with yours. No argument. 8)
 

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