screw-in bridge post studs...

TheeSloog

Anyone know if such as thing as bridge post studs for a tune-o-matic exist that screw into the guitar's centre block?
It's all about trying to use a Bigsby on an ES 135...
Cheers!

WezV

Don't ES 135's already have a tune-o-matic bridge mounted to the body on the usual gibson screw in posts?

ICBM

A Bigsby B7 works fine on a 135, you don't have to change the bridge or the studs - it's a Nashville bridge, so it has threaded inserts in the body. (Not one I fitted, just a pic I found online.)



I'm not sure if a B3 or B6 would, if you wanted to avoid drilling the top - the break angle at the bridge will end up pretty flat. I've also seen a pic of one, but the strings do look like they're only very lightly in contact with the bridge.

TheeSloog

Thanks for the replies... it's complicated!
I have a B6 which sits well and is pretty stable, however, the break angle is non-existent so I keep popping out the low E string.
To counteract this I fitted a Towner Tension Bar II and it worked really well for a while.
These are really designed to go where a stop tail would be (I think).
I have it under the bridge but the string tension has started pulling up on the Towner which in turn is pulling the studs out of the body of the guitar, raising the action, and now the bridge sits at not at right angles!
Figured if there was some way to secure the posts into the centre block it might hold...

WezV

Gotcha, so its pulling the threaded inserts out the body.

Those inserts are usually just a press fit, as much as i hate to say it they can be glued in.  Any glue would release if the ferrule was heated first,  even a strong epoxy.  It's just annoying when you are the tech that hasnt been told they are glued in place

In answer to the original question, you probably could get screw in inserts that matched the gibson post.. i think i actually have some from a bridge design i made a few years back. But i wouldnt risk it on this instrument, or in this situation.  If it does pull up its only going to do more damage.

TheeSloog

How do you attach a picture? I'll show what it looks like...

TheeSloog

WezV said:

Gotcha, so its pulling the threaded inserts out the body.

Those inserts are usually just a press fit, as much as i hate to say it they can be glued in.  Any glue would release if the ferrule was heated first,  even a strong epoxy.  It's just annoying when you are the tech that hasnt been told they are glued in place

In answer to the original question, you probably could get screw in inserts that matched the gibson post.. i think i actually have some from a bridge design i made a few years back. But i wouldnt risk it on this instrument, or in this situation.  If it does pull up its only going to do more damage.

Yeah, I'm heart-scared of doing any lasting damage to the guitar. Glue might be the answer... 

ICBM

Ah, I see... yes, that will be a problem.

What WezV said - gluing the inserts to the top should work, and is the safest method. Screwing the inserts deeper into the top is risky - a complication here is that the centre block is 'chromyte' - balsa wood. Despite what most people think - and why Gibson chose to hide it using a term derived from the latin name for it - balsa is a high-quality hardwood... but it is not strong, only strong in proportion to its weight. This means that fixing the bridge studs more firmly into the top might not work, if there isn't a 'normal' wood layer under the top - I can't remember if there is on not on the 135.

In the long run I suspect that a B7 is a better solution though.

TheeSloog

Yeah, it's probably the logical decision, but I'm not keen to drill and I think B7 looks a bit short for a ES 135 - even from an aesthetic point of view. The b6 with a towner looks in the right proportion and the arm reaches comfortably beyond the bridge...