Warmoth Strat Tremolo Screw Holes

[jm711]

Hi everyone...

Need some help here.  Just got a showcase stratocaster body from warmoth.  I'm using a vintage 6-hole tremolo.  When I went to install the trem claw I noticed the screw holes were drilled too far apart.  Warmoth pre-drills these holes.  Has anyone run into this before and do you know what I can do about it?

I checked the claw on my other strat and it is the same size as the new one so I don't think the size of the claw is the problem.

Let me know if you need any more info.

Thanks in advance for any help

-JM

 

[alterbridgefan]

Fill and redrill.

 

[Jumble Jumble]

Drilling the claw holes isn't trivial.

 

[Cagey]

Need some help here.  Just got a showcase stratocaster body from warmoth.  I'm using a vintage 6-hole tremolo.  When I went to install the trem claw I noticed the screw holes were drilled too far apart.  Warmoth pre-drills these holes.  Has anyone run into this before and do you know what I can do about it?

I checked the claw on my other strat and it is the same size as the new one so I don't think the size of the claw is the problem.

I recently had the same thing happen on a Strat build, only with a "licensed" Wikinson vibrato. Copies, knockoffs, clones, "licensed" parts, etc. sometimes aren't quite like the authentic part. Dimensions change, finishes may be different or you get metric fasteners where you'd expect SAE, etc.

In your case, you could buy an "aircraft bit" and redrill the holes, unless they're too close to where they need to be in the first place. If that's the case, then you need to fill the holes with a bit of dowel and some epoxy before re-drilling. That's all kind of a pain in the shorts, though.

Warmoth follows original manufacturer specs when it comes to their hardware routes/drills. So, just order a "genuine" Fender claw. It'll fit like an old shoe. They're pretty cheap. You can get them here for $3.

 

[jm711]

Thanks very much for details.  I'll definitely try the genuine fender claw.  hope that does the trick.

they are almost 1/4 inch too far apart for the claw i have now.  fill and drill will definitely be a pain.  last resort, i guess.

thanks again.

 

[pabloman]

In my younger days I encountered this problem. I just ran the screws in at an angle. With the amount of the screw that protrudes it wasn't a problem. I would elongate the hole in the claw before I would fill and redrill the body. Or just get the right part.