Going Floyd Rose To Fixed - Possible?

[djobson101]

Is it within the realm of working on a guitar to modify a Floyd Rose equipped guitar, so that it has a simple fixed bridge? As in is there a way to fill in the body cavity from the FR and sand it down so that you can screw the smaller bridge on? And also... at the nut on the neck. I see there's a chunk of wood cut away there... does that make it near impossible to revert to a regular nut? I know this seems (at least to me) darn near impossible, but if you guys have any advice I'd appreciate it. I really want to go Floyd-less at least on this axe.

Worst case scenario I'll just block the trem.

[fookgub]

Highly possible, provided you have the tools and skills. Take a look at my thread. There is also a tutorial on the main site. One caveat is that it's very difficult to conceal the wood joints. Even if it's perfect when initially finished, the wood will often move a bit over time, revealing the joint as a wrinkle under the finish. This happened to my guitar. My advice would be to veneer the top and back once you've filled in the trem cavity.

Edited April 9, 2010 by fookgub

[djobson101]

Highly possible, provided you have the tools and skills. Take a look at my thread. There is also a tutorial on the main site. One caveat is that it's very difficult to conceal the wood joints. Even if it's perfect when initially finished, the wood will often move a bit over time, revealing the joint as a wrinkle under the finish. This happened to my guitar. My advice would be to veneer the top and back once you've filled in the trem cavity.

Wow, excellent job. That's exactly what I wanted to do to it with the wood fill-ins... I will probably be able to bring the guitar to a friend's shop to work on it, so he has a lot of guitar building tools. Only other thing is the nut - but that should be fairly easy, right? I don't mind if it is visible where a chunk of wood might have to be glued back in the space that the locking nut takes up.

[fookgub]

Only other thing is the nut - but that should be fairly easy, right? I don't mind if it is visible where a chunk of wood might have to be glued back in the space that the locking nut takes up.

You could do a conversion nut like this, or glue a little piece of wood to the end of the fretboard and use a regular fender-style nut. Either way should work fine.

[djobson101]

That looks pretty cool... can you buy a nut like that anywhere? Or was that one custom made?

[fookgub]

That looks pretty cool... can you buy a nut like that anywhere? Or was that one custom made?

I made it, but it doesn't take much for tools. I think I used sandpaper, files, a coping saw, and a drill and tap for the holes. I should post pictures again, since I've cleaned it up and made it better.

Does your guitar have a top-mount nut, or do the holes go through the back of the neck?

[RickBlacker]

You could do a conversion nut like this, or glue a little piece of wood to the end of the fretboard and use a regular fender-style nut. Either way should work fine.

Did you use any special tools to make the string slots?

Edited April 16, 2010 by RickBlacker

[fookgub]

You could do a conversion nut like this, or glue a little piece of wood to the end of the fretboard and use a regular fender-style nut. Either way should work fine.

Did you use any special tools to make the string slots?

After fitting the nut, I mark the approximate height with a pencil I sanded in half (like this). Then I place the outside strings where I want them and mark the others using a string spacing rule. I rough in the slots with a .020" kerf saw held against a square piece of steel to make sure the slot is true. Then I finish the slots with nut slotting files from Warmoth. The Warmoth files are not the best... I wish I had bought Allied's files instead.