Reinforcing or repairing bushing holes

Rollin Hand · Sat Mar 26, 2022 12:29 pm

As per my post in the "Work Bench" thread, the trem posts in my Douglas Scope are looser than they could be. What are my options to fix this on the cheap? It has a metal bridge between the bushings (all one piece) that fastened by screws, so step one is to put in longer/better screws. If that doesn't work...well, I dunno.

Anyone done a fix without a drill press? I don't trust myself to drill perfectly perpendicular to the body.

Sat Mar 26, 2022 1:10 pm

If it were my guitar, I wouldn't turn anyone loose on it with a hand drill!

toomanycats · Mon Mar 28, 2022 9:59 am

It seems like that metal cross piece would keep bridge post stable, but obviously it isn't. Longer anchoring screws is definitely a good start. Glue in the post hole can't hurt, but maybe also some kind of buffer material if there is free play going on. Do the bridge posts wiggle when inserted?

mozz · Mon Mar 28, 2022 11:36 am

If you can get a few drops of crazy glue into the screw holes, let it soak in and dry. That and slightly longer screws should snug it up.

Rollin Hand · Mon Mar 28, 2022 8:06 pm

toomanycats wrote: ↑Mon Mar 28, 2022 9:59 am It seems like that metal cross piece would keep bridge post stable, but obviously it isn't. Longer anchoring screws is definitely a good start. Glue in the post hole can't hurt, but maybe also some kind of buffer material if there is free play going on. Do the bridge posts wiggle when inserted?

They did, but I suspect the two anchor screws were pulling loose, leading to the issue.

I may glue some paper-thin wood in the side of the post holes closest to the pickups.

I guess epoxy is also an option

Rollin Hand · Mon Mar 28, 2022 9:41 pm

mozz wrote: ↑Mon Mar 28, 2022 11:36 am If you can get a few drops of crazy glue into the screw holes, let it soak in and dry. That and slightly longer screws should snug it up.

I was thinking of that, or wood hardener to firm up the bushing holes.

Rollin Hand · Tue Mar 29, 2022 3:41 pm

An update: the screws I ordered (#4 stainless, 3/4 inch) arrived today, and I managed to screw the bushing bar back in. This was NOT easy -- the original holes were not deep, and were actually kind of off kilter. The screws are now in place firmly and everything seems to be very stable. We shall see what happens under string tension.

I also nabbed some half inch long #4s for the locking nut. This was a big improvement over the originals as well.

Now, we wait for a couple of other items to arrive from AliExpress....