Removing a sheared screw??

lovestrat74

School boy error! Managed to shear a bridge screw.

Anybody have any good ideas on how to remove/extract it or should I just install the bridge with 3 screws and be done with it?

FelineGuitars

https://www.stewmac.com/luthier-tools-and-supplies/types-of-tools/routers-and-bits/bits/guitar-screw-rescue-kit/

or someone who owns one

ICBM

The good news is that it's fairly well hidden, so you can afford to do a fair amount of damage around it, as long as it doesn't go too far to the treble side.

I would heat it with a soldering iron (a bit of solder helps thermal transfer) to just about the point the wood is about to start smoking, then as it cools down, grab the end with a pair of needle-nose pliers and wind it out - the screw will have expanded and forced the wood back temporarily. If you chew up the wood around it a little getting the pliers in it won't matter.

If you get it out cleanly you may even be able to re-use the thread in the wood without drilling and dowelling it.

If that fails, what FelineGuitars said.

lovestrat74

Hmm interesting! Thanks @ICBM I think I'll give that a go. We really do need a StewMac in the UK!

Andyjr1515

Yes - exactly as @ICBM describes  

Devil#20

Heating the screw up will only work if there's enough screw to grab hold of to start with, and that doesn't look like there would be. Could it not be core drilled using one of those diamond core drills, usually used for ceramic tiles, and then plugged and re-drilled after flatting everything off? The repair should be covered by the bridge itself. This must happen a lot on machine head screws because they are made out of some cheap monkey metal usually. It might be worth waxing the screws before putting them in maybe.

lovestrat74

The was actually a callaham so I was a bit surprised tbh

ICBM

Devil#20 said:

Heating the screw up will only work if there's enough screw to grab hold of to start with, and that doesn't look like there would be.

I’ve removed dozens of them that were as buried as that. You have to be prepared to dig into the wood a bit with the pliers, but it absolutely does work.

NB, almost never me who broke the screw! One of the more common ones is straplock button screws, because the strap is held too far from the guitar body and bends the screw sideways. Even though you’ve only got the footprint of the button to cover it, it’s usually possible to get it out with no visible damage afterwards.

lovestrat74

Got the little bastard! Thanks @ICBM !!

This place is definitely worth the entrance fee

FelineGuitars

well done 

BillDL

What body is that @lovestrat74?

It has a really nicely figured and pretty thick maple cap.

ICBM

Well done. A bit more barbequed than I hoped, but I assume the tape is to mark the edge of the hidden area . If the thread further down in the wood is still OK and the burn mark bothers you, I would drill in a short distance and fit a shallow cap of maple.

lovestrat74

Yeah the tape marked the position of the bridge, so all the bbq'in is hidden by the tele half bridge. If I had a decent set of pliers the cooking may well have been a bit less, but it's done now and I am happy with it, so thanks for that little tip!

@BillDL the body is from guitar build. It's a maple cap t-type with the LP control layout.

BillDL

It looks really good.  I've just had a look at some of their bodies and necks and it all looks like very high quality parts, and quite an extensive range.

Cranky

https://a.co/d/hprypxZ

I think this exact tool wasn’t available in the UK when I had a similar thread about this a while ago, but it worked brilliantly for me when working on a very dense ash body.  It left a perfectly shaped hole, easy to plug and redrill.

Good job getting it out with the heat, tho.  Definitely less invasive that way.