Removing bridge bushings (post sleeves) - Cheaply and safely!

A quick tip for anyone who needs to remove bridge bushings. 

Bought this cool custom painted Washburn (not a Westone, but this info will help us all). 
The bridge ground wire was off of the post! 
Had to pull the bridge post bushing. 

(Bridge post and bushing is shown in the center of the photo)




Well, you can buy one of these from StewMac for $54.00. 





Or you can go to your local hardware store and buy these items...





Cost me only $2.39.   Make sure the bolt is the same size and thread as your bridge post. 

Here's what I did.  Removed strings, removed bridge.  Removed the bridge post.
Assembled the items like so....





I then placed my home made assembly over the empty bushing hole, screwed the bolt down inside of the hole, and using a wrench (spanner for you lot across the pond) tightened the bolt which was now in the bushing.  This gently and steadily raises the bushing out of the body as you tighten the bolt, and in a very clean manner, removes the bushing. 

Then I could reconnect the damaged bridge ground wire and get back to what really matters... 
Plugging it in and JAMMING! 








 

Oddly enough, I've just done this exact job on an APII LC440 to replace the worn gold one with a black one, and then had to remove the 2 4mm bridge screws by the 2 nuts tightened together method... worked a treat and now - once my locking tuners arrive - I'll be ready to make much noise!!

Anyone wanna see the thing in question?

corsair wrote:
Anyone wanna see the thing in question?

Is the Pope an Argentinian?

That's the cool 3 pickup flame top, right?  Great looking piece.  I tell ya, locking tuners make a difference.  They did on my two Electras!  A major difference, actually.

I'm a believer, mate; I really am! 

However, be careful of some of the cheap Schaller copies out there because they're cheap for a reason, eh!! I bought a couple of sets of Schecter marked lockers and they're good, but a set of no-name lockers at a knock down price are very ropey indeed... loose components and a rattley cheap feel: avoid!
The APII is getting Gotoh lockers to match the Gotoh Bridge and tailpiece....

And my bushing puller consisted of 2 washers I had laying about, a bit hacksawed from an old towel rail and a 75mm x 6mm bolt I had in my bolt collection: net cost = pennies!!

King of the cheap bastids, I am!!

Always used a crow bar honestly!! I'd never use metal on a painted wooden surface. Always a wooden block with a cloth.

Crow bar?!  Hey, if it works!  Why not.

I should've said that I'd put paper between the washer and guitar finish, forgot to add that.

Goes without saying that there's a pad underneath the washers, eh?? I'm cheap, not stupid!

In retrospect, eh!

One of the several small "cool tools" I use all the time from StewMac is the ESP Multi Spanner. I keep finding new uses for it, including prying up stubborn posts!

Great little tool, and at under $15 it appeals to my cheap bastid gene!

Great idea!

Nearly there... the re-painted pickguard bracket is still drying, the brass nut needs to be affixed and the tuners have yet to arrive.. otherwise, we're done here! Should I colour the pickup poles, or not?

I like the pickup poles shiny, looks mean that way. 

Shiny poles.

Black suits it...  

Control knobs just look too big though???

Right-o; shiny poles it is!!
@Damian; I found those in the local music shop and they are the exact type that came off the guitar and are only a tiny bit bigger than the usual Gibbo speed knobs but yeah; they don't look quite right, do they?! Not bad, but not ideal, if you know what I mean....

Look like Strat knobs from here...