drumandstage Posted December 15, 2019 Report Share Posted December 15, 2019 I have swapped out the stock saddles in several of my Epiphone guitars for the Graph Tech string saver. The problem I have is that the screws fit tightly into bridges and several have bent under the pressure to reseat them. That is causing the saddle to move up or down as the intonation is being set, causing string height issues. Is there a known source for these saddle screws, and what can be done to prevent this, going forward? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobinTheHood Posted December 16, 2019 Report Share Posted December 16, 2019 It sounds like you are cross threading them. Metric vs. Imperial. Double check your order. You may have bought saddles for a USA guitar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drumandstage Posted December 16, 2019 Author Report Share Posted December 16, 2019 27 minutes ago, RobinTheHood said: It sounds like you are cross threading them. Metric vs. Imperial. Double check your order. You may have bought saddles for a USA guitar. The saddles move freely on the screws. The fit of the flanges/notches of screws into the bridge is peculiar and requires a bit of pressure or even force, which causes the soft metal to bend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobinTheHood Posted December 16, 2019 Report Share Posted December 16, 2019 41 minutes ago, drumandstage said: The saddles move freely on the screws. The fit of the flanges/notches of screws into the bridge is peculiar and requires a bit of pressure or even force, which causes the soft metal to bend. Yes, that's what I'm talking about. The new saddle screws might not be metric. Try threading one of the old saddles on to a new screw or vice versa. I'd bet they give you the same issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drumandstage Posted December 16, 2019 Author Report Share Posted December 16, 2019 The new saddles fit properly on the screws. There is no issue with the relationship between the old or new saddles and the original (only) screws. This issue is that the entire bridge assembly is cheaply made in China and the saddle screws don't want to go into their slots in the bridge without pressure. The saddles are metric, as are the screws. The screws are bent from the pressure of my fingers trying to force them back into the bridge. I need new screws and I will take better care reinstalling them this go around. I am not having trouble diagnosing the problem; I need to know where to buy the saddle screws. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yorgle Posted December 16, 2019 Report Share Posted December 16, 2019 I doubt you are going to find anyone selling just the screws, but if they're as soft as you describe, you can probably straighten them by turning them in and out of a thick metric nut (or a few of them stacked if they're thin). I'd suggest that you also use a nail file or jeweler's file to slightly open up the slots on the bridge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drumandstage Posted December 16, 2019 Author Report Share Posted December 16, 2019 Good ideas. I should have use better precision when installing the new saddles, but if this doesn't work (and I am waiting to hear back about hew screws) I am going to replace the entire bridges. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamsman Posted December 28, 2019 Report Share Posted December 28, 2019 Stew-Mac (Stewart MacDonald) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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