Screw Holes for Drop In replacement bass bridge

[rmorris]

Quick (?) question. If fitting a drop in replacement bridge or ,for that refitting original bridge that has been removed for some reason - do you do any filling on the existing holes to give the screw something to bite into ? For general DIY I would do this but it doesn't seem to be a thing with bridge replacement ?

[Dan Dare]

If the holes are clean and you re-use the same screws (or replacements with the same pitch/thread), you shouldn't need to fill them. If they're worn, filler is unlikely to give the screw enough to bite on. I'd fit hardwood dowels - make sure they're tight fitting and use strong glue - and drill fresh holes.

[BassBunny]

Just done this. I used the original screws in the same holes they came out of and no problem at all. The tightened up nicely.

[Reggaebass]

If the screw rings off and doesn’t tighten just put a cocktail stick in the hole for extra grip 🙂

[rmorris]

29 minutes ago, Reggaebass said:

If the screw rings off and doesn’t tighten just put a cocktail stick in the hole for extra grip 🙂

Yeah. That's what I do in general. Cocktail stick or matchstick and a bit of wood glue. If serious strength needed leaving it to set for days not hours regardless of what it says on the bottle.

[Maude]

I keep a pack of cocktail sticks in my guitar/bass refurb tool kit for just this reason. I'll only use them if I feel the screw isn't going to tighten up nicely though. 

Also, cocktail sticks are usually hardwood where as matches are softwood so screws will tighten more securely in cocktail sticks. 

[rmorris]

Agreed. Prefer cocktail sticks also for their smaller diameter. I'm fairly sure I have some at home just not 100% certain if and where !