r/FenderCustomShop

Hey guys! Me again, sorry about this post but I’m at my end with this constant issue - some of you may have seen I had a trem that wouldn’t deck totally you could bend all the way down but when it came back you could press it in the last tiny bit taking everything sharp - 6 techs looked at it amongst myself and people screwing and unscrewing and there was a clear binding noise -
I flipped over the guitar today whilst trying to figure out if the ping was the bridge or the springs - took the bridge off and figured out it was the 6 screws

I noticed ( not sure if it was me or not) the 6 screws had been tightened so much they’d made tiny little
Cracks in the finish on the back - my first question is this going to need a fix or structurally is it okay? I’ve read it’s somewhat common on thinner bodies

My second question is will the screw hole thread for the 6 screws wear out?

It’s been on and off about 7 times plus the messing around in the middle

The good news is I took it off and reinstalled giving more backwards turns as the bridge lifted and it’s absolutely bang on - not to mention wayyyy easier to press down

This is a 63’ 2026 CS strat
I’d not had much experience in decking a trem and I did it for tuning stability
It’s real smooth and noiseless now thank God!

So sorry to bother you all again!
Thank you!

Excuse the video as it was taken to send to a friend -
Basically the trem is fitted and works well however when it returns to pitch ( it’s meant to be decked)
There’s still a fraction of a gap - if I pull the trem arm down and let it go quickly it’s snaps back to the body and is flush - after a few heavy bends the gap reappears - how can I make sure it returns to the body every time and no gap?
It does function well however if I catch the trem or pull it back in anyway then it’s out of tune…