Charvel 650XL bridge problem

[Advv]

I just picked up a Charvel 650XL today. Dirty as fuck. Fretboard was disgusting to clean but managed to finish in the end. The problem now is that the guy who I bought it off screwed the fine tuners in pretty tight. And it seems as though one of the little blocks that holds the strings in is stuck (i've unscrewed the fine tuner quite a bit and it's still stuck there). Just wondering if spraying a bit of WD40 would help. I don't have any on me at the moment. I'll probably go pick some up from the store tomorrow or the day after.

I'll get some pics up of the bridge and the guitar asap. (camera battery is charging as we speak). The fretboard looked like the guy had scratched it with strings. He must've pressed really hard towards the fretboard when he bent. It was covered in some sticky residue which I had to clean off (I really don't want to know what it was...). Overall it's in pretty good condition. One small chip at the tip of the headstock and light scratches on the body. Guy told me that the bridge pickup is active and the singles are passive. Is that true? I'm considering putting a Bareknuckle Miracle man in the bridge and a dimarzio YJM in the neck. Just need to clean the bridge first. (will soak in WD40).

Guitar looks great though. It's a metallic blue kind of colour. I'm considering installing a gold Schaller bridge instead since the Miracle man pickup has a gold cover but I'm not too sure about that yet.

So yeah, if anyone knows how to get the little block out of the bridge without breaking it apart, let me know. Cheers and thanks in advance for any help.

[Sharkfin]

Some WD-40 definitely couldn't hurt. I'd apply some and see what happens.

[84sups]

Some WD-40 definitely couldn't hurt. I'd apply some and see what happens.

+1 I've soaked a few of my trems in WD40 before to get rid of surface rust and to loosen up parts. It will only make the trem better in the end.

[Advv]

Bridge is in WD40 right now. Hopefully it feels better.

Cheers

[MetalMedal II]

So yeah, if anyone knows how to get the little block out of the bridge without breaking it apart, let me know.

These blocks tend to deform over time with repeated use and cranking down the locking screw. To get them out, I've had decent success using a paper clip with a small hook I crimp at the end with pliers. The ones that really are crammed in there I need to tap out from underneath with a punch.

[saintrico]

I've experienced this on my workbench before. When someone cranks the hell out of those saddle blocks, they start to crack in half and expand INSIDE of the saddle. They are really hard to get out after that.

Definitely soak it, which helps, but doesn't take care of it completely. It's usually not crud holding it in, but expansion of the metal.

What I do is take a jeweler's screwdriver like these and work the saddle back and forth, back and forth. It will start to lift out slowly. Once it's poking its head above the saddle, you can grab it with pliers or nippers and pull it out. It's a pain in the butt and may take some time.

Do yourself a big favor once it's out: buy new saddle blocks. They are like $6. Once that metal cracks open, it will only expand more each time you lock down. Before I realized it was cracked, I sanded the sides and it slipped right in smooth again, but the next time I changed strings, it was a pain to get it out again after expanding.

HOpe this helps!