How do you wood mount single coil pups?

rauchman

Hero Member
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Hola,

Thinking about making a Strat, but without a pickguard. Not sure how to direct mount to the wood, the single coil pups. Suggestions?
 
what i did in my last two builds with accetable result:

i ordered those little inserts here. https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B082KFQV71/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
then i drilled a little pilot hole, added some titebond glue to the insert and hammered it gently in the hole. i made sure that the insert is a little bit above the surface so it could hold a washer. then i use m2 screws, which are smaller than the single coil screw holes (so i dont ruin them) and use half of a humbucker mounting spring to mount it under tension. so the parts are insert > washer > spring > screw. with that the spring tension is lying on the washer. this is important because the inserts are too small and weak to hold the tension by themself.

an easier option would be to directly use m2 or even m2.5 wood screws with soft springs but since the screws are so small, you will not be able to turn them in or out without ruining the drill hole in the wood.
 
#6 wood screws. The screws go through the PU, then surgical tubing/spring, then wood. A lot of people prefer substituting foam underneath the PU in place of the tubing/screw.
 
wood screw + cover over Pickup , the cover just for the pickup routs
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what i did in my last two builds with accetable result:

i ordered those little inserts here. https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B082KFQV71/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
then i drilled a little pilot hole, added some titebond glue to the insert and hammered it gently in the hole. i made sure that the insert is a little bit above the surface so it could hold a washer. then i use m2 screws, which are smaller than the single coil screw holes (so i dont ruin them) and use half of a humbucker mounting spring to mount it under tension. so the parts are insert > washer > spring > screw. with that the spring tension is lying on the washer. this is important because the inserts are too small and weak to hold the tension by themself.

an easier option would be to directly use m2 or even m2.5 wood screws with soft springs but since the screws are so small, you will not be able to turn them in or out without ruining the drill hole in the wood.

I assume you are using the washer to provide a wider base for the spring?
 
yes exactly, and to make sure that the tension lies on the washer instead of the wood. otherwise the spring tension would work against the wood which might make the insert pop out. i seached the internet for hours about a simple wood screw that is coming up at the other end as an m2 insert but didnt found one (even in screw/nut specialist stores). its a shame that you need such workarounds for such a simple problem.
 
basicly this is what would be perfect (if the screw would be m2 to not ruin the pickup nut), unfortunately i found nowhere an option to buy those:
 
i dont think these are the same as in the video. in the video it is really a wood screw, the linked product seems to be needed to press into the wood dont you think?

also regarding m2.5: i didnt try it myself but i think this is a small bit too large to safe the unc 3 48 thread of humbuckers. but maybe it would work for singlecoils?
 
i dont think these are the same as in the video. in the video it is really a wood screw, the linked product seems to be needed to press into the wood dont you think?

also regarding m2.5: i didnt try it myself but i think this is a small bit too large to safe the unc 3 48 thread of humbuckers. but maybe it would work for singlecoils?

Yes, they are different to the video you posted. Probably worth a try as you are in Germany (I think), so shipping should be fairly inexpensive. Or perhaps give them a call, they may be able to advise if they can supply the type in the video you posted. I am sure I saw them a couple of years back in their online shop.
 
These are similar to what Warwick shows…


Also available as a kit under the EZ-Lok brand.

But while they sell them in 6-32 (traditional Fender size) they don’t sell them in 3-48 (traditional Gibson humbucker size). Looks like M3 is the smallest metric offering. I wonder if Warwick can get the smaller size?

Still, wood screws worked fine for Fender on every “standard” Tele made from 1949-1986 and Gibson’s P90 since 1946.
 
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