Hamerhead's Sustainblocks: a little taller than the originals?

[polara]

I have Hamerhead's old '81 Special, which is a slab of scuffed and scratched pure rawk goodness. The DiMarzio 36ths sound fantastic, it's lively, it resonates, and the neck is so thin you can almost see through it when the light is right.

But a quirk is that when I have the action set low -- not SHREDDER low, mind you -- and the neck arrow-straight, the saddles are very close to bottomed out. The D and G saddles are a teensy bit off the bridge base, but the high E is pretty much as low as it will go. I have other guitars with lower action, as I play with a pretty light touch.

It's not a problem per se, as that's a comfortable string height for me. But on most guitars it's possible to lower the action so the strings rattle on the frets, or to raise it sky-high. Were Hamerhead's batch of (BRILLIANTLY made, gorgeous, cool, shiny) bridges milled, say, 1 or even 2 mm thicker than the originals? Or is my Special's neck angle perhaps a wee bit too shallow?

Curious minds want to know.

[hamerhead]

I took measurements from my grey '81 Special, and also got a blueprint from my buddy Matt (which basically confirmed those measurements), so they should be relatively close (I'd say within .005 to .010") to that. I didn't measure any other blocks, so I don't know if the ones from the factory varied much from that. There were as least 3 different types of saddles though, and I only measured the type I had. Maybe the others aren't as tall?

I remember that neck - having a toothpick with frets probably doesn't help.

The only change I made to the block was in the spacing on the intonation screw holes (because the string-through holes were farther apart) - the originals were too close together, resulting in the saddles being fanned-out. I moved them outward (.025" or .05", I can't remember), so the saddles sat directly over the string-through holes and straight on the block.

Otherwise, I think they're pretty close - at least to the one I had to work with. I could be wrong . Just whap it with a hammer. It's brass - it'll flatten right out.

I just realized it's almost 10 years since I made those. F*ck I'm old.

[Steve Haynie]

You should make more. You will have the market cornered.

[bubs_42]

I'm buying, I could use 1 more if I can find it.

[hamerhead]

Making them wasn't bad, but polishing the all those f*cking saddles hurt!

Brass heats up pretty quick with a little friction.

[hamerhead]

[bubs_42]

Polara, I'd just junk it and sell it to me.

[polara]

Polara, I'd just junk it and sell it to me.

NEVER. She's my rawk machine Something about mahogany, hot midrangely humbuckers, and a solid chunk of brass makes it just roar.

[hamerhead]

I just thought of something - you could file the bottoms off of the offending saddles without messing up that "BRILLIANTLY made, gorgeous, cool, shiny" finish too much.

Or whap it with a hammer.

But DON'T sell it to Shawn. That guy's a jerk (don't tell him I said that).

[bubs_42]

I just thought of something - you could file the bottoms off of the offending saddles without messing up that "BRILLIANTLY made, gorgeous, cool, shiny" finish too much.

Or whap it with a hammer.

But DON'T sell it to Shawn. That guy's a jerk (don't tell him I said that).

Hey this was a post not a PM. :angry: Just because I value your work and settle for nothing less doesn't mean i'm a JERK. GOOD DAY SIR

PS Try a Phat Cat!

[hamerhead]

Jerk?!? Oh - that was a typo. I meant Kerk...Yeah...like the Captain of the Enterprise......Yeah, that's it. Aye Aye, Captain!

Spock out.

[bubs_42]

OK let's get this thread back on track.

[hamerhead]

Quitter.

[aknapp]

You should make more. You will have the market cornered.

+1.

Actually, +2. I have a couple of projects for which I could use the sustain block bridge.

[Hamer Dave]

Your guitar maybe could have used a bit more back angle on the neck.

Yep can use one of them bridges myself. What'd they sell for anyway?

[hamerhead]

More probably won't happen. My "BRILLIANTLY made, gorgeous, cool, shiny" brain has forced me to move up the corporate ladder and become a pencil pusher. Now I sit at a computer goofing off all day instead of making parts. Some days it sucks.

But not many.

[bubs_42]

I stand an enthusiastic, full-fledged, card-carrying 2FIG owner/user/endorser. Fantastic work!

The principle issue I see with another set would be the name - what would you call them?

I mean, if the first set were called "2FIG," how would you honor the "Idiots" who go back to the freezing Garage for more punishment?

The 2FMG (Masochists) bridge?

WTF, OVER?

I don't have the capible machine to do the job. I have one Old G&L coversion. Wish I had a little verticle mill. I don't even have a Bridgeport.

[BadgerDave]

FWIW, I've had two early 80's Specials that could have used another degree or two of angle on the neck. One set up perfectly with the two E saddles sitting solidly on the block, the other required some filing to get the saddles low enough. My guess is that both were fine when the guitars left the factory with nice new frets. After a few fret jobs, they reached the limit of their adjustment range.

[benjammin308]

I have an '80 Special with the original sustainblock that I had to file the bottom of the high E saddle to get it low enough. And I don't have it set that low.