Members bondini Posted March 17, 2011 Members Share Posted March 17, 2011 I've got a screw in vintage tremelo & I seem to remember once upon a time it had a little spring in there... now I just screw the arm in - do I need a spring? What's it for? Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bluesnapper Posted March 17, 2011 Members Share Posted March 17, 2011 The spring is not necessary - some people like to drop one in to stiffen up the arm - when you move it out of the way it will grip and stay there. It might also make removing a broken trem arm slightly easier. If you want a spring, take one out of a pen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Philfixit Posted March 17, 2011 Members Share Posted March 17, 2011 The spring is to keep tension on the trem bar so that it stays in the position is is set to. I've never seen a Strat (unless brand new in a shop) that had it. Everyone loses them. Fender even recommends "putting a piece of tape over the hole" so it doesn't get lost. If it was a truly critical part, you would think they'd have devised a better system. Wouldn't be that hard to swedge a 'captive spring' in there somewhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Ratae Corieltauvorum Posted March 17, 2011 Moderators Share Posted March 17, 2011 Whenever I fit one I bung it in with a good dollop of Vaseline. Drop me a PM with your address and I'll send you a pukka Fender one, as I think you have to buy em in boxes of 6;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DaleH Posted March 17, 2011 Members Share Posted March 17, 2011 You can buy them at any Fender dealer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mrbrown49 Posted March 17, 2011 Members Share Posted March 17, 2011 A quick wrap in tephlon tape on the threads does the job better than those little springs. A roll of it is like 96 cents at any hardware store and will last you forever. I keep one in the shop and one in the case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members david999 Posted March 17, 2011 Members Share Posted March 17, 2011 never even got one when i bought my strat new,didnt know they existed,not missed it either Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members stormin1155 Posted March 18, 2011 Members Share Posted March 18, 2011 You can buy them at any Fender dealer. Well, actually you can't. I went to a half dozen Fender dealers before I found a store that had them or even knew what they were. The kids (er, I mean sales associates) at GC will give you a blank look and try to give you one of the trem springs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members vintage clubber Posted March 18, 2011 Members Share Posted March 18, 2011 A quick wrap in tephlon tape on the threads does the job better than those little springs. A roll of it is like 96 cents at any hardware store and will last you forever. I keep one in the shop and one in the case.never would have thought of that trick! thank you for that tip! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members *BLEEP* Posted March 18, 2011 Members Share Posted March 18, 2011 I recall mine shooting out like a missile when I removed the tremolo arm. Haven't seen it since. The cat's probably eaten it by now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ashasha Posted March 18, 2011 Members Share Posted March 18, 2011 A quick wrap in tephlon tape on the threads does the job better than those little springs. A roll of it is like 96 cents at any hardware store and will last you forever. I keep one in the shop and one in the case. teflon tape is a great thing to have for guitar stuff. I use it for sloppy trem arms, but I also use it on sloppy trem posts. Works great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bondini Posted March 18, 2011 Author Members Share Posted March 18, 2011 Thanks for the teflon tip! - and thanks for the offer of a spring but I'm not sure I need the arm to stay in place, I'm no Jeff Beck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Ultrastick Posted March 19, 2011 Members Share Posted March 19, 2011 One way to keep that little spring in place is to put some synthetic grease in the hole where the arm goes with a toothpick or similar, then coat the spring liberally with the grease and put it in there. Since synthetic grease is so temperature stable it will not thin out when heated and allow the spring to come out. Should be a permanent fix. Cheers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members goosefartfan Posted March 19, 2011 Members Share Posted March 19, 2011 Thanks for the teflon tape tip!! I never thought that a pen spring would be strong enough, and I had no idea how to get a spring that'd be strong enough and would fit in there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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