Question re: Vintage Strat Tremolo Bridge

[Dana]

Are the 6 Pivot screws are supposed to extend into the
trem cavity? I notice that on newer strats they don't. Someone told me that on vintage guitars the screws extended right into the trem cavity.

[Kevin]

Well, this is a pic of the spring cavity in a 1954 strat; they don't come through there...



It's not hard to get them to come through, though... The thickness of the body is 1 3/4". The spring cavity is routed to 5/8" depth. The trem screws are 1 1/4" long -- of course, you have the extra height of the trem, itself, and the screws aren't usually tightened all the way.

If something is just a bit off (body a bit thin, cavity a bit deep), those screws will come through. My guess is that it's much more likely to be seen in older guitars, simply because more work done by hand gives the opportunity for more errors, as well as for the subtle variations that we all love.

[e-merlin]

I put a WD vintage bridge on my MIJ Strat and they do poke through a little. No big deal, though.

[MBM]

A lot of the time they will barely poke through if you screw the bridge screw all the way down on top of the bridge plate. There should be a little clearance under the screw head, so I think if the screws are at the right height they should not show. Sometimes the wood in the trem cavity will chip away due to those screws.