benebass Posted February 15, 2022 Share Posted February 15, 2022 Hi - I recently bought a bass on here & when it turned up it was in a worse state than I expected. Most of it is fixable, but on trying to remove the bridge for a clean, one of the screws had corroded to such a degree that the head came straight off on the first turn! Any idea how to fix this one? It's a Fender-style mount & all I can think of is drilling it out then gluing in a dowel before redrilling a hole for a new screw. I raised it with the seller & he wasn't much help - his response was that it was a 'shame'. Damn right, eh!?! 😡 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted February 16, 2022 Share Posted February 16, 2022 You might be able to cut a slot in the top of the remaining screw with a Dremel or similar rotary tool if it's sitting proud of the surface and try screwing it out with a flat bladed screwdriver? Also try heating the screw with a soldering iron then letting it cool - that might free it up a bit before attempting the above. Other than that, I guess drill, fill and redrill as you mentioned above. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doctor J Posted February 16, 2022 Share Posted February 16, 2022 Is the damaged screw flush with the body or is any of it exposed? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benebass Posted February 16, 2022 Author Share Posted February 16, 2022 Thanks for the info - it's broken below the body line, so drilling it out might be the only option & so probably looking at a pro fixing it. Never had this scenario before - must have been some serious sweaty playing going on to cause this, eh!?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueMoon Posted February 16, 2022 Share Posted February 16, 2022 17 hours ago, benebass said: all I can think of is drilling it out then gluing in a dowel before redrilling a hole for a new screw. This would be my first approach. I just had the same thing happen to me on a Hipshot bridge. The repair is holding well, and, of course, is not seen. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
police squad Posted February 16, 2022 Share Posted February 16, 2022 can you take the other screws out? Then lift the bridge away over the broken screw. Then clamp the screw and remove it. if it it still unreachable, drilling maybe the answer 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ezbass Posted February 16, 2022 Share Posted February 16, 2022 Recent thread here with many suggestions… 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Cribbin Posted February 16, 2022 Share Posted February 16, 2022 Can I suggest that when you do resolve the broken screw to replace them all with stainless steel ones. So many screws appear to have the strength of cottage cheese these days. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
franzbassist Posted February 16, 2022 Share Posted February 16, 2022 18 minutes ago, John Cribbin said: Can I suggest that when you do resolve the broken screw to replace them all with stainless steel ones. So many screws appear to have the strength of cottage cheese these days. Agree, I got some of these recently and they are really decent. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Velarian Posted February 16, 2022 Share Posted February 16, 2022 2 hours ago, franzbassist said: Agree, I got some of these recently and they are really decent. I’ve bought screws from that eBay seller before and he’s a really good guy to deal with. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benebass Posted February 16, 2022 Author Share Posted February 16, 2022 Thanks all - I think drilling will be the answer so I'm going to take it to a luthier rather than have a blast myself. The stainless steel screws look to be a winner - great tip! Hopefully won't be an expensive fix, but still a bit miffed the seller washed their hands on this one - not the most disastrous deal I've ever had, but not great & thankfully not typical of people on here... Cheers! 😁👍 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maude Posted February 18, 2022 Share Posted February 18, 2022 (edited) On 16/02/2022 at 22:43, benebass said: ... still a bit miffed the seller washed their hands on this one If only they'd washed their hands more when they owned it, the bridge might not be in such a saltcrust, rusty state. 😁 I'm sorry, I'm not helping am I? Best of luck with the repair. 🙂👍 Edited February 18, 2022 by Maude 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmorris Posted February 19, 2022 Share Posted February 19, 2022 On 16/02/2022 at 22:43, benebass said: Hopefully won't be an expensive fix, but still a bit miffed the seller washed their hands on this one - not the most disastrous deal I've ever had, but not great & thankfully not typical of people on here... Cheers! 😁👍 tbf U don't think anyone checks for corroded screws before selling a bass ? Use stainless steel screws for replacement. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tegs07 Posted February 19, 2022 Share Posted February 19, 2022 On 15/02/2022 at 20:52, benebass said: Hi - I recently bought a bass on here & when it turned up it was in a worse state than I expected. Most of it is fixable, but on trying to remove the bridge for a clean, one of the screws had corroded to such a degree that the head came straight off on the first turn! Any idea how to fix this one? It's a Fender-style mount & all I can think of is drilling it out then gluing in a dowel before redrilling a hole for a new screw. I raised it with the seller & he wasn't much help - his response was that it was a 'shame'. Damn right, eh!?! 😡 I would think drilling it out would be your best bet. StewMac sell a screw removal kit for this type of job. It’s expensive though. It’s easy enough to get a dremel, drill small holes in a circle as close to the broken screw as you can and then slowly go round the circle of holes with the dremel until you can remove the broken screw. Plug with dowel and a dab of wood glue , colour match and replace bridge hiding fix. Stainless steel replacement screws are a good shout. I had to do the above fix on a sheared machine head screw. I was missing one machine head screw after replacing the machine heads on a bass. All the’70s screws went in fine. The modern replacement screw sheared off. As someone said made of butter. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benebass Posted February 19, 2022 Author Share Posted February 19, 2022 Thanks all - it's a fair point that the seller wouldn't have known & that's why I'm not trying to pursue it for reimbursement - it's more the attitude, especially as a strap button has been roughly repaired after what looks to be a knock & that wasn't called out either. Been close to a bad feedback rant, but thought better of it! Hope to see a luthier today & fingers crossed they can sort it... 🤞 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul S Posted February 19, 2022 Share Posted February 19, 2022 26 minutes ago, benebass said: Been close to a bad feedback rant, but thought better of it! Probably an idea to mention it, though. It is kind of what the feedback system is for. If there are folks out there who are not prepared to take any responsibility once a bass has left thier possession the rest of us would like to know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benebass Posted February 19, 2022 Author Share Posted February 19, 2022 5 hours ago, Paul S said: Probably an idea to mention it, though. It is kind of what the feedback system is for. If there are folks out there who are not prepared to take any responsibility once a bass has left thier possession the rest of us would like to know. It's a fair point, Paul. I'm on the fence on this one - I haven't explicitly asked the seller for anything to help sort this out, but equally it felt like a very dismissive response when I raised it & that's now things should work round here. Will have a think, but not keen on having the headache of the inevitable hassle it will trigger if it can be cheaply fixed... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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