1966 Ventures II (German Carved) Restoration

[Veenture]

And I don't think any type of lubricant will help getting it out without drilling.

I should've said applying lube before drilling. I would suggest drilling a smaller hole in the screw remnant and with the aid of a special bit that has a tapered thread running in the opposite direction of the screw's thread. Now, when you insert this special bit and turn it anti clockwise, it will start to grip into the screw part during the turning effort.
I hope you get what I mean Austin, my technical English (and Dutch!) ain't the best

[101Volts]

I haven't drilled out the saddle yet. However, The intonation screws arrived. Some screw holes were still too small so I enlarged them and put the new intonation screws in. Turns out, They were a bit long so I had to add a few more washers to make up for it. I took the originals and put them on the phillips head side since the screws were catching there. After putting the saddles back in (Minus the G saddle of course) I filed the saddles a bit to make sure the strings would fit and then I put a set of 10s on and adjusted the action and truss rod. The speed frets are wonderful for anyone who doesn't bend strings, Almost like playing a fretless.

Austin

[101Volts]

Drilling with a drill press didn't work so well, My drill bits kept bending though not breaking and then the drill bit would go off center. After that I asked my neighbor for an idea and he cut a screwdriver slot into what was left of the other side of the screw, It wouldn't turn with a screwdriver. I'm not going to work on the saddle again until I get a drill bit that won't bend as much under little pressure and even then, I'm going to drill the screw out in a lathe instead. I need all the precision I can get.

Austin

[Sarah93003]

Do you know anyone with an EDM machine?

[101Volts]

No, I don't. I'm going to try drilling it out once more though not today, I got a titanium drill bit today and the next time I drill the screw the saddle won't move while I'm drilling it out.

In other news I started polishing the frets yesterday with Micro Mesh 4,000 and 6,000 grit pads, Finished polishing today and I removed most of the beige paint from the neck by scraping it off with a razor blade.

Polishing Frets:



Finished polishing (Pic taken after I removed paint from the neck)



Before removing paint:







(Last pic was taken by the seller)

After:



I removed a bit more paint from the bottom after the pic was taken.







Austin

[101Volts]

I also thinned the shim to about .095 and measured how low I could get the action with and without the shim. Without, I can get about .035 on the treble side and about .070 on the bass side. With it I can get below these measurements. I get a bit of buzzing if I go below these heights but I still think its worth having the shim.

Austin

[101Volts]

I tried drilling out the saddle again. It went good until a point... The drill bit broke off inside it! Now my only reasonable option is to make my own saddle. Time for a trip to the hardware store!

Austin

[dubtrub]

I tried drilling out the saddle again. It went good until a point... The drill bit broke off inside it! Now my only reasonable option is to make my own saddle. Time for a trip to the hardware store!

Austin

Sounds familiar.

It's all a learning process, but it's worth it.

[101Volts]

I didn't post this when I did it but the saddle might not be scrap after all. On Saturday I managed to get the drill bit out by hitting a small screwdriver with a hammer into the opposite side I drilled into, Making an indentation and going from there. I don't have all of the screw remnants out and the saddle now shows sanding marks but it should still work if I get the screw remnants out without ruining the threads.

Austin

[101Volts]

On April 8th I bought a heavy gauge trem spring on eBay, Yesterday it arrived. (Paid with money order which is why it took so long) I put it on the guitar, Since I only have 5 out of 6 strings on the guitar and they're a set of 10s the trem arm is quite high but I tried the trem and I like it. Surprisingly, The High E and B strings seem to stay in tune with one another while the trem is used.

Austin