Bigsby - pins out, drill thru…doh!

[Shango66]

So I’m gonna put another B5 on a cabronita tele.
restringing a bigsby “on the fly“ at a gig, is not easy so I decided on the bore out method. Yes, I know they make em pre bored, but I’m cheap!

I removed the pins, bored thru the swivel bar until at D string the drill bit broke in the hole…major pia. The best I could do is in the pics attached.
thoughts? Gonna give me trouble?

 

[Boreas]

Based on what I see, I would invest in a new bar...

I did mine with a drill press and it was easy. But the bar was removed and in a vice.

 

[Jupiter]

Yeah I think you got cheap lesson in the cost of being cheap; only cost a coupla hours of yer life, a busted drill bit, and a new pre-bored bar.

 

[jrblue]

I would try it before spending more money... on a Bigsby. But from my personal perspective, I would not want an instrument where the holes (all of them, not just the worst one) look really crudely drilled. Maybe they'll work and the strings will cover the hacks. IMO, the easiest way to fix a Bigsby is to remove it. I dislike them greatly. Good luck.

 

[Shango66]

Thx for your replys
update,
swapped the bored B5 onto another tele.
works fine, no tuning issues, there’s enough string distance between the barrel and bridge to correct the alignment.
i agree it looks rough but theres no sharps.
proof will be in the playing.

 

[Boreas]

Glad you got that drill bit out of there...

 

[Sea Devil]

A bar with through-holes will run you about $40 plus shipping. That's what you should have done in the first place, so technically no loss, just a failed attempt to save money. You would have had to pull the pins to take the bar off, anyway.

 

[Gibson-r8]

I have become enamored with my bigsbys. A b500 on my cedarcaster tele, b70 on my sunburst LP, and another on my new Goldtop build. I actually like the pins. Easy to string with the right technique (of course no gigging for me).

 

[Carcinogen]

Easy to string with the right technique

‘the right technique’ for me always involved a pencil with an eraser. I just got my first bigsby with holes and it’s great!