source for bridge ground wire

Kevin Ruddell · From: Toledo Ohio USA

I have a nice Magnatone D8 lap steel that I'm rehabbing and the small flexible wire they ran from underneath the bridge to the contol cavity is broken off in several places. It appears like a very thin guitar string but is flexible. Can any forum members suggest a source for a replacement for this or for a flat piece of metal I can run underneath the bridge for grounding ?

thanks in advance

Jim Smith · From: Midlothian, TX, USA

I think braided wire would work well, as it's very flexible. If you don't have any laying around, you could get some by stripping out a piece of an old guitar cord.

Ken Fox · From: Nashville GA USA

A guitar string would be a poor conductor. Try some copper braid wire. It is called "solder wick" and a small roll can be purchased at Radio Shack. They should also have small wire of the stranded copper variety as well.

John Daugherty · From: Rolla, Missouri, USA

Kevin, I can't know from your description "under the bridge" but it could possibly be the shielded wire coming from the pickup.
Does it have a center wire and an outer shield?
If it is just a ground wire connected to the bridge, You can find a nice braided wire by cutting a piece of shielded cable and pulling the center,insulated wire out.

Paul Arntson · From: Washington, USA

Hi Kevin.
I did a similar thing on my 56 Lyric D8 and you can use any light gage copper wire you want. #28 Wire wrapping wire from Radio Shack works fine if you strip off a bunch and loop it so it gets good contact.
A better but slightly more expensive answer is to buy a roll of 3M Copper Shielding Foil. Stew Mac stocks it, but I find I can buy it at surplus electronics dealers.

The cool thing about the foil is that the adhesive conducts electricity (!) so you don't have to solder anything. I have redone 5 or 6 guitars using this stuff and it is so flat that it goes under pickguards invisibly.

Also on an old vintage axe you don't have to disturb the solder joints. I did that on my '37 Epi M where it is newly shielded but still 100% original for whatever future collectibility it will develop.

To keep hum down, make sure all the strings have good continuity and a nice direct path to the shell of the output jack.

Kevin Ruddell · From: Toledo Ohio USA

Thanks for all your help with your responses. The Magnatone's bridges are die cast (or aluminum) with a small post on the bottom that sits on a hole in the body. The original flexible wire came up through the hole, wrapped around the post and sat between the bridge and a small metal strip that is pressed between the bridge and body by the string pressure. It is then soldered to the back of the potentiometer. I used a small piece of copper wire for the bridge ground but it won't allow the bridge to sit down as close as it did before. I have 4-5 wiring diagrams from various sources for the control cavity which all seem to have a different configuration

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