Warmoth Jackplates.

[vikingred]

Jackplate issue.  Ok, so I ordered BOTH a square jackplate and a "football" jackplate from Warmoth so I could see which looked and worked best with my build.  Turns out BOTH of them seem off spec, and will not work at all.  Below are side angle pics with both square and football jacks to show what I'm talking about.  Notice the spaces underneath edges.  Doubt the screws are going to pull those down either, the steel is 1.62mm thick on each. Suggestions?  Comments?  Fixes?

 

NOTE: FIGURED IT OUT, thanks to Cagey.  Simply drill the holes and screwed in the screws and the football jack conforms to the shape of the wood, no problem.  Slight space still in middle, so I added a layer of felt in between, looks great.

 

[BigSteve22]

Is that a Warmoth body, not that it should make much of a difference?

 

[ChristopherG]

Yeah, looks like little things are creeping past QC. The tuner holes on my neck are big. Luckily the holes are for Gotoh and I am installing Planet Waves so I will just bore the lip out just enough to squeeze the shaft through providing at least a little area of snugness.

 

[TonyFlyingSquirrel]

Those parts come as they are from their manufacturers, they are not radius'd to specifically match the curve of any Warmoth bodies.
This are things that the end user can do as assembling a guitar from parts is categorized as a D.I.Y. concept.

 

[vikingred]

Yes, it's a Warmoth body.  Figured it out with Cagey's help.  I just drilled the holes and screwed the screws in, and it pulls it close to the body.  There was still a tad bit of space even when tightened down, so I added some dark felt cut to size, and the football plate looks fine.  Strap holders will have felt also, so it grooves.  Now on to EMG wiring.  ;-)

Sorry, first time builder here.  Got alarmed for a minute there.  :glasses10:

 

[stratamania]

Because the forum has lots of useful tips. Here's another piece of trivia.

In the UK the minimum legal tread depth of a tyre is 1.62 mm across 3/4 of the tyre width and around the whole circumference not simply 1.6 mm as many think.

So if you are on the way to a gig and stop to get fuel and you suddenly think we'd better check the tread depth dudes.

In this case the Velcro mounted side jack plate can be quickly removed to double up as a tread guage  :laughing7:

 

[vikingred]

Because the forum has lots of useful tips. Here's another piece of trivia.

In the UK the minimum legal tread depth of a tyre is 1.62 mm across 3/4 of the tyre width and around the whole circumference not simply 1.6 mm as many think.

So if you are on the way to a gig and stop to get fuel and you suddenly think we'd better check the tread depth dudes.

In this case the Velcro mounted side jack plate can be quickly removed to double up as a tread guage  :laughing7:

Hohoho Henry Higgins!  Interesting coincidence.  It's nice and locked down now.  :toothy12:

 

[stratamania]

Because the forum has lots of useful tips. Here's another piece of trivia.

In the UK the minimum legal tread depth of a tyre is 1.62 mm across 3/4 of the tyre width and around the whole circumference not simply 1.6 mm as many think.

So if you are on the way to a gig and stop to get fuel and you suddenly think we'd better check the tread depth dudes.

In this case the Velcro mounted side jack plate can be quickly removed to double up as a tread guage  :laughing7:

Hohoho Henry Higgins!  Interesting coincidence.  It's nice and locked down now.  :toothy12:

Now I'm not sure if I am a phonetics specialist or a bullfighter ?

 

[aarontunes]

Those parts come as they are from their manufacturers, they are not radius'd to specifically match the curve of any Warmoth bodies.
This are things that the end user can do as assembling a guitar from parts is categorized as a D.I.Y. concept.

Yes, exactly.

It's important to remember that Warmoth doesn't sell kits. Warmoth sells parts. It's a subtle but important distinction.

 

[ChristopherG]

^^Yes but, as I noted in another thread, it is in their best interest to make sure that any third party parts they sell fit their customers needs with as little end user bother as possible.

In QC there is a saying, "Cash the check, take the blame." That is just how it works in customers minds.

 

[pabloman]

There's nothing wrong with those jack plates. It's a universal part. To me the issue is expecting a universal part to fit exact. Could you imagine if jack plates were sold to match every single body's exact curve?

 

[aarontunes]

There's nothing wrong with those jack plates. It's a universal part. To me the issue is expecting a universal part to fit exact. Could you imagine if jack plates were sold to match every single body's exact curve?

Yep. The hardware Warmoth sells is universal hardware. It's impossible for a single jack plate to perfectly match the curvature of each of the 30 or so different different body styles Warmoth sells.

 

[TonyFlyingSquirrel]

^^Yes but, as I noted in another thread, it is in their best interest to make sure that any third party parts they sell fit their customers needs with as little end user bother as possible.

In QC there is a saying, "Cash the check, take the blame." That is just how it works in customers minds.

If this were the case, the same would be true for every retailer carrying WD, or Allparts hardware.  I can tell you this with a great deal of certainty that Guitar Center is not going to "make sure that any third party parts they sell fit their customers needs with as little end user bother as possible"

There are simply too many variables with no standard of centrality to stand by.

 

[pabloman]

If a jackplate makes you hollar about QC issues then maybe assembling guitars isn't for you. It's not Legos man.

 

[vikingred]

Check out this video I made on what appears to be QC issue on FR inserts and bridge screws:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8PK6Pnx6xBVVFQ2VlJmWEI0TlE/view?usp=sharing

Is THIS normal?  Mmm.  Hmm.

 

[pabloman]

I've seen your video. What kind of packaging did your Floyd come in? Was it a retail box or the jobber plastic bag? Have you contacted Warmoth? The only way they are at fault is if they installed different inserts than you ordered. If they took them out of the bag and installed them it's not their fault. Do you hold every retailer responsible for all manufactures issues? Is it Best Buy's fault if your Samsung TV breaks? I'm not saying you don't have an issue and I'm not saying you don't have the right to be upset or if it's even a legitimate issue. All I'm sayin is blame the right person, wether that's the person packaging the product into a sealed bag or box and sending it out to be sold or an installer who put in the wrong parts or the end user that doesn't know what to expect and jumps to conclusions.

 

[vikingred]

Pabloman.  My Man.  Floyd packaging came in "jobber plastic bag".  Yes, I contacted Warmoth.  They said it's "normal" for them to be that loose.  I respectfully disagree.  I do hold retailers responsible--you sell it, you're responsible for it  Walmart sells me a bad Samsung TV, you think I'm gonna call Samsung?  heh.  I pay, I want what I pay for.  Is the play in the screws/inserts normal?  Some have said no.  I say no.  I've had Floyds in the past with NO play at all, screws fit like a glove. 

Blame?  I'm uninterested in blaming anyone.  I could care less who's fault it is.  I'm building a dream guitar and by the time it's finsihed I'll have about $2500-$2700 in it plus a good bit of hours.  I believe it's reasonable to pursue any and all avenues of remedy for the situation as I deem necessary.  Proactively, since I do not accept Warmoth's "oh that's normal" response, I have ordered three different sets of inserts and screws from three different sources:  Floyd Rose dot com, StewMac, and some no-name dude on ebay.  I figure if all 3 are the same, then I'll have my answer, and will regretfully end up having to use some teflon tape (makes me cringe) to get the snug fit I want.  I have also sent a copy of the video to Andrew at Floyd Rose.  We shall see what the verdict is.  At any rate, I accept that I'm a n00b at building guitars and that I'm learning to manage my expectations while literally sparing no expense to get what I want.  What an exciting endeavor.  Thanks for your feedback.

However, I fail to see where I've jumped to any conclusions other than "this doesn't seem right". Several senior members agree with me, thus I have investigated further and invested in more parts hoping to find a more snug and proper fit.  If this seems a bit off color to you...what else then, in thy mind, didst thou have?

 

[pabloman]

My main point is it's not really Warmoth's fault. If it was my guitar I would remove the inserts, plug the hole and redrill to accommodate Gotoh bushings and locking studs. Aside from that I'd get a set of ultra fine threaded studs and inserts that fit the existing holes. You could also get a set of titanium studs and inserts as well. If I were to wager, I'd say your bushings are the culprit. I'm not too confident your new studs are going to fix the problem. I hope they do though. Good luck and just keep reminding yourself it'll all be worth it in the end.

 

[TonyFlyingSquirrel]

My main point is it's not really Warmoth's fault. If it was my guitar I would remove the inserts, plug the hole and redrill to accommodate Gotoh bushings and locking studs. Aside from that I'd get a set of ultra fine threaded studs and inserts that fit the existing holes. You could also get a set of titanium studs and inserts as well. If I were to wager, I'd say your bushings are the culprit. I'm not too confident your new studs are going to fix the problem. I hope they do though. Good luck and just keep reminding yourself it'll all be worth it in the end.

+1 on that.

I have an extra set of Floyd Studs and an extra set of Wilky studs laying around somewhere.  They're both loose.  I've had both of them for well over 5 or 6 years now.  The studs on my old Ibanez RG7620 is loose, but I never ever notice while I'm playing it.

These parts come in bulk shipping bins and they simply cannot ensure that every single one of them will be as tight as you wish. 

What that can ensure is that they'll stay in place when they have the inertia of a bridge under sting tension.