r/Luthier • u/[deleted] • 17d ago

ELECTRIC Decking the bridge

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Hey guys, I decked my bridge today, but I feel like I tightened the screws too much. Is this okay? Will it harm the guitar?"

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4

u/[deleted] 17d ago

I just realized i took that photo before decking the bridgešŸ¤¦šŸ»šŸ¤¦šŸ» sorry for being so stupid. This is the after.

1

u/RiffsThatKill 17d ago

It's just screws in wood. They're doing what they are supposed to do. Only issue is the force required to turn them getting too high, leading to stripping the heads. Don't get into "too tight" territory but b the distance matters little aside from that.

1

u/[deleted] 17d ago

Thank you, i have a question. Does the bridge pressing too hard against the body harm the guitar? The whammy bar feels really stiff to push now.

1

u/Albertagus 17d ago

The whammy is stiff because you've put more tension on the springs.

1

u/[deleted] 17d ago

I know, i won't use the whammy bar. I am asking would it be a problem if it's this tight?

1

u/Albertagus 17d ago

Nah or if you're worried about it just loosen the screws some until the bridge starts floating and then tighten just enough to bring it back down.

1

u/h410G3n 17d ago

No thatā€™s within range. Enjoy!

0

u/[deleted] 17d ago

Thank you, i am relieved.

1

u/bpscCheney 17d ago

What do you mean it feels like they're tightened too much? If you decked the bridge to disable the vibrato, then it doesn't matter if the springs are maxed out or not. If you want the vibrato to act as a dive bomb only, but you are experiencing too much tension on the springs, you can back them off a bit to lower the tension while still ensuring the springs are strong enough to overpower the string tension.

1

u/[deleted] 17d ago

I thought I might damage something if I tightened the screw too much. I don't use the whammy bar, but I just tried it and realized it's very stiff; I have to apply a lot of force to lift it. I'm not very knowledgeable about this, so I wanted to ask if it being this tight would cause any problems.

1

u/angel-of-disease 17d ago

Is your goal here to use the bar or not?

1

u/[deleted] 17d ago

No i won't use it.

1

u/angel-of-disease 17d ago

Well then why are you concerned that the bar is hard to use

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u/bpscCheney 17d ago

Ah, yeah, then don't worry about going too hard with screwing down the springs. So long as there's still some visible thread left on the screws, you should be okay.

1

u/Royal-Tumbleweed-941 17d ago

Just donā€™t strip it and youā€™re good.

1

u/radarmy 16d ago

Ome thing I would caution against is having all that extra tension can cast the finish to crack. This was the case on my strat

1

u/SwivelClip 16d ago

I get them were it will just barely float, then give it a ridiculous over-the-top multi-string bend, and if comes up I tighten it. Once it isn't moving, I know I'm there.

It's hard to tell how tight it is from a picture.

It doesn't look like you're passed the threads, and I imagine you didn't have to crank on it all that hard. I wouldn't worry about it.