One Method of Plugging a Tremolo Opening

[fobits]

Hello, fellow nutz-

This is a method of blocking the tremolo opening on a Strat-style guitar in order to fit a solid bridge. Part of it is mine, but it also incorporates improvements suggested by Uncklmickey and Sumgai.

I'm tossing it out here for people to look over, and any suggestions or criticisms are welcome.



Left - After measuring the dimensions needed, the plug was cut on a small table saw. This keeps the sides straight and at right angles.

Right - Hardwood cuts more cleanly than softwood, and only a bit of smoothing is needed.



Left - Four guides are cut which will surround the plug. In a moment you'll see how the smaller ones are sized.

Right - The plug is stuck down to another piece of plywood with bits of double-sided carpet tape, and is surrounded with more double-sided tape. You don't have to worry about the finish on the plywood, and I would recommend the strongest, stickiest tape available.

[fobits]

Left - The four guides are pushed up snugly against the plug and are stuck down to the tape. There should be just a bit of clearance between the pieces of the guide, so that the side pieces don't hold the longer ones apart.

For extra security the right-hand ends have been solidly taped with duct tape in a cris-cross pattern. (This was Sumgai's idea) The other side will be done in the same way.

Right - After removing the plug, you have a four-piece temporary guide for cutting a one-piece template into the piece below. This was Uncklmickey's idea, and much safer than using the 4-piece guide directly on the guitar.



Left - The assembly is blocked up, so that you don't cut into the table, and the opening is routed with a template bit.

Right - The width can be checked by inserting the plug at an angle, as shown here. By turning it diagonally, the length can be checked as well. Both are just right, and only the corners of the plug need to be rounded a bit.

[fobits]

Hey, hey, look at that. A perfect fit! Is that beeyuutiful or what?

In reality the plug was rounded to fit the hole in the guitar, which is more important, but it's also a perfect fit in the template. I used a vibrating sander to round the corners, proceeding carefully and checking frequently as I went.



If the front of the guitar is covered with wide masking tape (which is cheap insurance anyway), you can stick down the template with the strongest carpet tape that you can find, without any worries about leaving sticky gunk on the finish.

If I were doing this for real, instead of a demo, I would make the template taller, making room for another strip of tape. You do NOT want the template to come loose and slide while doing the routing. It's hard to see in the photo, but there's a big gouge in the lower right-hand corner of the opening in the guitar. I stuck the four-piece guide on the guitar and one of the small pieces slipped.

Thanks to improvements from Unklmickey and Sumgai, this method is much safer.

PostScript - Just before posting this, I glued the plug in using epoxy resin. The definition of a "perfect fit" depends on whether the glue causes the wood to swell. So far as I could tell, the epoxy didn't cause it to expand at all.

That was a great relief, and it's useful information. The fit can be snug, and it will still be the same after the adhesive is spread.