[gibsonbass76]

Hello, i have a 76 ripper that i had wired up, but the guy doing the work said he needed a special tool to pull out the post to ground the instrument. Since then he has ordered the tool, but i have not been back since it is a considerable drive away. The other day I saw on eBay a "ground plate" in the shape of a p pickup. I assume this means you attach this plate with the ground wire and put it under the pickup. Could I make my own ground plate out of similar materials?

-eric

[guitarshark]

No, the problem seems to be that the ground wire isn't making contact with the bridge stud (post). That's why your repair guy needed to order the tool to pull it...so he can reconnect the wire to the stud.
The other end of the wire just goes to the back of the pots. A ground plate wouldn't help at all if it were still not connected to the stud, that's where the problem is. The electronics need to be grounded to the stud (which is actually connecting the strings to ground.)

[anyfour]

If you are the repair type DIY guy, you can order the tool from Stweart-Macdonald. stewmac.com. I just pulled out my epi ripper sleves by putting the stud in halfway or more, and using the claw of a normal hammer. I put a scrap of wood between the hammer and the bass to make sure the wood did not get dented, and a washer between the claw and the top of the stud as to not damage the stud. If you have real tight sleeves, this may not work real well, but it worked just fine for me.

Once the sleeve is out, you just put a wire through the hole in the control cavity leading to the stud, exposing an inch or so that will go down the sleeve shaft and re insert sleeve.

[guitarshark]

Yeah, I've done the claw hammer thing, it works, but there's a risk of tearing out chunks of the body especially if there's some finish pooled up in the hole around the stud. Not for the inexperienced.
The tool his repair guy ordered pulls straight up so there's less risk of tearouts.
Of course, as you said, you must put a piece of scrap wood under the hammer so you don't destroy the body in the process of pulling the stud. You should put a piece of 1/8" cork between the piece of scrap wood and the body as well. The height of the wood is important too so you have the correct angle.
I've been meaning to buy one of those gizmos from StewMac, one of these days...
I was hesitant to mention it in this case because I didn't know how handy the person asking the question is. If in doubt, don't attempt this!

[anyfour]

AGREED!

The above mentioned pocedure is not for the first time guitar tech. And is by no means the proper way to remove a sleeve.

[jules]

This is what my man does... and i've tried it a few times and it works really well


Put a hot soldering iron in the hole for a couple minutes (obviously making sure it only touches the metal)

Then put the post back in and it will pull straight out.

I have had one ripper that had different post holes though - they screwd in... and no amount of pulling would lift them up. They were a nightmare - It wasn't intil I realised that they were different...

I had to jam an oversized post in, and use that as a 'handle' to allow me to twist the posts out.

I don't know if these were original or not... anyone else seen ripper posts like those?

[guitarshark]

I saw that on one Gibson ages ago, but I can't remeber what it was. A guitar, not a bass, if memory serves.

[gibsonbass76]

The guy i went to tried the soldering iron thing and said it was too tight, I think he has the tool now so it hopefully wont be a problem.