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Sustain Block bridge made of nickel or zinc?


zenmindbeginner

Question

Some of the Chrome is coming off of my one of my Sustain Block bridges and I was thinking about getting it re-chromed or maybe even gold plated. Has anyone ever done this? Gold plating onto nickel is less expensive than gold plating over pot metal/zinc die cast, so I am just curious as to whether anyone knows the material that the bridge and it's parts are made of.

Anyone?

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Yes, thank you Hamerhead. Now that I look at it, the brass color is as plain as day when I look at it in a bright light.

Hmmm... that means that it will have to be stripped of it's chrome and then plated with nickel before the gold goes on.

Any fan club members have any metal plating experience or has anyone ever had any guitar parts plated?

It's not like I need another hobby, but I wouldn't mind having a gold plated sustain block bridge. Chrome hardware seems kind of out of place with a 59 sunburst finish, I don't mind it but gold would look so much more at home with all of the warm colors in the finish.

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Hamerhead could definitely hook you up with advice on this one. He made a run of accurate repro Sustainblock bridges, and did a few in Gold.

They were/are REALLY nice!

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Some of the Chrome is coming off of my one of my Sustain Block bridges and I was thinking about getting it re-chromed or maybe even gold plated. Has anyone ever done this? Gold plating onto nickel is less expensive than gold plating over pot metal/zinc die cast, so I am just curious as to whether anyone knows the material that the bridge and it's parts are made of.

Anyone?

You could nickel-plate it instead of chrome. Chrome has a blue-white color; nickel is more yellowish, so it should blend well with your '59 burst finish. And nickel goes well over brass. There is a plating shop in your town. Take your bridge in and talk to them.

Hi-Tec Plating, Inc.

1603 Salisbury Road

Statesville, NC 28677

Phone: 704-872-8969

FAX: 704-878-6048

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You could nickel-plate it instead of chrome. Chrome has a blue-white color; nickel is more yellowish, so it should blend well with your '59 burst finish. And nickel goes well over brass. There is a plating shop in your town. Take your bridge in and talk to them.

Hi-Tec Plating, Inc.

1603 Salisbury Road

Statesville, NC 28677

Phone: 704-872-8969

FAX: 704-878-6048

I called them and they explained to me that the plating processes that they do are not shiny. The man told me that I need a "cosmetic plater" and he had no idea of anyone around here that does that... he couldn't give me one name or number. Back to GD square one... but thank you VERY Much for your efforts JohnnyB, it was mighty kind of ya! :lol:

The bridge from Ed Roman I bought is the first design of the Sustainer bridge and provides the wider string spacing that was on Hamer guitars before 1981. I have two Specials and they are 1981 and 1982 models. Plus, the sustainer bridge from Ed Roman didn't have the grooves that they strings lay in after they come out of the saddle (I don't know the technical term for the groove). The guy from Ed Roman told me rather flippantly that I'm supposed to get the grooves in there. I told him that the grooves are supposed to be in the base metal before it is plated. He then asked for me to take a picture of the grooveless bridge and send it to him. I told him that I would do one better than that... I'll just send him the whole damn bridge and that I want my money back.

I am now just hoping that the bridges that Hamerhead is selling are the narrow string spacing.

Can the wider spaced older bridges be used on guitars made after 1981? I am thinking that they can't.

I'm heading to the post office right now to send Ed Roman his "grooveless" bridge back.

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I may be mistaken, but although Ed R. had some old Sustainblock bridges about 10 years ago, those were the later type.

The guy has made a number of Hamer fakes over the years (believe it or not), and it wouldn't surprise me if the bridge you got was something they had made.

ALL Hamer-made Sustainblock bridge saddles came with the saddles pre-grooved prior to plating. One of the purposes of a bridge like that is to have a smooth (plated) surface for the string to travel across. Filing one of those after the saddle has already been plated would be exactly what you don't want to do.

I agree with you - send that thing back!!

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I agree with you - send that thing back!!

Oh, it was clearly something that they had made... what a bait and switch! The pic on the website shows the proper grooves and is of a photo of the original sustain bridges that Ed bought from Hamer. or maybe Ed never actually bought any and was peddling these bulls**t copies the whole time. It sucks because Ed Roman's website comes up immediately when you search for Hamer sustain bridges on Google.

I dropped it in the mail to him this afternoon, if he messes around with my refund, I will be sure to write about it here.

So Hamerhead looks like he is the only way to get a sustain bridge. Do you know if his bridges are the first version (wide spacing) or the second revision (narrow spacing)? Where would I get the adjustment screws and springs at (if his are the second version) since his bridges come with just the saddles and plate. Can I use the wider string spacing with the narrow necks of post 1981 Hamers or is that a stupid question?

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Hi-Tec Plating, Inc.

1603 Salisbury Road

Statesville, NC 28677

Phone: 704-872-8969

FAX: 704-878-6048

I called them and they explained to me that the plating processes that they do are not shiny. The man told me that I need a "cosmetic plater" and he had no idea of anyone around here that does that... he couldn't give me one name or number. Back to GD square one... but thank you VERY Much for your efforts JohnnyB, it was mighty kind of ya! :lol:

It looks like these guys in Winston-Salem do all those things, including:

  • Nickel – dull, satin, bright, electroless
  • Chrome – bright, decorative, black
    ...
  • Gold – 24k – soft & hard

Stratford Metal Finishing

1681 S. Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr.

Winston-Salem, NC 27107

Ph: (336) 723-7946

Fax: (336) 231-0008

[email protected]

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