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Post subject: broken whammy
Posted: Wed May 29, 2013 3:19 pm
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Borrowed a squire strat from a friend and as I tried to loosen the whammy bar I noticed it was extremely stiff so I started working it back and forth then it snapped. Part of it is still inside. My question is, is it possible to loosen the strings and bridge enough so I can drill out the remaining piece inside, tap new threads, buy a new whammy bar and retighten everything and play. I would really like to hear that its not a professional job or that I need a whole new bridge as well as bar. Please please help me out.

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Post subject: Re: broken whammy
Posted: Wed May 29, 2013 3:32 pm
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Bet that's the last time your friend loans you one of his guitars. :roll:

Buy a new trem block and just replace it and the arm. You will have to determine what model Squier the guitar is and which block will fit, but I am sure you can figure it out. :idea:

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Post subject: Re: broken whammy
Posted: Wed May 29, 2013 3:52 pm
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wasnt my idea to borrow but whats done is done. is the trem lock just the chrome piece where the strings come up through the body?

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Post subject: Re: broken whammy
Posted: Wed May 29, 2013 4:55 pm
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Turn the guitar upside down. Take the back cover off. See the metal block that the strings are inserted into? THAT is the trem block. I suggest you take the guitar to a guitar tech that knows what he is doing before you do any further damage.

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Post subject: Re: broken whammy
Posted: Wed May 29, 2013 5:32 pm
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I appreciate the help but I've got it figured out just gotta drill and tap it. I'm a mechanic and do that on a daily basis so I should be good. I've talked to my local shop and they said that was the best way to do it without having to buy a new trem. Did some research on it and it shouldnt be that hard.

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Post subject: Re: broken whammy
Posted: Wed May 29, 2013 6:03 pm
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Mechanics in my neck of the woods make $35 to $40 an hour.

A trem block and whammy arm for a junk Squier likely costs twenty bucks at most.

Do the math.

Arjay

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Post subject: Re: broken whammy
Posted: Wed May 29, 2013 7:09 pm
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alright not really appreciating the sarcasm here idk where the hell your getting 40 an hour to turn a wrench but thats cool. I try and do things my way on my own. If I can drill and tap it which I can that's what I'm gonna do. I've talked to multiple friends and avid guitarists, its possible to drill and tap it so that's the plan. Any expense is a large expense where I'M from.

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Post subject: Re: broken whammy
Posted: Wed May 29, 2013 8:57 pm
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Let me get this straight:

1. A friend loans you a guitar.

2. You try to loosen a stiff trem bar.

3. Instead of investigating why it is stuck, you just work it back and forth until it breaks off in your hand.

4. You decide that instead of taking the trem assembly apart and replacing the trem block at a cost of about $25, you are going to drill out the broken part and re-tap the hole, all while the trem assembly is still installed on the guitar.

5. You have no idea what a trem block is and clearly have no idea how the entire trem assembly goes together.

Does your friend know what your plan is? Have you bothered to get his OK? Have you ever worked on a guitar before? Do you even have a clue how to fix this?

Good luck. Please be sure to let us know how this works out. :roll:

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Post subject: Re: broken whammy
Posted: Thu May 30, 2013 1:44 am
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If you can get a hole drilled down the centre of the broken bar, which will be the tricky bit, an "Easyout" screw extractor might do the job to get the remnant out.


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Post subject: Re: broken whammy
Posted: Thu May 30, 2013 5:09 am
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How about this: Let the OP try his hand at it first as it appears he may very well be successful. If he isn't, then he can buy a new block.

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Post subject: Re: broken whammy
Posted: Thu May 30, 2013 8:05 am
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Martian wrote:
How about this: Let the OP try his hand at it first as it appears he may very well be successful. If he isn't, then he can buy a new block.


I have no doubt that the block can be drilled out and the broken part removed, if the person doing the job knows what they are doing. Given the OP's clear lack of understanding of the Fender/Squier tremolo system and his insistence that he do it without removing the trem system from the guitar to prevent further damage to the guitar shows that he does not. If I were the owner of the guitar (the OP is not the owner), I would take it back immediately and send it to a professional for repair and send the bill to the OP.

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Post subject: Re: broken whammy
Posted: Thu May 30, 2013 8:37 am
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So if you are going to drill it out, which means enlarging the hole, thereby requiring a tap job to replace threads... where are you going to find a whammy bar that's going to fit the new, enlarged threads..?

I'm with Bill and Arjay here - just find a used block and whammy, install it, give the guitar back to your friend and consider yourself lucky and, hopefully, smarter.

backdoorman9178 wrote:
I've talked to multiple friends and avid guitarists, its possible to drill and tap it so that's the plan.
I know a lot of guitar players, but I can't think of one that would suggest going to such extremes on even a Squier guitar. I could take that guitar to my son and he could do what you are planning, but I know he'd just laugh and say, are you nuts?!

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Post subject: Re: broken whammy
Posted: Thu May 30, 2013 9:30 am
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CRGuitarMan wrote:
So if you are going to drill it out, which means enlarging the hole, thereby requiring a tap job to replace threads... where are you going to find a whammy bar that's going to fit the new, enlarged threads..?



There are some insert avalaible , ( are they the right size ? ) but I won't do this kind of job , I'll go for a new block.


www.grainger.com/Grainger/thread-insert ... alog/N-8nr


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Post subject: Re: broken whammy
Posted: Fri May 31, 2013 5:54 am
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You are getting good advise, replace the block. Or, you could buy a like guitar on Craigslist for no more than $60...swap out the parts...keep the one you bought and make it a hard tail with the junk block. That way you won't have to borrow guitars.


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Post subject: Re: broken whammy
Posted: Sat Jun 01, 2013 9:12 am
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Hi guys: speaking as someone who likes fixing stuff if possible I absolutely get the point of trying to get the broken arm out. Maybe someone with engineering skill and equipment can get an extractor in there and wind the embedded piece up out the block. If it worked at all it wouldn't take long. Having a go at that would be my first step if it were me.

Though I'd definitely remove the trem unit and take the block off the bottom of the bridge plate first. That's just common sense.

Then again, the idea of actually drilling the arm out and then retapping threads into the zinc block seems like too much hassle. Much easier to just pop in a new block, I'd have thought.

I'm not sure aftermarket sellers offer blocks for Squiers, and I don't know if the MIM spec blocks the likes of GuitarFetish and Callaham offer fit a Squier bridge plate. Still, there are one or two Squier blocks to be found on Ebay. Here's one for $9.99:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Fender-Squier-S ... 5d3f3205fc

That's not much to pay to put right someone's guitar you've inadvertently damaged. Simplest route to go, probably.

In the unlikely event backdoorman9178 is still bothering to read this thread, maybe that helps.

Cheers - C

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