To the guitar techs: filing Floyd's knife edges

[Pierre]

Lately I've been taking the Floyd out and putting it back in a lot and it severly screwed the knife edges. How do you file them properly? I know it may be a little early for me to do this but eh, we all have to start somewhere. I asked a guitar tech I knew already but he didn't know how to do that. Would a simple flat file work, just a little back fro on each side of the edge for each?

[TheArchitect]

Lately I've been taking the Floyd out and putting it back in a lot and it severly screwed the knife edges. How do you file them properly? I know it may be a little early for me to do this but eh, we all have to start somewhere. I asked a guitar tech I knew already but he didn't know how to do that. Would a simple flat file work, just a little back fro on each side of the edge for each?

I'm curious as to how this damaged the knife edges? Remove strings, remove springs and it should just lift out.

[Pierre]

Yeah but I haven't had loads of experience with it and I had some failed attemps to put it back in and such. Are there any ways for sure to know whether it's the knife edges? It used to stay in tune perfect but not so anymore. I know for sure it's not the nut nor the locking parts on the bridge.

[Stringmachine]

I would not recomend you to do that yourself. Send it to a luthier/tech who knows what he is doing. If you decide to file it, be very, very careful. If you file to much the trem will definitely go out of tune, and could be damaged forever.

[Pierre]

I don't know anyone here

[theodie]

I personally would have to take a very close look at it to tell exactly what to do to it.

[Pierre]

How about a high quality pic from a digicam? I'll snap one tomorrow and show it. I'll see what it gives. What else could cause it to go out of tune? It did this when the strings were ok (i.e not too old, but not brand new and unstretched). It's not any of the locks, not the strings... so either the inserts, posts or knife edges it seems. How to tell for sure?

[TheArchitect]

Honestly what you are describing sounds more like a nut issue. Unless you were turning the posts to adjust height while still under tension I just don't see how the knife edges were damaged. Exactly what are the symptoms? When you dive bomb the strings return flat or sharp? Whan you pull up they return flat or sharp?

[Pierre]

It's not the nut. I locked it and turned the machinehead and there was no change at all in the pitch of the strings.
Basically I took off the Floyd quite a lot of times and I could never find something to keep it to its place. So all the time it went up and down on the posts, rubbing against the knife edges, and I thought it could have damaged them.

[TheArchitect]

It's not the nut. I locked it and turned the machinehead and there was no change at all in the pitch of the strings.
Basically I took off the Floyd quite a lot of times and I could never find something to keep it to its place. So all the time it went up and down on the posts, rubbing against the knife edges, and I thought it could have damaged them.

Sorry, I guess I just don't understand how you are removing the bridge. Are you unscrewing the posts to remove the bridge? Thats the only way I can visualize anything rubbing against the post but thats absolutely the wrong way to do it.

An answer to what the tuning symptoms are would go a long way to isolating where the problem is.

[Pierre]

Nah, when I take the strings and springs off, then the bridge is out of the body. But to put it back on when I string it, I usually just put it in place and maintain it there somehow rudimentaly, then I tune it up a bit to add a little tension, then add the springs, then tune back again. But before I add the springs but bridge is not always in the proper position and I'd have to put it back in its posts properly again.

[Zerberus]

....Basically I took off the Floyd quite a lot of times and I could never find something to keep it to its place. So all the time it went up and down on the posts, rubbing against the knife edges, and I thought it could have damaged them.

With the exception of making daily action adjustments wjhile still tuned to pitch, this is the best way to GUARANTEE that your knife edges will be ****ed up when you´re done..... A floyd is ALWAYS to be either mounted and held in place by a block, or mounted and ready to play, or not on the guitar. Saving 3$ on a piece of foam and a battery, or a piece of plastic, or whatever you need, is the best way to guarantee an expensive repair.

In this case, a Model 4 with the hard to find JT-6 trem: As much as I don´t want to say it, you may have very well forced yourself into buying a new trem ...

A little knowledge goes a long way, but too little goes nowhere and only causes damage... But we all have to learn sometime.

But if you haven´t already, at the very latest now you should be considering BOOKS like the "Guitar Player Repair Guide" and "How to make your electric guitar play great"... No tech that I know was just "set free" to work on instruments, all of us did at least basic research first ... Just be glad you own the guitar

[Pierre]

I'm buying one of them tomorrow. It's my birthday soon and it was on my list ever since you advised it to me. I usually keep the Floyd mounted as much as I can but today I cleaned it all. Usually it just stays in the posts, but when the tension diminishes on both sides it doesn't stay in its position on the posts, if you see what I mean. I know it's bad and I don't like doing it but I haven't found a way of keeping it there all the time. The sock I used today seemed to work better but it's still not there yet.
What do you mean maintained by a block? If I place something on top of it, it will go down anyway because the posts' places where it stays are higher than the body and therefore it'd simply fall. I just don't get what you mean.
Zerb I've been playing for 5 months, this is my first guitar, it has a Floyd, and I NEVER, I repeat NEVER had to ask anyone a question such as 'how do you tune it' or 'how do you string it'. I actually wrote today an article on how to string it, explaining my own mistakes. We all learn one day it's true and to me it makes no difference if I learn today or in 2 years. I have the experience and skills to take care of it. I knew about the knife edges and to be honest, it costs me 10 pounds to get them filed properly, which is the price of the file itself, and it worked fine after. I barely ever use the trem. I don't want to seem ****y but on taborama (a forum I spend most of my time with... *shivers*) I see tens of people asking how to take care of a trem, because they didn't research about it. I did all the research I could beforehand and it helped me more than anything. I wrote two articles on it to help people who can't figure it out. I may lack the playing skills or the experience that comes with time and trying different trems, but I do know how to take basic care of a Floyd Rose, and you helped me with it too and I thank you for that.