How Does One Fix Leaning Trem Posts?

[Nathan of Brainfertilizer Fame]

The body wood itself is soft enough to have compressed, right?

So will doweling and drilling hold? Or do you drill out larger than the original hole to remove the compressed wood, dowel the larger hole, and then redrill at the proper size?

Does the wood of the dowel make any difference? Can I just grab the right size dowel at Home Depot, or do I need to ensure I have a hardwood like maple? If so, where do I get a harder wood dowel?

This is a cheap guitar, so I'd just do it, except for my biggest hesitation: how do I make sure the re-drill for the post is straight? Do you pretty much need a drill press for that? I don't have one...

[Jeff R]

I had basswood Warmoth strat body decades ago with the old Floyd wood screw studs and they started leaning forward due to the basswood compressing. The guy who fixed it, one of the best luthiers down my way at the time, let me watch over his shoulder. He used hardwood dowels and they were probably 50 percent larger in diameter than the original holes. VERY IMPORTANT: Use a drill press for both the boring-out for dowel insertion and again to drill the new post holes. Tommy told me a common repair he did on Floyds back in the day was unscrewing-up hack jobs where a shadetree idiot attempted to do that type of job with a hand drill. He typically had to fix those the same way - bore out bigger, dowel and redrill properly with a drill press.

Unsure where he got the dowels but I'd presume they were maple because they looked like maple.

[velorush]

Hey, Woodcraft have hardwood dowels. I don't recall ever seeing them at Lowes, but it could be worth a shot before resorting to online.

Jeff

[Nathan of Brainfertilizer Fame]

I found some adapters via amazon that help you drill straight with a hand drill. I may try those.

Thanks for the info, it confirmed what I thought.

It's a JB Player artist that I picked up for just over $100.

Acquired cheap enough to be worth experimenting on.

Good enough quality that it will be worth keeping if fixed.

The JB Players seem to be good workmanship using subpar materials all the way around.

[veatch]

If you don't have a drill press, find a buddy that does, and do the work at their house. Most people with power tools don't mind using them, especially if asked nicely.

[Nathan of Brainfertilizer Fame]

C'mon.

You know I don't have any friends.

[cmatthes]

Drill press, definitely. If you don't know anybody with one, see if you can find one of those DIY woodworking shops nearby that allows you to book time on the equipment.

[cynic]

Do any of the military bases in your area have wood-work hobby shops?

Another suggestion is to check out smaller lumber/hardware stores if any still exist in your area. They often have a fairly well equipped wood shop in the back for the odd customer request.

[murkat]

A. do not let diablo tell you how to do it....

B. send the body to me with parts, pay shipping to and fro, and include a surprise for me

C. done deal.

[Nathan of Brainfertilizer Fame]

A. do not let diablo tell you how to do it....

B. send the body to me with parts, pay shipping to and fro, and include a surprise for me

C. done deal.

You get to do the Chap.

This one isn't worth your skills.

[velorush]

Murkat sez, "all of them are worth working on." Even the insignificant ones!

Thing is, when he's finished with them they no longer seem insignificant!

[veatch]

I would not hesitate with taking murkat up on his offer.

And I'm pretty sure he has a drill press.

[murkat]

A. do not let diablo tell you how to do it....

B. send the body to me with parts, pay shipping to and fro, and include a surprise for me

C. done deal.

You get to do the Chap.

This one isn't worth your skills.

sure it is. It is an easy task (for me), I have the proper tools, glue, etc.

I'd be happy to do it for you, and rule out the hesitation of for you do it yourself

i have done plenty of them.

all soft wood floyd type bodies have it done that pass thru here

[Nathan of Brainfertilizer Fame]

Well, part of it is trying to learn to do these sorts of things myself.

I love working with my hands...I've really enjoyed my home DIY projects.

I don't want to be scared of my guitars.

So if I've got a cheaply-acquired one that could be a good guitar, I'd like to give it a try myself.

A USA Hamer, tho, I would want to trust to an expert who isn't feeling his way.

Plus, there are other, non-guitar things that I wanted to be able to drill straight on, so the tools/guides I've found will help with those as well...it's all about expanding skill sets.

Then again, it would be more worth the money to package and send TWO guitar bodies at the same time.

The JB Player is a Wilkinson 2-point...but when it comes to posts, no difference from working on floyd posts, right?

[aknapp]

10" (or larger) drill press with adjustable depth stop will be money well spent. It'll take care of most if not all of your guitar drilling needs, plus a whole lot more around the house and garage.

I tried the hand drill attachment first - a drill press is a much better investment, IMHO.

Good luck!

[hamerhead]

I suggest you try it yourself first using a hand drill.

Then send it to Jay.

[Bobby Marshall]

^^^^ not this.

[bubs_42]

A. do not let diablo tell you how to do it....

Coffee out my nose! Poor D isn't going to live that one down for a while.

[Steve Haynie]

Hamer eventually started putting harder wood dowels in their mahogany bodies equipped with Floyds to prevent leaning trem posts.

[Jem]

Depending on how elongated the holes are i tend to junk the older woodscrew's for later threaded inserts - and yes, with a drill press obviously.

[FGJ]

Who needs a drill press? Just find an old television repairman and borrow his awesome set of tools. They can fix anything.