stripped bass bridge problem

[Alik]

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>>>>> PROBLEM SOLVED, SEE PICTURES BELOW <<<<<<

hi people, i have this Squier jazz bass deluxe V and i noticed recently that my bass bridge was a little bit raised from the body, only on the lower part, near the knobs. I tried to tighten the screws but I found they were stripped. I read somewhere here on the forums about the toothpick trick. Has anybody actually done that? and which glue do you recommend for that purpose
By the way, the body is basswood, which is kind of soft.


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[The Nameless]

Elmer's, or any wood glue. Screw in the screws while still drying, they'll still be removeable, but not on their own. Check the bridge for warpage. Tryin to screw down a bent bridge can be frustratin. Heh.

 

[Robert B]

For something that is going to be under tension, I'd do a more sturdy repair. Have someone drill out the stripped hole, larger than the original, and glue in a hard maple dowel in the hole, cut flush to the top. Than redrill the hole in the maple and you're good to go.

 

[Batmensch]

If you do the toothpick thing right, it can be plenty sturdy, sturdy enough you don't need to dowel and redrill.

 

[96tbird]

It's been a while...

 

[Pilgrim]

Yeah, it must have been all of 48 hours since someone asked this.

Toothpicks and white Elmer's glue. Don't make it complicated, because it's not.

 

[warnergt]

For something that is going to be under tension, I'd do a more sturdy repair. Have someone drill out the stripped hole, larger than the original, and glue in a hard maple dowel in the hole, cut flush to the top. Than redrill the hole in the maple and you're good to go.

+1

 

[96tbird]

Elective surgery^

 

[bobdabilder]

try the toothpicks and elmers. if that fails (which it won't), you can use a dowel (which you won't need to).

 

[Rocky McD]

Even though the bridge is under tension, the pull of the strings is at a 90 degree angle to the screws. There is little, if any pull upwards on the screws. Toothpick repair will probably be sufficient. Neck screws usually need a dowel insertion.
Rocky

 

[bobdabilder]

my first 5er which is an ibanez has this exact repair performed to 2 of the 4 neck screws. In case anyone is curious about performance of the repair.

 

[Turnaround]

For something that is going to be under tension, I'd do a more sturdy repair. Have someone drill out the stripped hole, larger than the original, and glue in a hard maple dowel in the hole, cut flush to the top. Than redrill the hole in the maple and you're good to go.

This will be no stronger that a well-done toothpick repair. The problem with a dowel is that the screw will be going into the end grain of the dowel. Screws in end-grain do not hold well. If you drill out the holes you will need to put in a plug with the grain oriented the same way as the body, not perpendicular to it.

 

[96tbird]

Yep. Screw threads cut across the fibers instead of between them on the cross grain plug.

 

[Maynjo]

I had one of the strap button screws on my fender jazz strip out the same way, I just put some Gorrila Glue in the hole, screwed the screw back in, let it dry, haven't had a problem since. Its probably been 5 years since that happened, strap button hole still works great, can unscrew it and screw it back in no problem.

 

[walterw]

gorilla glue foams up and wrecks finish; avoid.

all we need is regular titebond wood glue and toothpicks, it's a really minor repair.

 

[Alik]

Thanks to all of you guys,
i thought about selling
this bass because of this minor problem
but now i'll keep it.

 

[fhm555]

...Toothpicks and white Elmer's glue. Don't make it complicated, because it's not...

^this^ ^this^ ^this^

Just don't try it with string tension on the bridge.

 

[Alik]

some pictures of my bass bridge being done:

this is how my bridge looks after the work done

 

[walterw]

and you cranked the screws in while wet? nicely done.

the chisel was an unnecessary step, though; after stuffing the wood slivers into the holes, just use wire cutters or something to pull the sticks up by 1/16" or so, cut them off flush, then shove them back down into the hole.

alternately, pre-measure the wood slivers against a thin allen wrench or whatever stuck down into the hole so that the slivers are short enough to not stick out.

 

[Alik]

I let the wood slivers dry for a good 4 days before attempting to reinstall the screws.
I used a power drill to start the screws going in, and then switched for a screwdriver to finish the job.
As for the chisel tool I just used it to illustrate the need to have a flat surface for the bridge, I really didn't use it.
Instead I used these long pliers: