bridge shim

Mattsican · Post by **Mattsican** » Mon Aug 06, 2012 6:01 pm

has anyone ever tried just getting washers to go between the body and bridge plate to use as a shim? i was talking to someone and they suggested that. The part that seems weird to me is that by using washers, the only contact between the bridge and body would be the 5 washers and that may fuck the sustain up... It is a string thru tornado bridge so that may compensate?

cooter · Post by **cooter** » Mon Aug 06, 2012 6:53 pm

Hey Matt,
Is this the body I made for you? Sounds like the neck pocket isn't deep enough for the tornado bridge. A vintage bridge must have taller saddles which would match the neck pocket depth. I'd be happy to route the neck pocket deeper of you if you'd like.
I know Mike made a shim out of a piece of plastic for a build he did once and said it worked like a charm. But, if you don't want to use a shim let me know and I'll route it for you.

Thomas · Post by **Thomas** » Mon Aug 06, 2012 6:54 pm

cooterfinger wrote:Hey Matt,
Is this the body I made for you? Sounds like the neck pocket isn't deep enough for the tornado bridge. A vintage bridge must have taller saddles which would match the neck pocket depth. I'd be happy to route the neck pocket deeper of you if you'd like.
I know Mike made a shim out of a piece of plastic for a build he did once and said it worked like a charm. But, if you don't want to use a shim let me know and I'll route it for you.

The Toro baseplate is thinner, it's the same on my '65 Duo.

As for the washer method, It'd probably compress the wood and dent the body. I'd put a piece of flat metal under the grub screws straight under the saddles. That's what I'm gonna do with the Toro bridge on my Duo. That way the baseplate is still flat to the body.

Mattsican · Post by **Mattsican** » Mon Aug 06, 2012 7:40 pm

The Toro baseplate is thinner, it's the same on my '65 Duo.

As for the washer method, It'd probably compress the wood and dent the body. I'd put a piece of flat metal under the grub screws straight under the saddles. That's what I'm gonna do with the Toro bridge on my Duo. That way the baseplate is still flat to the body.

It just seems like shimming under the saddles would look funny/be a pain... Like they would slip out or something. I'm going to venture to Lowe's and see what they have going on. The washer idea is def out though because i though about how they would dent the wood right after i posted that. I'm hoping to find a nice piece of thin and dense hardwood that i can use. Another thing i thought of is i have longer grub screws that go for a jazz bass bridges that may help.. I don't think they are the same size thread though. Oh well, we will see i guess.

Thomas · Post by **Thomas** » Mon Aug 06, 2012 7:58 pm

Post your eventual solution (I might steal it if I haven't got around to adjusting mine)

Addam · Post by **Addam** » Mon Aug 06, 2012 8:22 pm

A little too late now, but theSquier Musicmaster bridge is a much better prospect.
It's got a thicker plate, and I think you'd be able to jack the saddles a little higher without problems.
I'm using one on a project with a pretty standard 16mm neck pocket depth and it's almost perfect right out the box.

The reason it's too late; the string-through holes are placed differently from the Toronado bridge.

cooter · Post by **cooter** » Mon Aug 06, 2012 8:53 pm

Mattsican wrote:It just seems like shimming under the saddles would look funny/be a pain... Like they would slip out or something. I'm going to venture to Lowe's and see what they have going on. The washer idea is def out though because i though about how they would dent the wood right after i posted that. I'm hoping to find a nice piece of thin and dense hardwood that i can use. Another thing i thought of is i have longer grub screws that go for a jazz bass bridges that may help.. I don't think they are the same size thread though. Oh well, we will see i guess.

I'll see if I have any thin pieces of wood in the workshop.

Mattsican · Post by **Mattsican** » Mon Aug 06, 2012 10:37 pm

I've a solution i'm going to try... I picked up a hard vinyl floor tile from Lowe's today. It was 88 cents. I borrowed the lady's tape measure and it's exactly 1/16" inch thick. It is dark brown/black. It has adhesive on the back also. I'm going to cut a rough shape, stick it to the bottom of the bridge then use a carpet cutter to shave it off flush then drill the screw and string holes. I remember Mike saying he had an issue using a Tornado bridge on a DuoSonic and he used two CDR's as a shim. I measured two stacked and they were about the same thickness as the floor tile.The only thing i'm worried about is the hard vinyl not transferring the vibrations very well. I'll take pics later when i get a chance to start working on it.

cooter · Post by **cooter** » Tue Aug 07, 2012 12:02 am

Matt,
If the tile doesn't work for you I found some aluminum stock in the workshop about the right thickness. I shaped and
drilled out a shim using the bridge plate I had in the parts box as a template.

I'll drop it in the mail to you in the morning if you want to give it a try.

The perspective of the picture is a little misleading. The shim will be completely covered by the bridge plate.

Mattsican · Post by **Mattsican** » Tue Aug 07, 2012 12:14 am

cooterfinger wrote:Matt,
If the tile doesn't work for you I found some aluminum stock in the workshop about the right thickness. I shaped and
drilled out a shim using the bridge plate I had in the parts box as a template.

I'll drop it in the mail to you in the morning if you want to give it a try.

The perspective of the picture is a little misleading. The shim will be completely covered by the bridge plate.

Thats brilliant! Pretty much the same thing i just did with the tile... i'll add some pics. I'd be willing to bet the metal would work much better... The tile is basically dense rubber/plastic vinyl. If you've still got my address send it over and let me know how much the postage is and i'll paypal you. Thanks!

Thomas · Post by **Thomas** » Tue Aug 07, 2012 12:19 am

That looks PERFECT! Would you be able to make one for me? Send me a PM if you're interested and hopefully we can sort something out.

cooter · Post by **cooter** » Tue Aug 07, 2012 1:12 am

Matt,
PM me your address again if you don't mind. Don't worry about the postage.

Thomas,
PM me your address as well. I'll make you one this week.

Mattsican · Post by **Mattsican** » Tue Aug 07, 2012 1:15 am

This is what i came up with... It looks pretty crude but everything is covered. I think the metal one will work MUCH better though... PM sent, thanks again!

cooter · Post by **cooter** » Tue Aug 07, 2012 1:29 am

The metal shim is a little thicker than a sixteenth. You should be able to set up your bridge without maxing out the saddle screws.

Mattsican · Post by **Mattsican** » Tue Aug 07, 2012 5:05 am

cooterfinger wrote:The metal shim is a little thicker than a sixteenth. You should be able to set up your bridge without maxing out the saddle screws.

Thats good. my vinyl tile shim is a little less than a sixteenth and i was thinking it is just a tad too thin... I've not had a chance to put it all together and string it up to see how it fits yet though

Mattsican · Post by **Mattsican** » Tue Aug 07, 2012 5:45 am

i just put the bridge on with that shim and strung up the D and G strings (those ones seemed the worst without it) and if i put the saddles a couple of turns lower than flush, the notes ring out but i can def hear the string fretting out. I'm sure with a full set of string tension on the neck it'd not be as bad. With a little bit more of a shim on the bottom of the plate it should allow everything to sit perfectly without maxing the posts out.