UPDATE: Ironically, I have determined that even though the Kay ST1417 vibrato assembly was contract-made in Japan, .....the threads on the Kay ST1417's vibrato arm, and it's roller-bar arm socket, are SAE 10-32 threads ! Probably a marketing neccesity because Japanese products from this Kay's period had a reputation for being cheap, and also the metric system was not receiving much favor in the USA back then. MEANING that an SAE standard strat style vibrato arm will screw right into this Kay once the threads are cleaned out with a tap ! I cleaned up the threads with a threaded-hole tap; And will install a strat type arm, and mold new plastic around it's tip handle to be shaped like the original vibrato arm. I will additionally add a stainless steel washer between 2 stainless jam nuts on the arm's threads, so a Player will be able to establish a preset screw-in stop for loose-arm use to quickly be swung into a favored position preset with the jam nuts. |
See bridge removal on Next Page >>> |
See bridge removal on Next Page >>> |
Removal, Disassembly and Inspection of the Vibrato Assembly: |
Disassembly for inspection, clean-up and any refurbishing needed. A potential Customer inquired how much it would cost to supply a vibrato arm for this guitar. Since I had to pull the guitar and remove the vibrato to read the thread size for the vibrato, .....may as well take the extra couple hours to disassemble the whole guitar for inspection and cleanup while I have it out and on the work bench. |
Masking tape was applied to surround the vibrato cover attaching screw, so that the cover would not get marked up while teasing the penetrating oiled screw loose after about 40 years of sitting idle. |
Screw removed, ...masking tape removed, ...nice clean job, no marks at all. |
nice cover mirroring the camera: |
Oh My Goodness, Toto; I don't think this thing has been touched in a verrrrry long time ! |
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The green arrow below shows the threaded socket that receives a threaded vibrato arm in the same manner as a Fender guitar does. Strings running over the roller bar assert foward-pulling tension while springs in the rear of the roller assert rearward pressure. Screws adjust the springs anchor bracket to balance the fore and aft pulling forces. |
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Replacing this ST1417's vibrato "whammy" bar / arm: The closest I can come to knowing what THIS guitar's vibrato arm looks like, is by the old NOS vibrato arm / assembly I have, shown above, for a 1966 ST1417 or 1967 ST 1412 (and compared with the 1964 Sears catalogue image below). The assembly above is just sitting loose on this guitar for this picture's purpose. Notice that the above NOS arm is not threaded but fits into a hole and is secured by a tensioning thumb screw, while the pre-1966 screws in as shown further below. But this shows that quite similar if not same threaded vibrato arms might be found once the thread size is read. The thread might need to be tapped or died if a suitable vibrato cannot be found with a thread size the same as the guitar's vibrato roller socket. As previously shown in this guitar's vibrato pics further above, this guitar's vibrato roller doesn't extend outside the cover like the 1966-67 one does above, thereby suggesting that the earlier 1417's like this guitar must have had a bend in the vibrato arm like a Strat or Rose style vibrato does to get the arm's operation out away from the tailpiece and strings; As evidenced in this picture below from a pre-1966 Sears catalogue which shows the ST1417 arm with a bend in it: |
Here the vibrato assembly is removed and only the roller yet to disassemble. This guitar's parts will clean up quite nicely; They are actually in quite good condition. |
Below, the 2 pin-screws and their washers are removed from the vibrato roller. Notice that the screws thread into the bracket ears and not into the roller. The screws have an unthreaded pin tip that the roller rotates on. The roller fits tight between it's side mounting brackets ears. Also notice that the vibrato plate mounting screws have leaned / bent and elongated their holes in the guitar body. They are too weak to stand the strings tension over a long period of time, and will be replaced with a stronger grade screw of the same type. |
Here is a closeup of one of the roller's end-pin screws to show the unthreaded pin area on their tips, and the socket in the ends of the roller that roll upon the screw-pins. I will emory the pin screws, the roller end surfaces and the washers, and apply a slight film of lithium grease into the roller end holes and where the roller contacts the end washers that act as movement bushings, so that the vibrato will work like a charm for a lonnnnnnng time. The collar between the pin-screw threads and flat race will keep the grease contained. ~~~~~~~ You might want to bookmark this page for a future time; All of this guitar's hardware will clean up remarkably well; And a lesson to see just how well, for folks that might not have done hardware well before; Not that I am some freakin' genius, ....just that if you fall out of a boat enough times, you get pretty good at it, ....and I ain't no spring chicken ! |
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~~~ oOo ~~~ |
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See text below |
Shown below are modern Strat style (L) and F. Rose style (R) vibrato arms that are readily available. Most arms made in the USA are SAE 10-32, while many made outside the USA, particularly the orient, are usually metric standard 6mm UNLESS contract-spec'ed by U.S. companies to be 10-32. Caveat: Although the strat arms on the left below are USA / SAE 10-32, Every FenderTM Squire I've seen has 6mm threads because they're made outside the USA and not contracted for SAE specs! The F. Rose vibrato on the right below has 6mm threads as do most foreign made guitars. |
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1417 |
The bridge is a block of brazillian rosewood with a saddle ridge machined off at an intonation compensating angle. |
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Bridge posts screw slots are radjusted through holes in top of bridge. |
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UPDATE: Ironically, I have determined that even though the Kay ST1417 vibrato assembly was contract-made in Japan, .....the threads on the Kay ST1417's vibrato arm, and it's roller-bar arm socket, are SAE 10-32 threads ! Probably a marketing neccesity because Japanese products from this Kay's period had a reputation for being cheap, and also the metric system was not receiving much favor in the USA back then. MEANING that an SAE standard strat style vibrato arm will screw right into this Kay once the threads are cleaned out with a tap ! I cleaned up the threads with a threaded-hole tap; And will install a strat type arm, and mold new plastic around it's tip handle to be shaped like the original vibrato arm. I will additionally add a stainless steel washer between 2 stainless jam nuts on the arm's threads, so a Player will be able to establish a preset screw-in stop for loose-arm use to quickly be swung into a favored position preset with the jam nuts. |
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Note that the strings feed through the front of the roller bar then wrap around the top and route forward to attach to the tuners. |
The inadequate vibrato plate mounting screws will be replaced with #4 or #6 stainless steel sheet metal screws (whichever one will provide the tightest / strongest fit), and increased to 3/4" length (depth) for a stronger grip on the body and not distort the holes. The body holes will be primed with water teased into the holes with a the point and shaft of a round toothpick; ....and with the toothpick removed, the water allowed to sit a few minutes to soak into the wood; .....then the holes primed again with water-thinned high quality water based exterior wood glue, again using a round toothpick to tease the glue fully into the depths of the holes and the air in there out, which will soak into the water primed wood; ....then the holes will be doweled with 3 or 4 round glue-primed toothpicks, broken off flush with the body when the toothpicks reach all the way down in the holes; ....and then those dowels are wedged into a tight position against the glue-primed interior sides of the holes by using another dry round toothpick point and shaft used as a wedge pushed into to the center of the dowls and thus forcing the dowels tight against the interior surfaces of the screw holes. After curing overnight the holes will be slightly piloted with a small finishing nail to receive and easily start the first of the screws threads which will then drive their way in and compress the doweling even tighter against the wood holes, making the screwholes even better than original. |
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Although the vibrato arm looks black in this 1964 catalogue pic, I know that they were silver chromed steel. |
