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Stuck, not stick.
I’m having a bit of trouble extracting a string from the metal bridge of an old archtop. There isn’t enough wiggle room to grab the ball end with a needle nose pliers, and trying to push it through with a sharp thin tool bent the tip of the thin sharp tool. Any suggestions would be much appreciated.
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12-29-2017 10:57 PM
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Post a picture? I've definitely been in a "stuck ball in a tailpiece" situation before, but seeing the type would help.
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Bridge or tailpiece?
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Thanks for taking a look. Posting from phone, not sure if this is will display properly:
Originally Posted by mr. beaumont
The string in question is the A string. The low E popped out easily.
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Take a run to the hardware store and pick up a set of these. I got this set for under $5 at Harbor Freight. Hook that ball end with the pick on the far left in my pic and give a sharp tug. Should come free pretty quick.
B.
Edit; by the by, what is that? It reminds me of the tailpieces that Harmony and Kay used back in the day...
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Some locking pliers on the string in front of the tailpiece might be able to push it back.
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Or, slip the old high E through the hole in the ball end and use it to tug the A string out.
Those little hooks in the previous post are lifesavers, though. Also great for amateur dentistry.
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Removes tartar and stuck strings. Indeed a great tool.... lol Originally Posted by mr. beaumont
Seriously LOLled at that one Mr B...
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I’ve also had luck on some tailpieces using the tiny Allen wrench for Fender bridge saddle height adjustment. Use it as a ram rod to push out the stuck ball from the pickup side. Easy peasy.
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Thanks for the suggestions guys. What you don’t want to know is that the bent tool that I referred to in the OP was a sharp instrument that came in a blackhead removal kit...
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Too bad there weren’t blackheads on that A-string ball end—your tool might have worked! Originally Posted by wzpgsr
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A pair of hemostats is a handy tool to have around for many jobs. You can pull the white off rice with them.
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I have several hemostats in my toolbox. They're a great tool. But they can be dangerous. Long ago I had a job flying helicopters, flying to/from offshore oil rigs. I kept a small rollup toolkit mostly for working on my headset and other stuff, and one of the tools was a set of hemostats. Very handy for holding small wires and parts while soldering. I brought it down one day for the jeweler's screwdrivers in it, to fix my sunglasses. About that time the oil company sent out a crew to do a drug shakedown. They came into my room, saw the hemostats, and went berserk. They had their drug sniffing dog running around the room in circles, certain they had found a drug stash because I had a roach clip. They eventually gave up, and went on their way to bust some of their own hands in their rooms. I came close to losing my job just because I had hemostats with some brown rosin on them. But I still keep some on hand, they're among the most versatile tools I own.
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Also handy for Creme Brulee. Originally Posted by Jabberwocky
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@ OP; What guitar is that? Idle curiosity....
TIA
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Yeah they do get tenacious at times. I've tried putting a drop of tri-flow in the seated area and using a piece of wire to push from the string end. If that doesn't work, a push pin is good. A pick or tweezer tip at the ball end of things, if you can get inside the hollow of the ball end.
Hmm I wonder if it'd be a bad idea to "soap" the ends of the strings to prevent oxidized bonding. I'd do that with threads all the time.
David
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It’s an old German archtop of unknown provenance. Originally Posted by Brian B
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Welp. It took a jewelers screwdriver and a hammer. For a minute there I thought I was going to have to create a new thread asking how to remove a jewelers screwdriver from an old metal tailpiece.
Next question: is there something I can put in there to make this less difficult? I mean I really I had pound this screwdriver in there. I’m afraid that eventually this will damage an already fragile guitar.
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What kind of soap do you recommend? Originally Posted by TruthHertz
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Was the string stuck due to it just being too tight going thru the tail, or was there corrosion or something unusual causing it to bind up?
If it was the former, can the hole be opened up slightly to accommodate?
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I’ll have to poke around in there to find out. Had to put it down for the night. Post Tailpiece Stress Disorder. Originally Posted by Brian B
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I'm in the same boat with my Epi Emperor T. Just fully rewired it, new pups, harness, tailpiece. Back together and I have a sympathetic vibration buzz I *cannot* locate. Originally Posted by wzpgsr
Argh.
Good luck with yours....
B.
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Vibration buzzes are usually easy to fix, but it can take a very long time to find what's causing them. Since it's a new rewire, I'd suggest checking the wires. They can buzz if they're against the back or the top, either of which can vibrate, even in a semi. But there are oh so many other possibilities...
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It's not the usual suspects. Guess I get to spend tomorrow with an inspection mirror and a flashlight. Originally Posted by sgosnell
Buzz on all strings, regardless of open or fretted all the way up. Buzz if I pick the strings between the bridge and tail even.
Everything is tight. Wires inside makes sense. Thanks.
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