I have a MIM Strat on which 2 bridge screws were rusted through & twisted off when I attempted to remove them. They are broken off about half way down leaving the bottom half of the screw. I was thinking about drilling out & doweling the holes, but I am not sure how best to drill out the broken screws. Maybe I could drill a 1/4" hole down to the screw & then dremel out the screw fragment & then complete the hole for the dowel. Any insight on this is appreciated.
BTW it's the floating tremelo bridge.
Thanks,
kev

A trem is floating when it is set up to function unless you lock it down...
But if it's an MIM I suppose it is a 6 screw bridge not a two point trem bridge..?
Correct ?

Removing the screws with your description sounds like you are going to destroy the surrounding area of the trem's mounting screws.
Keep in mind there is not more than a 1/2 " of wood at that area around the trem cavity.
I can think of two ways of removing the broken screw shaft.

(1) remove all strings,remove the other screws, remove your trem, but first unhook the springs.
then see if the broken screw is poking out inside the trem cavity. If there is enough of the shaft poking threw you might be able to grab onto it with a pair of bent needlenose pliers.
Youwill need to lubricate the screw shaft so that it becomes unseized. a small spray of either WD 40 or equivalent solvent will work. Once done clean off all spray residue it will eventually attack the guitars finish so clean up is essential.

(2) If not than an easy out drill will be the next option. If you don't know what I'm referring to then I would strongly suggest taking your body to a cabinet maker or wood shop. They will have all the necessary tools needed to remove the broken screws. Not to mention that they will be much more skilled in getting the job done then anyone at a guitar repair shop.
When critical surgery is required, take it to the woodworking experts..

BTW once all the screws are removed, before reinserting wipe a little bit of silicone or soap on the screw threads this will prevent them form seizing up in the future.

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"C'est parti mon Kiki "

You can use a screw extractor . Look a the end of this adress;

http://www.wikihow.com/Remove-a-Stripped-Screw

Thanks for the replies. It is a six screw bridge & there is plenty of room to drill a 1/4" hole to get the broken screws out. I could then insert 1/4" dowel in the hole & redrill the screw holes. The problem is drilling the screws out. They don't stick out the bottom BTW. I am going to try to drill 1/4" hole down to the screw & then cut a slot in the end & try to extract them. They are probably way too tight for that to work though, since they twisted off in the first place. Haven't found an easyout small enough for the screw shafts.

Just thinking, I plan to block this bridge when I put it back together & lock the bridge down, so I can probably do OK with 4 of the six screws(from top down the first 4 are OK & the last 2 on the bottom are the broken ones). BTW I got stainless screws as replacements so they won't rust away again.

Thanks,
kev

That will not work since the screwheads are sheared off...

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"C'est parti mon Kiki "

The other option which I didn't mention would require a drill press and using a metal drill bit of the same size as the current screws. You should be able to drill out the screw with that metal bit. It does require a drill press since you need to be able to lower the spinning bit slowly, it cannot wander since you do not want a larger hole.
In this manner it also possible that the drill bit will grab the screw and spin it out thru the hole.
You can once done retap the screw holes to allow the next size diameter screws to replace the existing ones.

I urge you not to try to cut out that section or drill it out to a 1/4 inch.. There is not much wood there and you will risk weakening that section once strings and trem screws are reinstalled. that is two opposing tensions and lateral movement of the bridge will occur if the mounting points are weakened.
Just take your body to a woodworking or tool and die shop. they will be able to solve your problem quickly and efficiently.

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"C'est parti mon Kiki "

Well, with all due respect, I disagree with the statement that there is not much wood in that area. There is one inch of wood, 1" width & 1" in depth & gluing 1/4" hardwood dowels in two holes is likely to be stronger than it was originally.
I don't think a drill bit would drill through the screw & stay on line. That size bit would tend to flex & slip off the screw regardless of how solid the setup. Now a machine shop would probably be able to use an appropriate mill to git-er-dun, but, it's a moot point, because, as stated previously, I am probably going with a blocked bridge & just use the 4 good screws to hold the bridge. I know that will hold, because it has been that way for over a year.
Thanks for the input, it has helped me decide on a plan.

Thanks,
kev

Yes , but you have to drill a hole in the screw

Hi bugeyed: having tried exactly this myself in the past I strongly doubt that's going to work, but by all means give it a go. A little tip is: before you start trying to wind the broken bit of screw out touch the tip of a hot soldering iron to it for a while. This will heat up the metal and somewhat cook the wood around it, loosening its grip on the screw thread.

Frankly, it didn't work for me, but I've heard other people claim it does.

Personally, I think you have two options, plain and simple. The first is to use a metal bit and drill down into the broken chunk of screw till you've got it all out, fragment by fragment. This is tiresome and destructive of the surrounding timber (but in the end that's what I had to do). A good plan is to use a drill bit of the same size as the dowel you will then glue in there, to save one step of a process. As 53magnatone says, a drill press is the best thing for this - however, you'll need a big one. The average domestic carpenter's drill press doesn't reach to the middle of a Strat body, annoyingly. Unless you have a well-equipped workshop at home you will have to find a tool-shop with a good, big press, or risk going hand-held; which makes the whole task even messier.

The alternative is simply not to bother. A six-screw Fender bridge works perfectly happily on just the outer two screws, and many people slightly lift the middle four to take them out of the equation, to reduce friction and improve return-to-pitch. The outer two are strong enough to hold the bridge on their own. If you are planning to block the trem in any case then having all six screws in place matters even less.

Personally, unless it is the two outer screws that have broken I wouldn't go any further with this task. Deck the bridge and be done with it.

Good luck - C

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Thanks Ceri,
I am with you on all counts. I am going to block the trem, so I am not going to go any farther with the screws. BTW it is bottom 2 that broke, so with the remaining 4, I should be OK.

Thanks,
kev