Adjusting a Gibralter bridge

Log Out | Topics | Search Moderators | Edit Profile

Author Message   Growler Username: Growler Registered: 3-2007 Posted on Saturday, March 24, 2007 - 12:31 pm:    Ok I see HOW to adjust and lock the Gibralter bridge and tailpiece; you hold the post in place with a screwdriver, whilst you lock the nut down. But... how do you grip the nut? presumably you need a very 'slim' (small outside diameter) ring spanner? It's got to be very slim to fit into the round depression in the bridge. Any tips? did Ibanez make a special tool at all? Does anyone know of a proprietary brand of ring spanner that does the job?   Dave_g Username: Dave_g Registered: 1-2002 Posted on Saturday, March 24, 2007 - 3:26 pm:    Growler Each guitar is shipped with the proper wrench to adjust the nut. Keep yer eyes open on EBay for replacements   Gemberbier Username: Gemberbier Registered: 5-2006 Posted on Saturday, March 24, 2007 - 8:16 pm:    Each original NOS Gibraltar brigde or tailpiece has this black socket spanner in the package. You could also try a normal barrel spanner, if you don't have the original one. Ginger   Dave_g Username: Dave_g Registered: 1-2002 Posted on Saturday, March 24, 2007 - 9:20 pm:    Socket Spanner=Wrench   Gemberbier Username: Gemberbier Registered: 5-2006 Posted on Saturday, March 24, 2007 - 9:45 pm:    Barrel spanner = barrel wrench = http://www.tona.cz/brutus/?language=en&content=cat alogue&section=pricelist&table=653 Socket spanner = socket wrench = http://www.thefreedictionary.com/socket+spanner Anyway, the original looks like this: Ebay Item #130092003639 It seems to fit on the trussrod nut too, according to this ad. Ginger   Dave_g Username: Dave_g Registered: 1-2002 Posted on Sunday, March 25, 2007 - 1:45 am:    Ginger...Call it whatever you want, the word "spanner" is not commonly used in the english language in the US. The word "wrench" is what people say..   Growler Username: Growler Registered: 3-2007 Posted on Sunday, March 25, 2007 - 4:16 am:    Well I have several truss rod wrenches, but don't you need to hold the slotted post in place whilst you lock down the nut - in other words doesn't the wrench have to be hollow for the screwdriver to pass through? Or maybe I'm overcomplicating the process and you just tighten the nut as best as you can, trying (somehow!) not to spin the post simultaneously?   Sixvsix Username: Sixvsix Registered: 3-2002 Posted on Sunday, March 25, 2007 - 7:28 am:    'Spanner' is good with me. It is the Queens English after all. Please don't lose sight of that wherever you come from. six   Texasbob Username: Texasbob Registered: 11-2006 Posted on Sunday, March 25, 2007 - 10:41 am:    Hey growler, i think i have an extra one in my bag.I will check and get back to you. What continent r u on?   Ekkerman Username: Ekkerman Registered: 7-2004 Posted on Sunday, March 25, 2007 - 12:46 pm:    i think your right growler. if you turn the wrench the bold turns also and the bridge drops again so you need to hold the slotted stud with a screwdriver whilst you turn the wrench. this'will work i think! good lu eric   Growler Username: Growler Registered: 3-2007 Posted on Sunday, March 25, 2007 - 1:31 pm:    "i think your right growler. if you turn the wrench the bold turns also and the bridge drops again so you need to hold the slotted stud with a screwdriver whilst you turn the wrench. this'will work i think! good lu eric" So as I thought, a normal truss rod wrench will not work properly ie, allow the post to be held still with a screwdriver at the same time. It needs to be a hollow tee wrench, or a ring spanner that has been ground down to fit into the bridge.   Gemberbier Username: Gemberbier Registered: 5-2006 Posted on Sunday, March 25, 2007 - 6:10 pm:    Six, you're absolutely right. Spanner is British English and wrench is American English. My colleague Ray is very fanatic about using British English in his translations. He listens to the BBC all day. Steve, I just tried to shine some light through the socket part of the original spanner/wrench, which is still in the original wrapping, but it seems to be closed. My advice: measure the nut and buy the barrel spanner/wrench. Then I hope the shaft of your screw driver is long enough. Instead of putting a bar through the spanner/wrench use vise-grip locking pliers http://shopping.msn.com/prices/shp/?itemId=2140400 9 to turn it, because otherwise the little iron bar will block the hole you need for the screwdriver. The Tona Stanley sub-brand is of course one of many options. I found it by googling. It's an old Czechoslovakian brand that was taken over. The prices are interesting if you're in Europe. But importing this to America will be less interesting, I guess. So pick a brand of your choice. I don't know what's a popular brand in Argentina. As long as you know how they look like. Ginger   Acetan Username: Acetan Registered: 9-2003 Posted on Sunday, March 25, 2007 - 7:10 pm:    Dave_g, you should remember that when you meet the absolute authority on all wisdom known to men, you must bow and say, "Sorry, we're not worthy." Since we're talking about Ibanez, let's look at what Ibanez calls this tool. See page 9 through 12.   Dave_g Username: Dave_g Registered: 1-2002 Posted on Sunday, March 25, 2007 - 8:18 pm:    I count three uses of the word "Wrench" and .....well.....um.......ah.......hummmmm....nouses of the word "spanner".......Oh thats right this must be the "American English" version of the instructions........   Yogi Username: Yogi Registered: 4-2003 Posted on Sunday, March 25, 2007 - 8:49 pm:    Growler, there are no special tools needed to adjust the Gibraltar Bridge, here is the trick: While tighten up the nut, just press the Bridge towards the Tailpiece. This will prevent the anchors from moving and the Bridge will be locked easily. The only thing that could aggravate this would be if the thread of the anchor and / or the nut are rusted. In this case you should derust the affected parts, use some Graphite or grease to lubricate them and you're done. Juergen   Gemberbier Username: Gemberbier Registered: 5-2006 Posted on Sunday, March 25, 2007 - 10:58 pm:    Acetan, that's a lovely booklet. Printed in Japan. So, they must be very afraid to be misunderstood in the USA. I must say, would never use "socket spanner" instead of "socket wrench" for what we call "dopsleutel", but when it came to our "pijpsleutel" I just looked it up, because I knew a "pipe wrench" is something completely different. Our best dictionaries are written by our university professors and lecturers, who are often British or British orientated. That could be the reason that the British alternatives often are first mentioned. Alphabetical order could be the reason as well. Anyway, "The word "wrench" is what people say.." and "spanner" is what ... they say on Ork? You're putting the US language on a pedestal. I did not intend to do that with either of the varieties of the English language, so I decided to use them both with a slash from now on. Ginger Nanoo, Nanoo   Sixvsix Username: Sixvsix Registered: 3-2002 Posted on Sunday, March 25, 2007 - 11:33 pm:    Socket Spanner. I used one of the things for 17 years as a maintenance engineer so.... Wrench to me is like when someone says. "I'm gonna wrench y'arm outta ya socket and slap you with the wet end!! Seriously though, I use a lot of American colloquialisms everyday. Must be from watching all those Hollywood movies, sitcoms and no doubt reading some of your posts here. Having lived in Oz for over a year now I'm picking up the local lingo real quick. You only have to look at my past posts to see really. Here's one - Monkey wrench. We call those "Stillsons" where I come from. How about adjusting your truss rod with a set of those. six   Jchester Username: Jchester Registered: 5-2006 Posted on Sunday, March 25, 2007 - 11:49 pm:    After reading many British car magazines & owning a couple of British cars (and their ever necessary manuals) I'd always envisioned the British term "spanner" (admittedly, through the American thought process) as describing an open-ended "box-wrench" type of beastie... "spanning" the width of the nut or bolt it was applied to. It just doesn't seem to apply as literally to the "socket" variety. Of course, I could be totally wrong... it happens all the time! It just amazes & fascinates me, the many dialects of the English language... British, Scottish, Irish, American, Canadian, Australian, South African... and... what the hell's up with the Welsh anyway? Nanoo x 2... too JC   Jchester Username: Jchester Registered: 5-2006 Posted on Monday, March 26, 2007 - 12:07 am:    Six, "...from watching all those Hollywood movies" Probably no more than we've picked up from watching all those Monty Python & Benny Hill sketches! What I find REALLY amusing, is hearing so many Brits & Aussies trying to sound American & Americans trying to sound British or Australain! Ya see Growler... it's not that we aren't eager to help... but we tend to get off on tangents... and it's incredibly easy to open a can-o-worms around here!   Acetan Username: Acetan Registered: 9-2003 Posted on Monday, March 26, 2007 - 1:07 am:    Fact is, I went through the good old British high school system. Matriculated after lower and upper six before I came to the U.S. for college. I think the King's English ruled when the British Empire ruled and the American English sees its influence gaining ground when the American culture makes inroads in all corners of the world. I don't put one over another, I just find it offensive when someone does. Ace   Growler Username: Growler Registered: 3-2007 Posted on Monday, March 26, 2007 - 4:04 am:    "there are no special tools needed to adjust the Gibraltar Bridge, here is the trick: While tighten up the nut, just press the Bridge towards the Tailpiece. This will prevent the anchors from moving and the Bridge will be locked easily. The only thing that could aggravate this would be if the thread of the anchor and / or the nut are rusted. In this case you should derust the affected parts, use some Graphite or grease to lubricate them and you're done. " Thanks Juergen, I guess that's a good practical solution. And thanks to everyone else including Acetan's reproduction of the handbook (ace!) that sort of glosses over the fact that the post could move whilst you lock down. And I seem to have opened an interesting line of debate re the use of the words spanner and wrench. In the UK unless you're one of the increasing number who are adopting americanisms, we would generally say spanner - or at least where I come from in the midlands! Thanks again.   Gemberbier Username: Gemberbier Registered: 5-2006 Posted on Monday, March 26, 2007 - 8:29 am:    Ace, because I knew "pipe wrench" was wrong I just looked "pijpsleutel" up in Van Dale's Dutch-English dictionary and picked the first alternative. "Hooked spanner" never left my mind since I wrote two translations (Dutch and German) of a manual of a rollercoaster that was sold to Six Flags. The Dutchman who wrote it in their "corporate language" had created the word "dog key" for it. I had a list of 9 pages of non existing English words written by this twit and had a lot of problems of it. He really drove me mad and the company didn't give any of the assured help to understand the nonsense. So, this is just a sign of professional deformation. Please don't interpret it as arrogance. We always have to ask whether a text is for the USA or the UK or Canada. But ICW is an international community. So next time I will use both with a slash between them. Ginger   Fox Username: Fox Registered: 2-2003 Posted on Monday, March 26, 2007 - 5:09 pm:    I have a solution.. let´s call it "piippuavain"... Or does anyone remember esperanto?? (sorry, completely off-topic)   Talajuha Username: Talajuha Registered: 11-2006 Posted on Monday, March 26, 2007 - 5:31 pm:    Dutchman's pipe? Sorry, will any of these do: - box key - box spanner - box wrench - box-socket wrench - socket spanner - socket wrench Special translation for Fox: hylsyavain, lenkkiavaimelle en löytänyt käännöstä Juha   Gemberbier Username: Gemberbier Registered: 5-2006 Posted on Monday, March 26, 2007 - 10:31 pm:    Van Dale gives the following translations for "pijpsleutel": barrel spanner, socket spanner, box spanner, barrell wrench, socket wrench, box wrench Kluwer's groot polytechnisch woordenboek N-E gives only: box spanner and box wrench Philips woordenboek Nederlands-Engels (Philips Translation Services of Philips Electronics) gives only: box spanner. And in the New Shorter Oxford English Dictionary (PC Pro December 1999) I found: box spanner - a cylindrical spanner with a socket head fitting over the nut; socket set - a number of detachable sockets of different sizes for use with a socket wrench; socket spanner, socket wrench: having a (detachable) socket which fits over the nut; a box spanner. and... Tommy-bar a short bar which is inserted into a hole in a box spanner or screw to help turn it. So it seems to be a typical British tool, or is there also a Yankee-bar? If I look in the Snap-on catalogue, I find no real box spanners/wrenches, just long sockets with a "flank drive". (Snap-on is a USA brand for heavy duty precision tools used in automotive and aviation industry, very good and very pricey). Man, I love tools, you never have too much of them... And the American tools I know are of very high quality. Especially Snap-on and my Oregon Easy-driver, which is a fantastic ratchet screwdriver. It came with only 3 screw bits, but they are the best and hardest I've ever had. I have it many years now, but never saw them again in Holland. Probably because of the cheap Taiwanese imitations (which suck btw). The imitations have the shape of a red and black egg, an the original was a red and black ball. Ginger}   Jchester Username: Jchester Registered: 5-2006 Posted on Tuesday, March 27, 2007 - 12:08 am:    Ginger, As a lover of fine tools, you should check out Snap-On's ratchet screwdriver. I would never even use a ratchet screwdriver, much less buy one, until one day, when a guy at work handed me his. I immediately went on a mission to find a Snap-On vendor/truck, to get one for myself. That was 17 years ago. I've used it every day since and I've only had to replace it once... for FREE... lifetime warranty, of course. Can we get any further off-topic?   Bluesmeister Username: Bluesmeister Registered: 5-2004 Posted on Tuesday, March 27, 2007 - 1:06 am:    Really, it simply doesn't matter whether you refer to wrenches or spanners. There is no difference in the operation of the two, only the terms that are used in different countries to describe the same object. Whether you speak American English, British English or Australian English there will always be words and spellings that differ. Generally, we all know what is meant, and if not, we ask. Not too long ago I read, with increasing bemusement, a very long, multiple page slanging match at another forum over the spelling of color vs colour. What a complete waste of time.   Gemberbier Username: Gemberbier Registered: 5-2006 Posted on Tuesday, March 27, 2007 - 1:12 am:    John, you mean the one with the orange grip? My cousin had one in his garage (109 guilders). Man, he was pissed, when it got stolen... Ginger   Jchester Username: Jchester Registered: 5-2006 Posted on Tuesday, March 27, 2007 - 10:30 am:    Ginger, Like this one: They come in a lot of different colors/colours . Mine's Electric Green. $51.50 on their website. Seems high... until you use one.   Johns Username: Johns Registered: 2-2001 Posted on Tuesday, March 27, 2007 - 2:35 pm:    Don't you guys wish you had a Snap-on tool dealer that lived next door...like I do.   Growler Username: Growler Registered: 3-2007 Posted on Tuesday, March 27, 2007 - 4:13 pm:    Well I'd prefer it to be a specialist Ibanez dealer who sold parts for guitars that were more than 7 years old! I just don't get Ibanez' attitude. They spend 30 years trying to make the Artist guitar a viable alternative to the Les Paul, yet they're not interested in supplying spares for guitars pre 2000. When they have openly copied Gibson for many years, and they have produced guitars aimed to be head on in terms of markets, they just do not seem interested in their own history or heritage. Gibson has that interest and it is imbued on its marketing and product range, it's as simple as that. I can buy an exact replacement bridge for a 1958 Les Paul, but not for my '81 Artist. Now, if Ibanez embraced that ethic, they might actually start to steal guitar sales from Gibson. At the moment the guy who buys an Ibanez is a totally different guy to the one who buys a Gibson. If you want to compete with Gibson and Fender, you must respect your heritage and service those who pay tribute to your past.   Jchester Username: Jchester Registered: 5-2006 Posted on Wednesday, March 28, 2007 - 12:06 am:    Johns... you're a lucky man! Great point, Growler... I agree 10,000%. I'd think that 'respect your heritage' would mean a great deal, in Japanese culture! If Ibanez can see the merit in putting out $6,000+ hand-made reissues of 30 year old guitars, they obviously know that we're out here and what kind of prices their old guitars are bringing. WHY on Earth wouldn't they support collectors in trying to keep these older guitars together? They're passing up a great source of pride and profit. And besides... they're pissing us off!

Add Your Message Here Post: -Color- Black Red Green Blue Yellow Purple Orange Cyan Gray White -Font- Arial Courier Symbol Times Verdana -Size- Smallest (-2) Small (-1) Normal Large (+1) Largest (+2) Enter Item number: Username: Posting Information: This is a private posting area. Only registered users and moderators may post messages here. Password: Options: Post as "Anonymous" Enable HTML code in message Automatically activate URLs in message Action: