This post is the third of five regarding an ongoing Floyd Rose to Hardtail (fixed bridge) conversion on a used ESP GrassRoots G-HR-49 solidbody. In this post, we'll talk about what needed to be done; as per the owner’s instructions: “fill the trem and spring cavities completely with suitable wood to create a true solid body.”
The first step was to remove the electronics and hardware from the body. This included the two trem pivot post bushings. Following this, the bottoms of both body cavities (trem and spring) were routed flat to a suitable depth. At the same time, their side walls were chiseled and routed to closely fit the wooden blocks that would be inserted later.
The spring cavity was dealt with first. To this end, slabs of pine and chengal were glued together to form a “sandwich” sufficiently thick to slightly overfill this cavity. The “sandwich” was then glued and clamped into place; and set aside for a few days.
Subsequently, a suitably-sized “center block” of pine was fashioned and glued in to fill the void vacated by the trem block. Had this not been done, there would have been an empty space left between the wooden blocks filling the spring and trem cavities. This was a major no-no as far as I was concerned.
What next, then? Ah, yes, the trem cavity. Before tackling this task, the center pine fill block was pared down to match the depth of the cavity. Earlier on, two wooden dowels had been glued in to fill the trem pivot post holes. These were also trimmed down to size.
So now, we had a trem cavity of uniform depth that was ready to be filled. A tracing of the cavity's outline was made, and then transferred to a block of local hardwood I’d bought from a friendly carpenter. This block was then shaped, glued in; and clamped in place for a couple days.
Then the clamps came off, and the arduous task of leveling both upper and lower wooden fill blocks began. This involved lots of planing and sanding; and I was thankful for having two power sanders at my disposal. Once my trusty spirit level told me everything was nice and even, I heaved a huge sigh of relief.
Oh yes, the holes left by the back plate screws were also plugged with wooden dowels and leveled; as wood filler just would not do. Finally, the whole body was scuff-sanded in preparation for the refinishing that was to come. Meanwhile, do check out the YouTube video I uploaded to complement this post. Thanks for dropping by, and God bless :)
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