I broke my whammy off my strat...How do I get the peice out?

[leftyaxeslinger]

How do I get the rest of the whammy that is stuck in the guitar out of there?

Help!

[dzeitlin]

there is a drill bit that will grab hold so you can twist it out. any hardware store/lowes/hd should have it

[mprvise]

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00952158000P?vName=Tools&cName=Hand+Tools%2C+General+Purpose&sName=Bolt-Out%2C+Taps+%26+Dies

[dave s]

Ok, I'll be the dad here ...

"how the hell did you break the trem bar on your strat?"

:horse

dave

[Structo]

You weren't doing the Stevie Ray stage walk with the whammy bar were you?
You may have to replace the trem block if you can't get it out.
Callaham sells good blocks and claims to have modified the arm so that it won't strip the threads.
http://www.callahamguitars.com/

[clothwiring]

Depending on the strat model I'd just replace it...one of the best things I did was replace the block on one of my Strats...really helped the tone.

[leftyaxeslinger]

This is a vintage lefty hardened steel block. I'd like to try to get the peice out instead of replacing the block again!

No SRV imitation....more like Hendrix...:rolleyes:

[Mark Robinson]

It's a good idea to remove the bridge from the guitar. You need a drill press with a clampable acessory vise, an excellent steel drill and a matching e-z out to do this, it can be done, but if you drill even slightly off, the block is toast, or you have to put in a helicoil. At that point you're better off with a new block.

Once the block is out of the guitar, you may be able to drill the arm remnant out from the bottom, then chase the threads with the correct tap.

At this point in my experience I would go with a new block, then approach the block with the break at my leisure, or bury it under a fruit tree, for the iron contribution.

[Steve Gambrell]

You might be able to get something with a sharp metal point, like an ice pick, and catch the broken piece and turn it out. May work, may not. Remember, that is NOT a straight hole, it's angled in the block, so if you do any drilling, you're probably gonna mess something up. Callaham's got a pretty good info page about this, on his website.

[Pete Galati]

Before you do anything with power tools, remove the bridge from the guitar, remove the bridge plate from the trem block. See if there's enough sticking out of the block to just grab the end with long nose pliers and unscrew it.

You don't want metal shavings flying around near your pickups anyhow.

[leftyaxeslinger]

yeah, I'm wary about the drilling! May just have to keep it a "hardtail"!

I'll look at the Callaham site, and try a few less "dangerous" ways of removing it.

[HighwayStar]

Here's a thread that deals with this problem:

http://www.thegearpage.net/board/showthread.php?t=286154