HTS Pull Saddle Stud

Studs fitted in electric guitars can get cross threaded and damaged and people can also decide they want to change the colour of their hardware.

On this guitar the customer wishes to replace all the chrome hardware with gold hardware, this means we need to pull the studs from the body.

There is an inherent risk of cracking the lacquer around the stud, so the purpose of this tutorial is to show how to minimise that risk.

Time to repair approx 30 minutes

You should be left with just the fitted studs.

We need to protect the body from fractured paint.

I measure the external diameter of the stud insert.

And make a plastic caul with that internal diameter and large enough for my puller to sit on the surface.

I make one of these for every job I do.

Test fit the plastic protector.

Even the plastic protector can mark the top, so we add some rubber.

Glue the rubber in place and trim the edges with a knife.

Now we can place the plastic onto the job.

Insert the original stud

Pre hardware colour change, everything is chrome.

Remove saddle and bridge and all fittings

DO NOT DO THIS

Attach the puller to that stud.

Using the wing nut, we extract the stud and insert out of the body.

Like so.

Repeat for the other side.

If everything goes well, you should be left with a clean hole and no lacquer cracks or wood tear out of the top.

Most tutorials on the net I have seen, have the technician simply place the puller straight over the stud, please do not do this, it marks the body and also can split the paint of the guitar.

Many times I have had to repair guitars for this issue where someone has not been totally respectful of the instrument.