Help installing a single coil pickup

I bought a single coil pickup, but can't figure out how to install it. The 2 mounting screws that came with it are too skinny to actually thread into the pickup harness. Do i have the wrong screws or is there a method of installing this that I'm not aware of? As I understand it,

1)the screws go through the top of my box.

2)the springs go onto the screw, underneath the box

3) I thought that the screws were supposed to thread into the holes on the pickup harness, but the holes are bigger than the screws.

So, I'm not sure if I can build wings onto the neck for the screws to go into, and I'm not sure how to make it so that I can still adjust the height of the pickup by tightening the springs.

Any advice? Thanks in advance!

Replies

Jeremy Bobbitt January 24, 2020 at 7:45pm

And yes, my pickup is similar to your pic. What's weird is I ordered two of the same pickups at different times, and both came with springs, not pads, and screws too small for the harness holes, so it seems to be intentional but I can't make sense of how they expected me to install them.
- Jeremy Bobbitt > Jeremy Bobbitt January 25, 2020 at 12:48pm
  
  The superglue to fill the holes actually worked! I didn't have any activator so I had to wait about 12 hours before it dried completely, but it seems to be pretty sturdy. I went to Lowes and stocked up on various larger-gauge screws so I shouldn't have to use this trick again, but I'm glad it worked out. This is only my 3rd cbg, but I genuinely love how different each build is and all the unique challenges that different boxes and hardware sometimes create. Each problem I solve is making every future build go smoother.
  - Taffy Evans > Jeremy Bobbitt January 25, 2020 at 3:38pm
    
    Thanks for the feedback.
    
    Taff
Jeremy Bobbitt January 24, 2020 at 7:36pm

Thanks for the reply, Taff. I've currently taped some backing to the underside of the holes and have filled them with CA glue, hoping that it'll be hard enough in the morning to drill smaller holes through, but still small enough that the screws will hopefully thread themselves. If that doesn't work, (and it probably won't) I'll definitely be using your advice!
Taffy Evans January 24, 2020 at 7:27pm

Hi Jeremy, yes the screws should screw into the base of the pickup plate. Is your pickup like in this photo?

However some pickups are screwed to the back of a pickup cavity by wood screws. There is then hard foam rubber pad between the back of the pickup and the bottom of the cavity that hold the p/u in place as the screws are tightened up or down to adjust the Hight.

Not a good fix if you have a thin back unless you add a block of wood under the pu, so.......there a few other ways to get you out of the poo.

1- use screws that have a more suitable diameter. Just large enough to cut new threads into the existing holes.

2- Glue suitable nuts to the back of the holes

3- fashion two small metal tin /brass/aluminium plates [or one long one that matches the bottom plate and insulate this from the poles and wires showing on the back plate] put the correct hole size in this modification, and if the plate is thin and soft enough the screws should cut their own treads.

Don't have the springs wound up too tight though just to be sure.

That's what I do.

Taff