my adjusters

[Matthew Tucker]

The adjusters on my bass consist of a threaded rod screwed into the upper part of the bridge, an aluminium disc that runs on the thread, and the rest of the thread sits in a hole in the foot.

The pressure is on the disk sitting on the foot.

This arrangement seems to work very well, and there is no risk of threads stripping or spoiling the wood.

But this arrangement never seems to be mentioned anywhere; most adjusters discussed appear to be in one piece and have threads that move in the wood itself. Which seems to be a weak point. to me.

[Bob Branstetter]

Matthew,

I've seen variations of this idea over the years, although it is usually somewhat crude with a threaded rod, a steel nut and a steel flat washer. The only place I see a potential problem is with the aluminum wheel. Unless the wheel is thicker than the usual commercial aluminum adjuster, I would worry about the combination of the softer aluminum against hard steel threaded rod and the downward pressure from the bridge causing the threads to wear and possibly strip. I realize you could argue that the treads in wood are not not as strong as aluminum, however the threads in wood are usually over 1/2" long so there is plenty of surface area to distribute the pressure from the bridge. I seldom see an adjuster problem with professionally installed adjusters. Let us know how this idea works for you.

[Matthew Tucker]

They've been on the bass for years and work really well. The wheel is about 1.25" diameter and 1/4" thick. The thread is 1/4". No stripping at all.

[Bob Branstetter]

Originally Posted by Matthew Tucker

They've been on the bass for years and work really well. The wheel is about 1.25" diameter and 1/4" thick. The thread is 1/4". No stripping at all.

Did you make the wheel from scratch or were you able to find one off the shelf?

[Matthew Tucker]

I didn't make them. They were on the bass when I bought it. I suspect they were probably made locally by Neville Whitehead.
Wouldn't be hard to make though, cut 1/4" off an aluminium bar and knurl the edges, then tap the centre. The hole in the foot is qute a loose fit, the feet can tilt a bit to match the curve of the top. But when the strings are tensioned its all nice and tight.

[Jonas Lohse]

Originally Posted by Matthew Tucker

The adjusters on my bass consist of a threaded rod screwed into the upper part of the bridge, an aluminium disc that runs on the thread, and the rest of the thread sits in a hole in the foot.

The pressure is on the disk sitting on the foot.

This arrangement seems to work very well, and there is no risk of threads stripping or spoiling the wood.

But this arrangement never seems to be mentioned anywhere; most adjusters discussed appear to be in one piece and have threads that move in the wood itself. Which seems to be a weak point. to me.

It's probably the model that Teller (German bridge maker company) sells. There might be no risk of threads stripping or spoiling the wood, but destroying the thread in the disc (happend to me).