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Post subject: Floyd rose strat questions and help needed
Posted: Thu May 22, 2008 11:39 am
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Hi all

i'am in the process of flush mounting a floyd rose trem to a mexican strat body.. has anyone done this or can anyone offer good advice

let me tell you a bit about the custom job at hand...

firstly

the floyd rose will be flush mounted like the eddie van halen guitars
here is a brcket i bought from a guitar shop...could this be useful
its the standard 73mm from point to point

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Posted: Thu May 22, 2008 1:04 pm
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Joined: Thu Jul 26, 2007 4:57 am
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Location: Peckham: where the snow leopards roam
I've never done a Floyd, but I've converted a vintage six screw bridge to a two-point VS100, and most of the issues are the same.

First, you need to fill those six holes. Don't think of using carpenter's wood filler! Come on!! Wooden dowels is one approved method. Another, and easier, one is to use a product called Milliput. It is a two part epoxy putty aimed at sculptors, it sets like steel and can then be sanded, finished, drilled, whatever you need. Go for the "standard" Milliput, which happens to be the cheapest. You'll find it online.

The pack contains two sausages of putty: cut off equal amounts of each, say, half an inch, mix extremely thoroughly with you fingers till the colour is uniform, then set to squashing it into those screwholes till they're full up. Use a wooden matchstick to push it in firm. Milliput doesn't shrink so you can leave it fairly flat. Wait a day: sand it flush.

Next you need to drill your holes for the new trem posts. Measure and remeasure endlessly the correct position that will give the right scale length on the top e string. You only get one shot at this: get it right. Put those posts in the wrong position and you might as well throw that guitar off a bridge. So measure some more.

Don't even think about using a hand-held drill. You must, must, must use a pillar drill or you will botch it. Go slow, use a piloted drill bit (probably 10 mm, but check) and get the depth right - masking tape round the drill bit to show depth. It is a serious pain to have a hole that is slightly too deep for the pillar insert.

Refinish. Luckily your guitar is black, which is about the easiest. Check the specs to find out if it is a polyester, polyurethane or nitro finish. Purchase an aerosol of the appropriate based paint from a luthier's suppliers (probably www.stewmac.com), unless you have access to a sprayshop. You can spray right over the Milliput filler without sealing/priming. Put little tubes of paper into the trem post holes to stop paint getting in there and spoiling the fit. Mask everything as close as possible to all the holes, using low-tack drafting tape, not masking tape (potentially damaging to the finish). Several very thin coats. Do your best to blend with the existing finish without a hard line. Correct mistakes with wet-and-dry after 24 hours curing. If you want to do a decent job, you then need to clearcoat over the top of all that with an aerosol of clear urethane, nitro or whatever. Many coats.

Some folks will say you could do all this with a can of black automotive paint. Up to you: how crappy is good enough for you?

Once dry, sand with progressively finer wet-and-dry, up till 1000 grit. Don't go through your finish. (If you do, sand down and start again.) Then buff with T-Cut or just metal polish, and finally guitar polish.

Now assemble your Floyd. Easy as that!!!

Or, once you've read all this, take it to a really good tech and get it done properly, with the security that if he wrecks it he'll have to replace your axe for you. Now you understand what that man is charging you for.

Best of luck to you...


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Posted: Thu May 22, 2008 1:17 pm
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Very interesting read Ceri. Sounds like it borders on brain surgery mixed in with a bit of rocket science.

Really sweet lookin' bridge assembly Ted!


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Posted: Thu May 22, 2008 1:20 pm
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Location: Peckham: where the snow leopards roam
Strataholic wrote:
Very interesting read Ceri. Sounds like it borders on brain surgery mixed in with a bit of rocket science.

Really sweet lookin' bridge assembly Ted!


I'd strongly advise against taking this job on, because of the likelyhood of getting those post holes in the wrong place and destroying the guitar.

And yet I do this stuff myself and there had to be a first time! I guess that is what Squiers and Mexican Strats were invented for...


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