Annoying hardtail strat saddle screws

[ihavenothingprofoundtosay]

I'm getting tired of the bridge saddle screws scratching the side of my hand whenever I rest on the bridge.  Not that I do lots of palm muted chugging, and it's hardly leaving lacerations, but it's not comfortable.  I'd had in mind to replace the saddles w/graphtechs, but is there another solution to get them less sharp?

Using this bridge, though the saddle screws in the pic don't stick up nearly as high in the pic there as they do on mine.

 

[Cagey]

I used to have that problem here and there, then I found this site. Saddle height adjustment screws of various lengths and thread types. Very inexpensive fix.

 

[Neo Fender]

Those screws are available in various lengths to compensate for the fretboard radii.  You may be able to get away with using a shorter screw and allow the head to recess within the saddle.

 

[DarkPenguin]

Get the graphtech.  They're lovely.

 

[DslDwg]

Once you know where the screws are going to sit in their final position why not just cut off the excess?  :dontknow:

 

[Cagey]

Once you know where the screws are going to sit in their final position why not just cut off the excess?  :dontknow:

That's a lot easier said than done. If you cut/grind the bottom of the screw, then you may not end up with a good contact surface. If you cut/grind the top, then you may lose the ability to fit a hex wrench in the thing to put it back. Then, you gotta figure out how to hold the little rascals to do your cutting/grinding without screwing up the threads.

Besides, they're inexpensive parts. Follow the link I gave above - they're between .30 and .40 cents each. They cost more to ship than to buy. So, get a collection of them, and you'll always be able to adjust as needed for length.

 

[stubhead]

Yeah, I'm not much into the disposable culture thing, but shortening those buggers is a pain. One way I've done it is to find a spare allen wrench of the right size, 1.5mm or 0.050" depending. And cut off the angle part. Then you stick the saddle screw on there tight (a piece of tinfoil kinda CRAMMED in there), put the thing in your electric drill and spin it against a metal file. And they fall off a lot and they're burning hot which you always forget the first time you pick one up and it may be even harder to find after you fling it across the room and howl for a bit, and, they don't come out tidy-even... You can't just saw them off because the end resting on the plate has to be a bit center-pointed so it will turn to adjust evenly. Or, you can screw them into a saddle to hold them, you still have to keep the allen wrench in them so they don't escape, then you can make quick work of grinding them down on a grinding wheel or Dremel - but you still need to cut a bit of a point in the center.

Bah Humbug, just buy a pile of 'em for $10 from the dude and spend your time finding something more interesting to complain about.

 

[soapbarblues]

I find it much easier to add a very thin shim to the body side of the neck pocket, if you don't have access to shorter screws.

 

[Jumble Jumble]

Having guiltily but fully bought into the disposable culture thing, I solved this on mine by throwing away the saddles entirely and getting some String Saver Classics. Of course there are other advantages too, though you may dislike the looks.

 

[rolloman]

Here's the best strat saddles I've ever seen that fix the issue. http://www.highwood-guitarparts.com/ 

 

[Jumble Jumble]

Yeah, those are great. Having the notch for the string is an excellent feature too.