question about saddle adjustment screws.

Devils138 · #1 08-24-2010, 01:46 PM

i've searched around, and can't seem to find a solution to this problem i have. it might be a silly question, but it still bothers me. i recently purchased a used 80's chavel 3b (which is beautiful, might i add lol), and i raised the screws in the saddle on the bridge to lower the strings a little. it worked, and everything is fine except for the fact that with the screws raised, its very uncomfortable to rest my hand on the screws when i play with a pick, which is where i like to keep my hand when i play with a pick. they also scratch my hand up and stuff when my hand rubs against them. i suppose it's not that big of a problem, but it would be nice to not scratch up the side of my hand on these screws. if anyone's got any kind of solution, i'd really appreciate it. if not, thats cool too. thanks everyone.

hdracer · #2 08-24-2010, 01:51 PM

Take one of the set screws out and go to your local hardware store and get a shorter ones. Or you could shorten them on a grinding wheel but that can be hard with little screws like that.

Devils138 · #3 08-24-2010, 02:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hdracer

Take one of the set screws out and go to your local hardware store and get a shorter ones. Or you could shorten them on a grinding wheel but that can be hard with little screws like that.

alright, will definitely do that. thanks for the quick response!

lethargytartare · #4 08-24-2010, 02:42 PM

Or get a tech to shim your neck. By raising the heel of your neck, you can raise all the saddles on your bridge, still get low action, and not have the saddle screws digging into your hand. This does position the strings higher above the body (so you will probably want to raise the pickups) which might impact your playing style -- so it might not be to your liking. But if you can't find smaller screws, this is the way to go.

Also, I'd be very surprised if you could find the screws you need at a hardware store. You might have better luck at a guitar shop, or AllParts.com.

Good luck!

Devils138 · #5 08-24-2010, 05:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lethargytartare

Or get a tech to shim your neck. By raising the heel of your neck, you can raise all the saddles on your bridge, still get low action, and not have the saddle screws digging into your hand. This does position the strings higher above the body (so you will probably want to raise the pickups) which might impact your playing style -- so it might not be to your liking. But if you can't find smaller screws, this is the way to go.

Also, I'd be very surprised if you could find the screws you need at a hardware store. You might have better luck at a guitar shop, or AllParts.com.

Good luck!

i see. ill look into that as well. thank you also for your response.

timmus · #6 08-24-2010, 06:30 PM

If you know the thread size, you can get just about any size set screw ever made in the world at MacMaster Carr (just google the name). The company I work for buys from them all the time and whenever I need any hardware for personal projects, they let me piggyback orders...

the only thing I don't know is if they have a minimum order