String Tree Installation

thegummy

Rocker said:

TINMAN82 said:

thegummy said:

Is there any chance a Strat wouldn't even need a string tree?

What symptoms is there of the problem that string trees solve, i.e. the absence of which things would indicate that no string tree was needed?

Or will a Strat always need one?

The Eric Johnson strat doesn’t have a string tree but uses staggered tuners (as per his preference). He’ll put his strats to the test I guess. I had a partcaster previously that didn’t need one (with staggered locking tuners) too. I prefer the vintage correct appearance with a tree though.

You actually look at your headstock when playing?  Reminds me of guitarists talking about Epi LP headstock shape.....

What about when he's not playing?

I'd think that if you genuinely don't really care about what your guitar looks like you'd be in a very small minority.

Mark1960

ICBM said:

Mark1960 said:

If you don't have a drill / drill bit, a small bradawl will do the job just as good.

No it won't. A bradawl won't remove any material so it won't create a proper pilot hole - even if you can get it in deep enough, which is very unlikely. It's not really any different from driving the screw in directly.

It's really quite easy to snap the screw off if you don't drill properly - and you really don't want to do that, it's quite tricky to get the broken bit out without damaging the headstock. Seen it done too many times...

Having worked with wood in a DIY capacity (having learnt from my my uncle was a carpenter) for over 40 years, I personally have found that a Bradawl is suitable for small diameter short screws, in every situation I have encountered if a suitable drill / drill bit is not available. I would also agree that for larger / longer screws a pilot hole is best. I was mearly suggesting an alternative if a drill or drill bit was not available, and as a matter of fact have just done this very thing on a guitar headstock that I am building.

ICBM

Mark1960 said:

Having worked with wood in a DIY capacity (having learnt from my my uncle was a carpenter) for over 40 years, I personally have found that a Bradawl is suitable for small diameter short screws, in every situation I have encountered if a suitable drill / drill bit is not available. I would also agree that for larger / longer screws a pilot hole is best. I was mearly suggesting an alternative if a drill or drill bit was not available, and as a matter of fact have just done this very thing on a guitar headstock that I am building.

I would strongly not recommend it with that size of screw into maple. Getting a broken screw out when it's snapped off is not a job you can do on your own if you didn't have the right tools to do it properly in the first place, and it will cost a *lot* more for a luthier to do it.

Mark1960

You may well be correct with the wood being Maple.

thegummy

Update now that I have installed it:

Firstly something I hadn't thought about - the wee guide notch that makes installing Fender tuners as easy as playing Lego but when the hole for it isn't there it's a pest.

So firstly I put the two strings on through the tuners and the nut to measure up where to put the tree, drilled the hole for the screw, screwed it in with masking tape over the headstock, then drilled a hole where the notch indented. Trouble with that is it stopped the string tree being rotated a degree or two in order to line it up with the strings.

So I filed off the notch - that is definitely the way to go for anyone reading this in the future!

But when I screwed it in, the strings didn't line up perfectly. We're only talking a mm or two out but enough to stop it being straight.

So I drilled another hole for the screw up a bit and, unfortunately, went too high by a mm or two!

So I drilled a hole in the middle (and slightly more towards the nut so as not to be too close to the other two holes), at this point having 4 holes in the headstock and feeling a bit gutted that I'll be left with these holes from day one on my new expensive neck.

Had no choice but to continue and screw the string tree back in and this time it lined up perfectly. To my surprise and delight, the tree actually completely covers 3 of the holes and the 4th is directly under the actual tree part making it only visible from the top down, not from looking frontwards at the guitar. It's as if the guitar god (Leo Fender) was blessing me for perseverance and gave me the miracle at the end lol.

I'm very grateful for all the input and took all the advice on board when doing it. But if I could go back I think I'd have taken the financial bullet and paid a professional to do it. It's not even that I rate my techy skills in any way, it just seemed like such a simple task - which it is, but had zero room for error and had to be precise.

But it's done now. My final question to you guys - should I bother filling the final remaining hole with wood filler or just leave it?

ICBM

I would put some filler in the holes and a drop of varnish - clear nail varnish will do if you don't want to buy a large amount of something you'll barely use again - to seal it against moisture.

thegummy

ICBM said:

I would put some filler in the holes and a drop of varnish - clear nail varnish will do if you don't want to buy a large amount of something you'll barely use again - to seal it against moisture.

Cheers man, just any kind of wood filler? I know my Dad was filling holes in his fence so could use that if it's appropriate.

I'm sure the Mrs will have some clear nail varnish too.

ICBM

The sort of stuff you get from B&Q for nail holes in door frames etc - Ronseal do it, other brands are available .

I would poke it into the holes with a pin or something, to make sure it goes down a long way which will tend to stop it just falling out again.