Help!! Bridge pin stuck

Zonular · January 2022

I'm completely stuck in this one.
Changing strings and the low E string bridge pin is stuck as the ball end of the string is right under the bridge.
Tried the coin/spoon approach of pushing the pin from the inside but I think I nearly have to break the ball end off before I have any movement, except I don't have enough space on the string to do so
Is it possible to cut the bridge pin and push it into the body ?

BillDL · January 2022

No, it is tapered and you will be trying to push an increasingly larger diameter of material that could well be harder than the bridge wood through a hole that tapers and gets narrower in the direction you would be pushing the pin. It would be better to find a pair of small side or end cutting pliers and trying to snip off the ball end of the string or twisting the ball until it breaks the string looped around it. That MIGHT allow you to either pull or push the pin out of the hole the proper way. tapping it outwards from the inside with ...... looking around for an everyday household item ..... the side of the pliers, a screwdriver handle, a spanner, a file, or something like that might be just enough to start it moving.

Can you get a small mirror and angle it in the soundhole, then shine a torch and see where the bridge pin comes through the soundboard and the bridge plate? I wonder if the bridge pin is soft plastic and the ball end of the string has dug a notch into the bridge pin. Can you try and push the string downwards through the hole with the pin in place? Bridge pins usually have a groove on one side for the string to sit in so that the ball end of the string can sit right up tight against the underside of the bridge plate. If the ball end is struck in a notch in the pin, perhaps the string will push down the way a little bit to free it.

DiscoStu · January 2022

The ball end of the string is meant to be right under the bridge so it's just a stuck pin you've got. It happens sometimes. You could try putting a cloth over the pin then grabbing it with needle nose pliers, that's worked for me in the past. You just need to be careful and not damage the pin head or the finish on the guitar. And DO NOT use lubricant such as WD40 to loosen it or else the pin won't grab the next time you put it in.

DiscoStu · January 2022

https://www.sweetwater.com/insync/how-to-safely-remove-a-stuck-bridge-pin/

TheBigDipper · January 2022

Edited this to remove my "advice" because it turns out I probably managed to do exactly this, below... :-) Oh well...

Good luck and remember I'm just another guitarist on the internet, so I might be talking well-meant rubbish.

BillDL · January 2022

The rounded end of the bridge pin MIGHT be too large for the string winder IF this is Zonular's SIX STRING baritone guitar.

Zonular · January 2022

Tis the baritone. So it's a 70 gauge b string, went to change strings for the first time

poopot · January 2022

Try pushing the string into the guitar? Should move enough to loosen the pin.

BillDL · January 2022

Might be rigid enough to try pushing it down into the guitar from the outside. The windings on it will be quite coarse and they do grip the pin more than you would usually find on a standard acoustic 6th string. I've broken the head off a lot of bridge pins using side cutters as a wedge, so my preference would be to tap the pin from the inside.

Zonular · January 2022

Aside from this a lack of a ngd post. I'd really recommend a baritone acoustic btw

ICBM · January 2022

DO NOT use tools to try to lever the pin out from the outside - you’ll just chew up the bridge, snap the pin off, or both. Those pullers on string winders are worse than useless anyway.

Do what BillDL said. If you really can’t push it out from inside using a coin - and you can use a huge amount of force if you also hold down the bridge from the outside with your other hand so you aren’t stressing the top - then try to remove the ball end from the inside. After that it’s unlikely you won’t be able to push it out. Sometimes they are really stuck, but I’ve never not been able to eventually get one out like that.

The only times I’ve ever had to drill the pin out is when idiots have superglued the pins in (yes really!) because they don’t understand how the system works, and get frustrated when the pin pops out because they’ve got the ball resting on the end of it instead of pushed to the side.

Snags · January 2022

I used to struggle to get pins out all the time until I started doing what @poopot suggested - slacken the string off and actively push it (and if necessarily wiggle it a bit) back into the guitar a bit. If you persist it will release the tension and the pin will lift out.

Zonular · January 2022

Ack! Plot thickens, long end of the string has broken off so I'm left with basically the length of string that is hidden in the guitar, with the ball end pushed up against the bridge, I'm off to buy a flash light, mirrors and a snip nose pliers

drofluf · January 2022

If you can find one a dentist mirror is perfect for internal examination of guitars. I happened to mention this to my dentist and on the way home found one in my jacket pocket - I assume that she put it in there when I wasn’t looking!

poopot · January 2022

Before you start snipping away in the dark… get a length of the old string you cut off and loop it through the stuck ball… gentle pull it down from the inside… at least enough so it frees the peg…

BillDL · January 2022

I still have my ex-wife's little make-up mirror that she used to carry in her handbag in the late 80s. God alone knows how she could bear to look at her own reflection as i was finding it hard to look at her witchy face by then, but I'm thankful it didn't shatter when she did, because it was just the right size to glue to the hinged end of an old telescopic radio aerial to use as an inspection mirror

Zonular · January 2022

I'm off to work, I'll try the string thru the ball end first before any further action

BillDL · January 2022

I am posting this preemptively in the confident assumption that you will be able to extract the bridge pin some time today and MAY start looking online for harder ones that MIGHT be less likely to stick.

Finding the correct taper on replacement saddle pins, assuming the ones you are removing are a good match for the taper of the hole (ignore the American "how and where to buy" 2nd half of the video):

How to stop strings pulling bridge pins up out of the hole and a way to help you ensure the string ball end is well seated against the bridge plate:

ICBM · January 2022

Sloping the end of the pin works well, but I don't even bother with that - I just kink the end of the string with my fingers before I put it in, making sure the bend is then facing towards the neck. Takes about two seconds and works perfectly every time.

Kittyfrisk · January 2022

ICBM said:

Sloping the end of the pin works well, but I don't even bother with that - I just kink the end of the string with my fingers before I put it in, making sure the bend is then facing towards the neck. Takes about two seconds and works perfectly every time.

Technique developed from stringing a Bigsby?

ICBM · January 2022

Kittyfrisk said:

Technique developed from stringing a Bigsby?

Similar

. Just not as extreme, you only need about a 45º kink right next to the ball end.

But the same approach - learn a simple manual trick and it will never give you bother again, without modifying the guitar or needing fancy new bits...

drofluf · January 2022

I fit all the strings into the bridge before I tension them. That way I can put my hand in the sound hole to make sure that the balls are properly seated.

bertie · January 2022

ICBM said:

Sloping the end of the pin works well, but I don't even bother with that - I just kink the end of the string with my fingers before I put it in, making sure the bend is then facing towards the neck. Takes about two seconds and works perfectly every time.

yep been doing that for donkeys

BillDL · January 2022

drofluf said:

I fit all the strings into the bridge before I tension them. That way I can put my hand in the sound hole to make sure that the balls are properly seated.

That's precisely how I change acoustic strings also.

Mellish · January 2022

I always feed the ball into the bridge so that it's standing up. In other words, that it could run up the board if it were a wheel. Hope that makes sense and apologies if I'm repeating someone

bluecat · January 2022

This happened to me a number of years ago,five pegs came out easy but one would nut budge.
This may sound a bit brutal,first wrap a few layers of tape around the ball of the peg for protection,then nip the end of the peg (not too tight) with a mole wrench,now very gently twist and pull at the same time,do not rush and it will gradually ease out.

Mellish · January 2022

Beware of using tools on the outside at the bridge to try to lever out a stuck pin. I've seen an high end acoustic with several small dings in the top caused by this

ICBM · January 2022

bluecat said:

This happened to me a number of years ago,five pegs came out easy but one would nut budge.
This may sound a bit brutal,first wrap a few layers of tape around the ball of the peg for protection,then nip the end of the peg (not too tight) with a mole wrench,now very gently twist and pull at the same time,do not rush and it will gradually ease out.

Don't do that. You're more likely to snap the head of the pin off, and it really is much better as well as easier to push it out from the inside.

Mellish said:

Beware of using tools on the outside at the bridge to try to lever out a stuck pin. I've seen an high end acoustic with several small dings in the top caused by this

When I was very young and before I'd started working on guitars professionally, so I didn't feel able to intervene and tell him not to, I actually saw a shop manager drive a screwdriver straight through the top of a guitar just behind the bridge trying to do that.

That was quite an authoritative learning experience...

Mellish · January 2022

@ICBM ; Yep, it's easy to cause damage by not thinking. Pushing the string down into the bridge (if you can) is often enough to free the pin, or a coin from below. If still no joy, best to pop the instrument along to a luthier/tech

bertie · January 2022

you need one of these

Image: https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQi0-QMm4RSYEpSt2Ev78T9fl8DuqTYNCqpYi4LfHM-_GfvpwS6hu8eXX6sP1TKkM0zp2Y&usqp=CAU

Zonular · January 2022

Lol!! Tbh I chickened out and dropped into the local guitar shop as I'm afraid, I'd get frustrated and wreck it

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Help!! Bridge pin stuck

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