Rogviler Posted January 8, 2004 Report Share Posted January 8, 2004 Hey, does anyone have or know where can I find a template for drilling the holes for a Tune-O-Matic style bridge? I hope I'm not the only one who's had trouble finding one or I'm going to feel really dumb... Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snork Posted January 8, 2004 Report Share Posted January 8, 2004 dont be feeling dumb. welcome to the forums i would say but you're an early member.......with 2 posts. one of the guys will answer in like 5 minutes. not a stupid question at all Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rogviler Posted January 8, 2004 Author Report Share Posted January 8, 2004 you're an early member.......with 2 posts. Heh heh, yeah I tend to only ask for help when the room is full of smoke and things are already messed up... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted January 8, 2004 Report Share Posted January 8, 2004 There is no template unless they provide one with the unit you buy. There are 'nads worth of different TOM's out there, and a lot of them are ever-so-slightly different sizes, so that's why there is no template, they're all different. You need to first purchase the unit you want to use, and inside they should give you the dimensions you need to drill. There's more to it, like setting and marking your scale length and bridge position out, setting the bass side back 3/16", double-checking your measurements after you set the bass side back, but that's enough for starters for your question? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rogviler Posted January 9, 2004 Author Report Share Posted January 9, 2004 I already bought one from CustomShopParts.com and it didn't come with anything for layout... Hence my asking. I would've thought those would be pretty much universal, otherwise how would you know what you're buying is going to fit if you're getting it as a replacement? Does anybody have a good way of making a template? Anything? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted January 9, 2004 Report Share Posted January 9, 2004 In that case, take your bridge and sit it on a ruler (a steel ruler that measures down to 1/32" like that found on a square rule would be best) and just accurately measure the 2 holes, center-to-center. Bam. Done. That's all there is to know for doing that part of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rogviler Posted January 9, 2004 Author Report Share Posted January 9, 2004 Hmm... Maybe it's more complicated that I first thought... Is there a tutorial on how to space it correctly and measure where it needs to go? Like what happens if you guess how far forward or back it goes and get it wrong? Bad things? I'll probably find out... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted January 9, 2004 Report Share Posted January 9, 2004 It's not that bad. Do you have the neck yet? What is the scale length? If you don't know that, what's the length from the nut to the middle of the 12th fret? Tell us about the project as a whole, all information is goooood. That's what we're here for! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rogviler Posted January 9, 2004 Author Report Share Posted January 9, 2004 Okay, from the beginning then... I got this old guitar, it just said Tele-Star on the head, which i hadn't heard of until I searched on the web and found a little info on it. At any rate, it didn't have any pickups or a bridge or anything really, just a body and a neck. Both in horrible shape and fit only for the garbage. I have a picture somewhere... So I, being both insane and in need of a challenege, decided to refurb it. I couldn't find the original bridge or even a good match, so I decided to use the Gibson-style one, thus bringing us to the present. I'm not sure quite how to measure the scale length on it, since there's a space of about 1/4" between the nut and a sort of extra fret, and since I don't have strings on it I can't tell if the strings rest on it or if it's just there to look at... It's a lot like the Tele-Star on this page: http://www.myrareguitars.com/1970guitars.html About five lines down. The only real difference is that the pick guard is shaped differently. Any and all help is appreciated, as I've never worked on a guitar like this. Maybe I should just try a different style of bridge, I don't know. The body isn't realy thick enough (i.e. strong enough) to put too many holes in it, such as for a string-though style. I'd kill for the original one!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted January 9, 2004 Report Share Posted January 9, 2004 that extra fet is called a zero fret.it is where you measure the scale length from Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Litchfield Custom Gutars Posted January 9, 2004 Report Share Posted January 9, 2004 um..check pawn shops. If all else fails, PM me with yer postal addy. I have one somewhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rogviler Posted January 9, 2004 Author Report Share Posted January 9, 2004 Okay, so in that case the distance between the zero fret and the middle of the 12th fret is about 11 7/8". I'd love to have a more original bridge, but I've already plastered over the mounting holes and I don't think it would go with the rest of the design anyway... We'll see how frustrated it get with the Tune-o-matic. Thanks for the help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angry_jeremy Posted January 9, 2004 Report Share Posted January 9, 2004 Don't the tune-o-matic bridges need to go on a bit of an angle? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted January 9, 2004 Report Share Posted January 9, 2004 are you sure you are measuring correctly?it should be to the fret itself not the space between them. the reason i ask is that i have never heard of a 23 3/4" scale Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rogviler Posted January 10, 2004 Author Report Share Posted January 10, 2004 Oh okay, I misunderstood by what was meant... In that case the measurment is about 12 1/4". I'm beginning to see why you don't see a lot of Tune-o-matics on scratchbuilt guitars... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krazyderek Posted January 10, 2004 Report Share Posted January 10, 2004 that sounds a bit more like it. So for starters you're going to measure that distance from the 12th fret now towards the body and make a precise mark. That's where the treble side of the bridge will go, from that mark you will off set the bass side post back 3/16, that'll give you your angle, but you still have to measure with a ruler the spread of the two posts. Here's a trick for finding the center to center distances. measuring only the post holes, measure the outer edge to the outer edge of the other hole (across the bridge) now measure the distance between the 2 inner edges of the circles. ok, sub track the inner from the outer, divide the answer by 2, and then add that to the inned measurement you took before, that should be the center to center distance that the posts need to be apart. and just place them on the scale marks like i mentioned above, and make sure they're evenly spaced from the centerline of the guitar. kapish???? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted January 10, 2004 Report Share Posted January 10, 2004 25.5" scale.very common that is probably correct Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.