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Removing a rusted saddle grub screw


umcoo
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I picked up an old Yamaha BB400S a few weeks back with a view to slowly but surely getting it into playing condition again. It's going ok, other than one rusted grub screw in one of the bridge saddles.

My allen key slips when I get hold of it, I've tried pliers to twist it, covered it in wd40, let it soak in a bath of vinegar overnight and it still won't budge. Anything else that I can try before I resort to just getting a new saddle?

Cheers

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I think the vinegar solution does the same as cola (converting/dissolving rust). I've seen stuff on TV where people heat up stuck bolts (usually on old cars) to get them out but I don't know if that's practical in this case. You'll obviously need a new grub screw so I wonder if it might be easier to just replace the whole saddle assembly?

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If none of the above work, you may be able to drill it out and then use an 'easy out' or allen key driven into drilled grub screw to remove the drilled grub screw. Drilling this accurately with a 2 or 3mm bit will require a pillar drill. Simpler answer as suggested is new saddle. Post a picture and some dimensions, you might be surprised what people have in their spares boxes :)

Edited by 3below
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Cheers all. Didn't think of heating in so will give that a try. I guess I could just put a soldering iron on the grub screw to see if that makes a difference.

It's a flat bottom saddle which I can't seem to find too easily online. I'll stick a picture up later when I'm home.

Thanks all

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[quote name='geoffbyrne' timestamp='1467723827' post='3085630']
Don't heat the grub screw - it'll expand & be harder to move - heat the saddle which, hopefully, will expand more than the screw and allow it a bit more room to turn.

G.
[/quote]
Surely if the saddle expands it'll squeeze the grub screw even tighter?

Wouldn't it be better to freeze it?

Although, causing any expansion and/or contraction might just be enough to break the hold on the screw. So, maybe, heat and then freeze?

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Reading this online about why heating can help:

"Heat- If you paid attention in chemistry class you would have learned that when you heat and cool metal it expands and contracts. The way that I have used in the past is to heat the head/body of the bolt until it is almost red hot. By doing this the bolt expands due to the heat, and when it cools it will contract thus breaking the corrosion in between the threads. A similar method is to heat the area around the bolt to make the hole it is threaded into actually expand and open up a little bit so that the bolt fits a bit looser and can be threaded out."

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