• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Intonation screw snapped and stuck in the saddle

I

i hate username

Jan 9, 2006
275
72
38
www.bebo.com
#1
Hi Everyone

I was setting intonation on a Sire V7 5 (original version) and the screw has gotten fully stuck in the saddle. The actual screw head came fully off trying to get it to release and even taking a set of piers to the screw wont get it to budge. Would anyone be able to recommend a way to get the screw out so i can replace it?
This is the version of bridge i have but its not my pic.
1758537232652.png
 
  • Like
Reactions: Zooberwerx
#6
i hate username said:
Hi Everyone

I was setting intonation on a Sire V7 5 (original version) and the screw has gotten fully stuck in the saddle. The actual screw head came fully off trying to get it to release and even taking a set of piers to the screw wont get it to budge. Would anyone be able to recommend a way to get the screw out so i can replace it?
This is the version of bridge i have but its not my pic.
View attachment 7327204
Click to expand...

If the stub / remnant is "grab-able", try heating either either the screw or saddle itself with a soldering iron. Works on lug nuts that have seized-up.

Riis
 
  • Like
Reactions: Gilmourisgod, bholder and DrBnz
#8
Zooberwerx said:
If the stub / remnant is "grab-able", try heating either either the screw or saddle itself with a soldering iron. Works on lug nuts that have seized-up.
Click to expand...
I agree, heat is probably your best option. A small propane torch or even a gas stove burner would be enough since it's a small piece. Hold the stub firmly, ideally in a vice grip, then heat the saddle. Once hot, grab the saddle with pliers and gently try to twist back and forth. You want to break it loose without too much force, and work it back and forth until you can screw it out. You might need to spray on some penetrating oil (ok to do while it's hot).

(i work on old cars and bikes with a lot of stuck fasteners)
 
  • Like
Reactions: Bar Band Bassman, joeLowB and Zooberwerx
#9
This is the reason I refuse to have saddles with blind intonation holes. It is very easy to bottom the screw out and have it seize in the hole. Give me Fender barrel saddles any day over most others. The worst damage with them is stripping out the head when trying to flatten the intonation, and when that happens you can loosen the string, turn the screw out with your fingers and replace the screw, a five minute job that requires no tools.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: BeyondFiredUp and SirMjac28
#10
I'd advise a new saddle too.

There are a lot of reasons a screw might bind in a threaded hole, some of them fixable. Heat has been suggested by another member, which is a go to technique for guys like me who have encountered lots of stuck fasteners. Heat will soften any thread locking compound that may have been used.

To cut to the chase, a screw used in an application like this experiences a different kind of damage than other, more typical applications. The screw goes through the saddle and bears against the plate beneath it. That can cause the screw to become mushroomed on the end over time, and a screw damaged that way can only be removed safely by cutting or grinding off the damaged end before attempting to remove the screw. If you don't do that, the screw will stick and you will damage the saddle threads if you manage to get it out by backing it out.. If enough of the screw end is accessable (not the head end, the point) you could try to unscrewing the thng by turning in a counter clockwise direction (as if you were tightening it) so the screw goes through the saddle and comes out the other side. This may work since the screw head is busted off and could pass through the saddle. I would also run an appropriate sized tap through the hole to chase the thread and bring it back to spec.

Another possibility is that someone in the past either crossthreaded the screw on installation or used some sort of super stud grade thread locking compound, or maybe even used the wrong thread sized screw. In any event, these fixes may work if the saddle threads aren't damaged, but replacing the saddle will save you lots of effort and frustration.

Good luck!

Tom
 
  • Like
Reactions: Wyrdlow
#11
I'd try and remove it. Use a good clamp to hold the saddle to the body/bridge.
Or you if it's already removed from the bridge, put it in a vise.
Then it's just a matter of grabbing the screw with a healthy vise grip.

If that fails as others mentioned, just purchase a new saddle and screw.
 
#12
i hate username said:
Hi Everyone

I was setting intonation on a Sire V7 5 (original version) and the screw has gotten fully stuck in the saddle. The actual screw head came fully off trying to get it to release and even taking a set of piers to the screw wont get it to budge. Would anyone be able to recommend a way to get the screw out so i can replace it?
This is the version of bridge i have but its not my pic.
View attachment 7327204
Click to expand...
1. Does it matter if the saddles match?
2. Graphtech sets will work.
3. Remove the saddle, soak in penetrating oil.
4. Remove the saddle, soak in home brew "magic" penetrating oil.
Recipe: 50% ATF, 50% Acetone
Give it a day or 2.

Lubricate all the screws threads by Rubbing parrifin on the threads. This is a no mess lube (drum lug hack).

If you wish to "lock" the screw down use a brush stroke of fingernail polish, it disolves with nail polish remover (i.e. acetone). I have even used a droplet of elmers household white glue in a pinch.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: boxerrider and Wyrdlow
#13
I agree with the others that the most efficient fix will be to get another saddle, or another bridge.

But....If you really want to repair that saddle, the normal machine shop process for a screw that small is to drill it out carefully. File the end of the broken screw to flat, so you can locate the center. Drill down through the stub with a drill size smaller than the Tap Drill size, trying to get it right down the center. Then go back down through, stepping up to Tap Drill size. Then, gently turning a Tap down in will peel the last remains of the screw stub out of the threads. It's teeny work, best done in a milling machine. But it can be done in a drill press, with patience and magnifiers.
 
  • Like
  • Love
Reactions: Ol Sparky, BadMonk, Geri O and 2 others
#14
A new bridge is probably the easiest solution here, and it won't cost a fortune.

If you've got any luthiers nearby, maybe you could check if they've got a used Sire saddle (or even a used Sire bridge) in their spare parts drawer? It's a long shot, but there has been sold LOTS of Sire basses at this point, so it's not totally unthinkable.

If you've got the necessary tools you can always try to drill out the screw of course, but there's no 100% guarantee of success so probably not worth the hassle IMO. And you would still need to find the right type of screw.
 
#15
Your "hail Mary" is that if you happen to have or can justify purchasing a "vice grips". They make these all sizes, so if you had one that was appropriate to the size screw you have there, this might give you a chance.

1758575356120.png


You had mentioned that you could get a pliers on the screw, but couldn't get it to budge. If there's enough screw exposed that you can get one of these on it and clamped down good, it might get it for you. Obv. if you are successful, the screw will be ruined, so you'll need a new one.

If the threads are damaged, what the others have said about getting a new bridge might just be the better route, but this is something you could try....
 
#17
I think the OP is referring to the intonation screw, the horizontal "parallel" to the strings. The screw head twisted off and stuck in the saddle :mad:. Usually you will round the + first but he managed to twist the head off. That is some cheap pot metal screw for that too happen, I think we are working with substandard materials here. I'd just replace the bridge
 
  • Like
Reactions: BadMonk and Zooberwerx
#18
logdrum said:
I think the OP is referring to the intonation screw, the horizontal "parallel" to the strings. The screw head twisted off and stuck in the saddle :mad:. Usually you will round the + first but he managed to twist the head off. That is some cheap pot metal screw for that too happen, I think we are working with substandard materials here. I'd just replace the bridge
Click to expand...

Nay-nay....we are not so quick to fold when salvaging a hunk of pot metal!

BTW: I'm from Walnut Creek many decades ago.

Riis
 
  • Like
Reactions: Ol Sparky, logdrum and Geri O
#20
Zooberwerx said:
Nay-nay....we are not so quick to fold when salvaging a hunk of pot metal!

BTW: I'm from Walnut Creek many decades ago.

Riis
Click to expand...
I put Walnut Creek because during COVID and up to mid last year I visited my sister a lot and was also employed in California and technically have to be living there more than 6 months a year. But now I am mostly back in New Mexico and will probably be in Vermont late fall and probably half of the winter. From 2014 to early 2020 I was working in San Diego but always travelled to Silicon Valley like 75% of the time in California and I would go to the East Bay as much as possible. I preferred it there.

NM of course is better. Dark skies, slower pace cheaper and the people generally nicer except they get butt hurt easily on the road.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Zooberwerx

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back