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Paging Whitmore Willy re the 73mm Korean bridge spacing


vomer

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Posted

Willy, I was looking back through old threads about finding bridges to fit the Korean 73mm post spacing, and saw your suggestion about grinding down the standard 6mm posts to enable a 74mm bridge to fit. I've just done this today and it works well.

 

There had been some reports of people getting a 74mm bridge to fit onto posts with a 73mm spacing by raising the posts, dropping the bridge on while the posts have a little more wiggle room, and then lowering the posts again. I tried this but there was no way it was going to work on mine.

 

I have a 2004 Saein Sheraton and wanted to put a TonePros bridge onto it. I did do a little searching for other bridge options but nothing came up quickly and I did want the TonePros. So there may be other 73mm bridges out there, but if there are, I don't know about them.

 

I don't have a grinder, I went to B&Q today and found they have a bench grinder for £18!!! but it was out of stock. So I went with Willy's suggestion of mounting my power drill onto a workbench to use as a lathe, with the bridge post in the drill chuck. The threads were protected with PTFE tape (or PITA tape, as I think of it) and with about three turns on they just fit in and the threads are safe.

 

The standard posts are 6mm and I took them down to 5.3mm each with a file, which gave a snug fit but with enough play to allow the post wheels to raise and lower the bridge. (The ones in the pics below are the original posts, not the TonePros.)

 

Initially I tried protecting the top of the wheels with masking tape but it fairly quickly wore off, which meant some of the gold plate on the wheel went too. It doesn't really bother me as you can only see a little of it when the bridge is in place, and it matches the wear on the original tailpiece posts.

 

I think the overall visual effect of the smaller posts is acceptable, barely noticeable, and I wanted to try this route before considering widening the holes in the bridge. So I'm happy with this, thanks Willy!

 

TonePros1_zps28289236.jpg

 

TonePros2_zpsb2cfa544.jpg

Posted

Hello Vomer!

 

Hope all is well with you and yours.

 

I've used the process on a few Epiphones to turn the tailpiece studs down to accommodate Gibson TP-6 TP's.

 

I've learned much from this forum and am pleased that some of the info I have put up has gone to good use.

Glad to hear it worked for you.

Congrats on the new bridge.

 

Willy

Posted

 

I've learned much from this forum and am pleased that some of the info I have put up has gone to good use.

 

 

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