Hand slicing saddle screws

alex1fly

alex1fly

Well-known member
How do y'all deal with protruding saddle screws? Does it work to take the screw to Home Depot and look for the same threading but different lengths? Is it insane to fantasize about dremeling off the bottom part of the screw - does this mess with your ability to remove and replace the screw at a later time?

I've been known to put masking tape over the screws... works but doesn't last very long.
 
I just clamp the screws and file the bottom down. If they are rather long I take a metal saw and then smooth it with the file.
 
ive totally gone to fastenal and bought some shorter screws. the local home depots are all pretty useless for these things and lowes is only marginally better but ive had great success with fastenal, theyve been able to find any weird thing i need.
 
shorter screws way easier than filing the screw down

1. it is so small it is hard to grip safely
2. it will distort the threads
3. lot of extra work when just getting shorter screws is so cheap
4. a dozen small screws are no more than 10 to 25 cents each (less than five dollars)
 
Okay. I live in a metric country. Imperial threaded screws are are than hen's teeth and cost a fortune.
 
I ordered shorter ones from a shop in CA. I can't remember the name of the place (not Bananas) but they had the size I needed for a MIM bridge.
 
I've never had to do it to saddle screws, but I've cut down tons of HB pickup screws for years with a Dremel cut-off wheel.
It takes maybe 20 seconds, blows right through them like butter.
 
Drak said:
I've never had to do it to saddle screws, but I've cut down tons of HB pickup screws for years with a Dremel cut-off wheel.
It takes maybe 20 seconds, blows right through them like butter.
Click to expand...

I agree
sweet and easy on the longer screw
Where you shape the cut end by dressing the threads a bit

But on a screw 10 mm long (3/8 inch) you really dont have much to work with

If all else fails

Amazon has them evryday
 
I've filed them down, or switched to String Saver saddles with screws that don't stick up. I really hate saddles that can cut your hand.
 
Great! So there's hope! How do you figure out the right length and threading for the saddle screws? A few millimeters could make all the difference...
 
measure how much they stick out when set up properly

then take one out

measure its length

subtract how much they are too long

get that size or slightly shorter
 
Screw them back so they stick out of the saddle about half way. Sand them a mm or 2. Screw them back in. They now won't protrude from the saddles anymore.
 
Well I took a dremel to them and hacked them off. They don't stick out anymore. They kept wanting to fly out, so I had to tape them in lol. They aren't terribly flat now where they meet the bridge plate... is that a concern? They might kind of mark up the bridge plate, but I typically don't adjust saddles a whole lot once I have the axe dialed in. Ideally I'd sand or file them flat just to make them the way they were... for better contact and vibration transfer, I suppose. That feels like micromanaging my tone, a bit. Really I'm just trying to justify not doing anything else because I'm ready to play and it's kind of a PITA working on those teeny screws.
 
You'll take the pain and you'll LIKE IT.

Figured out a way to semi secure the saddle screws and filed down the jagged edges. Not perfect, but much closer than it was. I'm sure my tone will benefit greatly and I can probably skip practicing for a few days.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

idsnowdog
Mustang Coming Soon
Replies
3
Views
448
Artie
Artie
G
Super Vee Bladerunner saddle height screws dimensions ?
Replies
11
Views
451
greekdude
G
S
Direct Mounting Hot Rails Neck in my Charvel DK24 SSH
Replies
4
Views
831
Mincer
Mincer
Chris Pile
POS Mary Kaye Strat
Replies
14
Views
588
eclecticsynergy
eclecticsynergy
jimzucco
EART W-2 - Honest look at a cheap Chinese Strandberg purchased from Amazon
Replies
9
Views
4K
Adieu
A
Back
Top