Floyd Rose pivot screws went loose

[GilmourD]

Re: Floyd Rose pivot screws went loose

Here is a pic of the problem :

this is the bass side, the treble side looks ok.

Oh, so these are the studs that screw straight into the wood. For some reason I was thinking you had the updated bushing design.

Do you have any good techs/luthiers in your area that could install bushings for you? Probably be a whole lot less stressful and more stable thank trying to fill the oversized area of the existing hole.

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[greekdude]

Re: Floyd Rose pivot screws went loose

Oh, so these are the studs that screw straight into the wood. For some reason I was thinking you had the updated bushing design.
Do you have any good techs/luthiers in your area that could install bushings for you? Probably be a whole lot less stressful and more stable thank trying to fill the oversized area of the existing hole.

thanx man, i think i say it explicitly in the first post, maybe my english sucks. Now about techs, i wouldn't go there, i am confident doing this myself. Its a guitar that has received all kinds of beating, so this one won't stop me either .
As a first level of defense i will definitely try to fill the oversized area without dowel plugging/re-drilling. If that fails then plugging/re-drilling and if that fails as well, then try to upgrade to bushings/studs.
But if i have the time maybe i will go directly for the bushings.

 

[Top-L]

Re: Floyd Rose pivot screws went loose

This is easy to fix yourself. Get a drill press, drill out the hole and install a bushing/stud.

 

[greekdude]

Re: Floyd Rose pivot screws went loose

^^ alright,i have a drill press, but i cant figure out how to hold the guitar in place.
The drill press is this :

hmm i guess some clothe around the base of the neck near the neck/body might do the trick.

 

[vinta9e]

Re: Floyd Rose pivot screws went loose

^^ alright,i have a drill press, but i cant figure out how to hold the guitar in place

Clamp it.

 

[kramersteen]

Re: Floyd Rose pivot screws went loose

^^ alright,i have a drill press, but i cant figure out how to hold the guitar in place.
The drill press is this :

hmm i guess some clothe around the base of the neck near the neck/body might do the trick.

Will that press be big enough to even reach to the area thats needed to be drilled?

 

[greekdude]

Re: Floyd Rose pivot screws went loose

@kramersteen, due to lack of time i abandoned the bushings/studs idea and fixed this (still subject to verification, its only 8 hours after the fix) with toothpicks and strong bison wood glue. Seems better than before. I think it will give this some more years before the final fix. The current clearance is this :

the additional wood can be seen on the front side of the screw. No more contact between the bridge's plate and the pup ring. Better tuning stability as well. Me thinks it rings out better, and has better sustain. (YAY!)

 

[Masta' C]

Re: Floyd Rose pivot screws went loose

You should consider doing it "right" and go with the bushings. It won't be long before that "fix" compresses and fails again. I mean, I love toothpicks and glue for minor issues and it'll probably get you by for a little while, but that guitar deserves better and the swap isn't expensive or all that hard

 

[greekdude]

Re: Floyd Rose pivot screws went loose

You should consider doing it "right" and go with the bushings. It won't be long before that "fix" compresses and fails again. I mean, I love toothpicks and glue for minor issues and it'll probably get you by for a little while, but that guitar deserves better and the swap isn't expensive or all that hard

i don't know, this bridge is very tall with regards to the wood. It just sits too high. The wood will suffer even with the bushings. Too high the application of the force, it works like a lever. The toothpicks will get compressed, but this will not mean "vanished". The material will remain with more density. And maybe i will treat this the same way again.
This guitar has tiny fast neck, very good playablity, regarding this is a 1988 design, great fret access, *but* it is very heavy, the most unstable of all my other guitars, and the wood just feels like too soft. I have another FR axe, a Kramer 210, model 1988 as well, with Floyd Rose II, and 2 livewires, and is stable as a beast. The Carvin has taken most of my "lutherie" acticity.
To be frank, i am afraid to touch it any more in "intrusive" ways. The Carvin has gotten a lot of mods,
1) left->right conversion, routing for FR
2) Gotoh Nut installtion (removing a broken screw, leveling the nut shelf, drilling for the new nut.... scary stuff for such a delicate guitar)
3) Lower cut carved for accessing the 24th fret
4) general electrics overhaul (pups, switch, pot)
5) and now this mod, which of course was no big deal..

Its just that i think that this guitar has taken enough from me

maybe a new ibby UV70p will help the Carvin and the Kramer rest a little but, after decades of playing!

 

[kramersteen]

Re: Floyd Rose pivot screws went loose

Birchwood Toothpicks are good but Basswood paddle pop stick will give you better tone.

 

[greekdude]

Re: Floyd Rose pivot screws went loose

Yeah, i tried with beeche plugs but they were hard to shape, i couldn't get a grip on them. So, i went the toothpicks.

 

[Gearjoneser]

Re: Floyd Rose pivot screws went loose

Should i just try to fix this, or upgrade to bushing/studs?

Are you even going to listen to the advise?

So, I went with the toothpicks.

I didn't think so. :disappoin

 

[darthphineas]

Re: Floyd Rose pivot screws went loose

Sits too high?

What?

From that photo, that is not so high as to be worried.

If the guitar means that much, take it to a qualified repair guy, have the hole professionally plugged and re drilled at 10.0 mm for a regular official insert from FR - official titanium inserts from FR have different specs. Have the inserts pressed in by a professional. You will be fine on that height.

I hear some guys like the Gotoh inserts and screws. Whatever you use, just make sure it is installed per spec.


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[greekdude]

Re: Floyd Rose pivot screws went loose

its pretty stable after one week or so, as the tuning pitch suggests. so i doubt i will go to spend my money on any tech anytime soon (especially for a guitar that i have done so much work my self). if it ever seems to develop alarming clearance again, i will definitely drill out the toothpick wood, plug with a dowel and drill for inserts. I have the original inserts that came with this floyd when i bought this (can't remember must have been some time between 1998-2000)

 

[King IzzO)))]

Re: Floyd Rose pivot screws went loose

If you have the 10mm anchors and posts I don't get why you're trying to avoid doing the job right. Dowel the existing post holes (3/8" dowel should fit, but you might need to run through with a bit to clean it up first, go no deeper than 1 3/8"), trim them flush, center punch in the middle of the dowel (measure center to center on the floyd against the body to be sure) and drill 10mm holes to depth of 13/16" with a drill press. Pop in the new anchors and done. Simple job and it will love you long time.

Toothpicks is... I don't even know what to say.

 

[greekdude]

Re: Floyd Rose pivot screws went loose

If you have the 10mm anchors and posts I don't get why you're trying to avoid doing the job right. Dowel the existing post holes (3/8" dowel should fit, but you might need to run through with a bit to clean it up first, go no deeper than 1 3/8"), trim them flush, center punch in the middle of the dowel (measure center to center on the floyd against the body to be sure) and drill 10mm holes to depth of 13/16" with a drill press. Pop in the new anchors and done. Simple job and it will love you long time.

Toothpicks is... I don't even know what to say.

thnx, but IMHO toothpicks glued in correctly are superior to non glued dowel. partially i am sick and tired of lutherie jobs with this guitar, partially i have read theories about losing some originality in sound, some transfer, when doing this with the inserts etc... not that i believe all these but my other screw-pivot floyd guitar is fine since 1991 when i bought it.
For the time being i am cool with the fix. Time will show, and i will be back right here to report any further developments with this, any problems, failures, fixes, etc..

 

[King IzzO)))]

Re: Floyd Rose pivot screws went loose

Part of doweling is glueing, kinda goes without saying, at least I thought so. And the hole you end up with is larger than the existing hole, so the only place where there will be dowel left is under the anchor.

Really dude, if you wanna be a hack that's fine. If you don't, you do the job right. If you didn't want to be told how to do it right you shouldn't have asked.

 

[greekdude]

Re: Floyd Rose pivot screws went loose

Part of doweling is glueing, kinda goes without saying, at least I thought so. And the hole you end up with is larger than the existing hole, so the only place where there will be dowel left is under the anchor.

Really dude, if you wanna be a hack that's fine. If you don't, you do the job right. If you didn't want to be told how to do it right you shouldn't have asked.

You came in the thread late, after the job was done, and while in the evaluation stage, to retrospectively critize a decision made before the job was done. It does not make any sense. I told you i will measure the clearance periodically and report back. If it works that's fine. If not, i may go for dowel + redrilling for the screw, or the insert, or even throw the guitar to the garbage can, if i want too. I hope that is all clear.

 

[darthphineas]

Re: Floyd Rose pivot screws went loose

Part of doweling is glueing, kinda goes without saying, at least I thought so. And the hole you end up with is larger than the existing hole, so the only place where there will be dowel left is under the anchor.

Really dude, if you wanna be a hack that's fine. If you don't, you do the job right. If you didn't want to be told how to do it right you shouldn't have asked.

Izzo, the dude is right. You can in after the guy handled the issue in the way the wanted to. People were encouraging him to plug the holes (fluted dowels with wood glue is a good way to go) and to use the inserts and to even get with manufacturer to confirm what they suggest. People that have dealt with such an issue before tired to share their experience on what would work best, once and for all. The dude made his choice.


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[greekdude]

Re: Floyd Rose pivot screws went loose

Checked again yesterday. Still strong. No signs of any collapse. I dont think this will require any extra care for quite some time. And the harsh condition here is doing trem arm pull ups. That's when 100+ Kgr force will be applied to the wood. Doing just dive bombs will not scare it at all.