Trem Arm Broke In The Block. Any Tips On Getting It Out?

TheLivingDead

TheLivingDead

Dawn Of The Shred
Yup. Playing my Xavier XV-870 strat early and the damn trem arm broke off .

Anyone have any ancient Chinese secrets to get that piece out of there?

I looked around online and some folks say to get one of those easy-out bits and back it out that way. Anyone do this before? I'm just trying to weigh my options on either getting one of those bit sets OR getting a GFS brass block and be done with it. Looking to get this fixed soon as I'm selling it.

Thanks for sharing any info/experiences.
 
Re: Trem Arm Broke In The Block. Any Tips On Getting It Out?

You need a drill press and carefully drill out as close to the same sized hole as you can, carefully avoiding drilling through the side of the block, because you'll be drilling at a slight angle.
Then you need to tap and die out the hole to a trem arm one size larger, but also the bridgeplate. Then after both have been tapped out, screw in the new arm with the bridgeplate attached to the block.
Ive never had any luck with ez-out.
 
Re: Trem Arm Broke In The Block. Any Tips On Getting It Out?

Maybe try to get the block apart from the bridge plate and see if there's a nub you can clamp on to with some vise grips.
 
Re: Trem Arm Broke In The Block. Any Tips On Getting It Out?

Screw extractors.

Drill into the screw (trem arm) with a drill about half the diameter of the arm. Use an appropriately sized extractor (they have a very loose left hand thread that grabs the inside of the hole and unscrews the trem arm screw end).
 
Re: Trem Arm Broke In The Block. Any Tips On Getting It Out?

LReese said:
Maybe try to get the block apart from the bridge plate and see if there's a nub you can clamp on to with some vise grips.
Click to expand...

From the looks of it I don't think there will be... BUT what have I got to lose? I'll probably end up taking it off anyways. Thanks mang.

GuitarDoc said:
Screw extractors.

Drill into the screw (trem arm) with a drill about half the diameter of the arm. Use an appropriately sized extractor (they have a very loose left hand thread that grabs the inside of the hole and unscrews the trem arm screw end).
Click to expand...

Yeah that's what most folks have done with some success. Thing is, those bit sets are about as much as a newer nicer block. If I can't get it out with what I have I think I'll probably just get one of those brass ones.
 
Re: Trem Arm Broke In The Block. Any Tips On Getting It Out?

Screw extractor #1, if you have a little propane torch and a small magnet on a stick you could heat up the block to expand it and see if you could turn broken piece with the magnet (or pliers a mentioned earlier)
 
Re: Trem Arm Broke In The Block. Any Tips On Getting It Out?

Does the threaded hole for the arm go all the way through the block ?

If it does, you can try drilling into the piece of arm that's stuck in there (from the top side), and the drill will catch the broken piece and try to turn it, screwing it clockwise until it emerges from the other side.

However i suspect that most blocks don't have the threaded hole going all the way through the block, in which case the method i describe won't work. But it's worth a look.
 
Re: Trem Arm Broke In The Block. Any Tips On Getting It Out?

Pretty much all problems can be solved with the correct application of high explosives.
 
Re: Trem Arm Broke In The Block. Any Tips On Getting It Out?

Get a new block.
Then it's a selling point and you won't have to explain the burn/explosion marks on the back of the guitar. :)
 
Re: Trem Arm Broke In The Block. Any Tips On Getting It Out?

MojoMonster said:
Get a new block.
Then it's a selling point and you won't have to explain the burn/explosion marks on the back of the guitar. :)
Click to expand...

If he tried doing it with the tremolo still attached to the guitar I would say walk away from playing all together:smack:
 
Re: Trem Arm Broke In The Block. Any Tips On Getting It Out?

Measure the mounting holes on it. I've got a fender trem I'm not gonna use, I'll ship it to you if it will work.
 
Re: Trem Arm Broke In The Block. Any Tips On Getting It Out?

If you unscrew the base from the block you might be able to grab hold of it with a visegrips or screw extractor. Otherwise you will need a new trem block.
 
Re: Trem Arm Broke In The Block. Any Tips On Getting It Out?

Another +1 for the Screw grub /screw extractor. YOu can find them pretty easily at automotive supply stores. It`s essentially a reverse threaded self tapping screw on teh end of a T-handle that you simply twist into the broken screw and turn until it comnes right out. They used to cost about 5 bucks.

Screw_extractor_and_T-wrench.jpg


crusty philtrum said:
Does the threaded hole for the arm go all the way through the block ?

If it does, you can try drilling into the piece of arm that's stuck in there (from the top side), and the drill will catch the broken piece and try to turn it, screwing it clockwise until it emerges from the other side.

However i suspect that most blocks don't have the threaded hole going all the way through the block, in which case the method i describe won't work. But it's worth a look.
Click to expand...

Also a possibility, but carries a high risk of both injury as well as damage to the instrument. If the threads are clean all the way it's chances of success are better, but the issue ios that even teh slightest "catching" of thearm-stump on teh block threads will transfer the entire torque of the drill to the instrument, generally resulting in one of 3 things:

1. A marred finish and a wrist injury from the drill snapping your hand around (assumes the guitar was in a vise and you were using a hand drill)
2. the guitar gets torn out or your hands ans swings wildly at 2000-10000 rpm, damaging anything in it`s path and potentially causing all sorts of injuriey and damage (not in vise and using a hand drill or drill press)
3. the drill bit shattering and turning into shrapnel (Drill press+ vise)
 
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Re: Trem Arm Broke In The Block. Any Tips On Getting It Out?

Thanks guys. My buddy's got one of those screw extractors. Gonna go over there tonight, throw a few back and see what we can do.

King IzzO))) said:
Measure the mounting holes on it. I've got a fender trem I'm not gonna use, I'll ship it to you if it will work.
Click to expand...

That's mighty kickass of you sir. It's supposedly Fender American-spaced.
 
Re: Trem Arm Broke In The Block. Any Tips On Getting It Out?

That's exactly what I got. Let me know if you need it.
 
Re: Trem Arm Broke In The Block. Any Tips On Getting It Out?

the screw extractor won't work. First of all, its not a screw, its a busted jagged peice of pot metal probably, thats not thick enough to be screwed down upon, and if it even is, there are no remnants of any screwhead to bite into and nextly, how "simply" is it to screw something by hand down onto another piece of metal , especially if its steel? Not simple at all. Also that trick of grabbing the busted piece with pliers is almost never useful. The trem arm break point is always , that I have ever seen,. way down into the block.
If you can get a new block, get one, but I don't know what the huge fear of drill presses is, other than that most people don't have one. They are cheap now, and if you are somewhat young, get one right now, it'll pay for itself many timnes over...thats the way to 'get it out', just obliterate it.
 
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