bridge screw shortening

[64lusso]

Do the ends of the bridge scews sticking through the tops of the bridge bother any of you guys? I did a search on this topic and found nothing but I am sure some of you guys have a slick way of doing this. Here's what I tried and it worked but there has to be a better way.
I took an old bridge saddle, held it with a pair of channel locks, put the screw in and used a bench grinder to shorten them. The screws wanted to turn in the saddles while grinding so I found some of the thin caulking tape that plumbers use and that kept the screw from spinning in the saddle while against the wheel. Here's whats less than satisfactory about my method, it's tedious and time consuming winding that tape into the threads and then getting it out when you are done. It's also difficult to get a nicely shaped finish on the bottom of the screw so it sits against the bridge plate correctly.
So tell me how to do it right---please.
Jay

Just in case it's not obvious, these are the height adjustment screws I am talking about.

[LZ_69]

I would use some plyers like these,Kliens , they have a sort of cross hatched jaw that make them awesome for holding bolts and channel locks dont :toobad .

Finishing the ends; I would get them close to what you want and just hit them up with a few passes of a mill file to get rid of the burrs and slight radius from the wheel(use a vise).

[Offshore Angler]

Yeah, shim the neck so that the saddles are sitting properly. Having all the ends sticking out is indicative of the neck heel being too low. Viola! Problem solved very simply. Loosen four screws, insert a shim, and re-tighten.

If the saddles are too low, you don't get as nice a break angle with the strings and you could loose some sustain and attack.

[fezz parka]

Yeah, shim the neck so that the saddles are sitting properly. Having all the ends sticking out is indicative of the neck heel being too low. Viola! Problem solved very simply. Loosen four screws, insert a shim, and re-tighten.

If the saddles are too low, you don't get as nice a break angle with the strings and you could loose some sustain and attack.

What Chuck said.:yay

[Wilko]

That's how I do it. SHim and set all th saddles higher. I find it a lot more comfortable to play with a higher bridge on my Teles and Strats.

For shortening the "E" string saddles on some of my small radius necks I've shaved off the bottom ends and rounded to smooth rounded ends for better adjustments.

[64lusso]

OK both my old 'bitsa' Tele and my new MIM Esquire need their necks re-angled I guess. I'll have to do a search on neck shimming and see what that brings up.

[chuckocaster]

it's pretty easy, figure out how much you need to raise the saddles, divide that in half, and that's how thick a shim to use. you can use a pic and find one that's the thickness you need (dunlops come with the thickness on them).

[Wilko]

I'd recommend some trial and error. The difference will be way more than "half" and you'll find that the thickness you''ll need will be in the neighborhood of about two or three thicknesses of heavy paper. (less than a "thin" pick.
If using picks, use two of them to cover a wider area.
A factory shim from Fender is about 3/8" x 2 1/2" and is about as thick as cardstock. That will get you almost 1/32" of lift at the bridge.

[Offshore Angler]

And don't forget to re-adjust the pups when you're done. Just measure how far they are to the strings now, and then after shimming, raise them (by loosening the screws) to the original distance.

[Wilko]

And don't forget to re-adjust the pups when you're done. Just measure how far they are to the strings now, and then after shimming, raise them (by loosening the screws) to the original distance.

whoa.. hang on... You raise the pickups by TIGHTENING (clockwise).

[JAM]

My Tele had the same problem. I removed the neck to shim it and found it had a shim (at the end of the pocket away from the body) that decreased the neck angle. It's surprising how much a thin shim can change the neck angle.

[Offshore Angler]

whoa.. hang on... You raise the pickups by TIGHTENING (clockwise).

By gosh - your right! And I just installed a new pickup this afternoon!

OK, righty tighty, lefty loosey.

Of course, if we were talking P90's...
Or vintage Telecasters...

[64lusso]

I had shaved at least a 1/16 off those screws on my MIM Esquire so I will most likely have to get new screws to get it back to normal once I shim the neck a little and the 'bitsa' probably has almost that much sticking out on the end bridge pieces. I checked the theads on shimming a lot of good info and difference of opinions there. I will most likely try to keep it simple depending on what material I have lying around, plently of old picks that's for sure.

[chuckocaster]

don't let anyone tell you those aren't the perfect shimming material.

[fezz parka]

I use picks exclusively for shims. Works for me...

[photoweborama]

Yeah, shim the neck so that the saddles are sitting properly. Having all the ends sticking out is indicative of the neck heel being too low. Viola! Problem solved very simply. Loosen four screws, insert a shim, and re-tighten.

If the saddles are too low, you don't get as nice a break angle with the strings and you could loose some sustain and attack.

What Chuck said.

What Chuck and Fezz said.

I use picks exclusively for shims. Works for me...

What Fezz said!

Oh, and I might add that shimming the neck has nothing to do with getting rid of fret buzz. That an urban myth.