Neck Plate Over-Tightened by Tech (2024)

Good day, my Telecaster brethren:

I got my old Esquire back a few weeks ago from the tech who set it up and tweaked the rod, and it just occurred to me: why does it seem like I’m looking into the mirror at a funhouse when I inspect the neck plate? Each of the four corners has been screwed down to the point where the reflection is visibly distorted around the screws. The paint isn’t cracked and the wood around the plate doesn’t appear to be pillowed from what I can tell, but it’s not the flat reflection I’m used to seeing from this original Fender neckplate.

Do I bother backing off the screws an 1/8th turn, which may help to seat the neck as well, or am I opening a potential can of worms by messing with it? It appears to be purely cosmetic, though my mild OCD impulses are nagging at me to attempt straightening the plate corners.

Any thoughts or experiences?

Of course, if you've spent money and you feel there's been a bad job done you're absolutely right to get in touch with the tech, but:

How often did you look at the neck plate before? Are you sure this is what's happened? If the body is undamaged, does it actually matter?

If the thing plays well I'd be reluctant to change anything, just try not to look at it!

Plus, whatever force controls the universe has a sense of humour, and if you go to loosen them off to sate your OCD, the winds of fate will blow the head of Phillip straight out of those screws and up the paint on the back of the guitar!

I've seen body damage from ham fisted power driver gorillas doing this. Sinking corners deep into the wood, and even cracking finish, etc. Absolutely loosen and hand tighten. Loosen strings first, do deed and tune back to pitch.

And never bring a git to that guy again.

IMO

This is one of the many reasons I learned to do my own set ups. A tech can still do a better job than me in most respects, but not every tech is created equal.

If you loosen just enough to hear the neck click as it seats, you won’t hurt anything. Then you can tighten to taste. This is also one of the reasons I use a hard rubber pad between the neck plate and the body. It protects the wood from damage due to overtightening.

ivanivanivan said:

Good day, my Telecaster brethren:

I got my old Esquire back a few weeks ago from the tech who set it up and tweaked the rod, and it just occurred to me: why does it seem like I’m looking into the mirror at a funhouse when I inspect the neck plate? Each of the four corners has been screwed down to the point where the reflection is visibly distorted around the screws. The paint isn’t cracked and the wood around the plate doesn’t appear to be pillowed from what I can tell, but it’s not the flat reflection I’m used to seeing from this original Fender neckplate.

Do I bother backing off the screws an 1/8th turn, which may help to seat the neck as well, or am I opening a potential can of worms by messing with it? It appears to be purely cosmetic, though my mild OCD impulses are nagging at me to attempt straightening the plate corners.

Any thoughts or experiences?

Click to expand...

The rational part of my brain says to just leave it.

The part of my brain that also deals with mild OCD says to do what makes you feel comfortable. There is enough stress in this world without having to worry about an overtightened neck plate.

Minimize what you can and move forward, lol!

I'm not saying he didn't tighten it too much, but flexing of the plate is the nature of the beast. Much of the plate isn't really functional, but decorative. Large washers could work just as well. The center of the plate stays up and the area near the screws goes down. But there shouldn't be much flex evident in the reflection.

How hard is it to loosen a screw with a proper fitting screwdriver? That should tell you if it's really too tight.
You can back them off a bit with no issues. Try one first. Hopefully he didn't crack your finish!

The other thing is, I've seen some guitars where they were assembled with the paint still a bit soft. The plate leaves an indentation in the finish mostly around the screws, you can see this when you remove the plate. The surface is not flat due to this, so the plate does flex to the surface even though not over tightened.

If left too tight you could start getting cracks/chips in the finish - if you haven't already. If you check with a magnifying glass and see some, you may be able to stabilize them before they enworsen.

You didn't really mention the era your guitar is from, other than "old". If it is indeed vintage, it is a shame this happened. If it is just kinda old, not so bad. I would consider removing the plate and see if the wood/finish is crushed. Take pix. Try to steam out the dents - the sooner the better. Replace the plate with a flat one. Apply torque by hand, trying to use just your fingers - not a gorilla grip. Using your fingers usually prevents over-torquing.

OR, you could take it back to the tech for a resolution, realizing he could make a bad situation worse.

Good luck.

I'd get the torque correct on those screws, I'm sure there's a recommended specification in nm or ft/lbs although hard to measure if you don't have the appropriate torque wrench, who does? If I think things are over tightened, I usually back them off one at a time until they just start to feel released/slightly loose then re-tighten about an eighth of a turn.

As other folks have said besides the distorted/bent plate it can cause long term finish and possibly structural problems, I'd imagine that the holes in the wood are on the verge of stripping out with that much force applied to the screws... Also the wood canl swell and contract with changes in temp and humidity and may cause cracking and other problems in the future.

If it were me I'd remove the screws, plate, and neck (keeping the strings on, but pre loosened) from the body and let it sit for a week or so and then reassemble, allowing the wood to re expand. This would allow an examination of the plate on a flat surface to see if its permanently bent up or not. If bent a call to the tech for a replacement would be my next move along with a discussion about the situation. It's a simple process and would keep your guitar safely out of the hands of this "tech"if you do it yourself. If you go that route when you reassemble the neck to the body make sure the center dots stay centered between the D and G strings as you re-snug the screws.

Intubator said:

I'd get the torque correct on those screws, I'm sure there's a recommended specification in nm or ft/lbs although hard to measure if you don't have the appropriate torque wrench, who does? If I think things are over tightened, I usually back them off one at a time until they just start to feel released/slightly loose then re-tighten about an eighth of a turn.

As other folks have said besides the distorted/bent plate it can cause long term finish and possibly structural problems, I'd imagine that the holes in the wood are on the verge of stripping out with that much force applied to the screws... Also the wood canl swell and contract with changes in temp and humidity and may cause cracking and other problems in the future.

If it were me I'd remove the screws, plate, and neck (keeping the strings on, but pre loosened) from the body and let it sit for a week or so and then reassemble, allowing the wood to re expand. This would allow an examination of the plate on a flat surface to see if its permanently bent up or not. If bent a call to the tech for a replacement would be my next move along with a discussion about the situation. It's a simple process and would keep your guitar safely out of the hands of this "tech"if you do it yourself. If you go that route when you reassemble the neck to the body make sure the center dots stay centered between the D and G strings.

Click to expand...

Agree.

Sometimes they can get accidentally over-torqued because the neck doesn't tighten properly. This is usually caused when the holes through the body are being gripped by the screw threads. The screws should drop right through the body. If the screw is biting into both the body AND the neck, it cannot pull the neck properly against the pocket. This leads to additional torque being applied and a bent plate. But usually, it is just negligence by using an electric driver with too much torque.

If the screws thread into the body, bore them out so they just drop through. The way I do it is to leave the neck off and tighten the screws in the body, stripping out the wood "threads". Then pull the screw in/out several times to clean out the hole. Or you can carefully ream/drill them out.

re: "if you don't have the appropriate torque wrench, who does?" Well, I have a torque screwdriver, and I use it often, including when I torque down those neck screws. Techs need tools. Your tech needs one.

Speaking of neck screws, Years ago I installed insert nuts in the neck of my Scrap-o-caster so that I could use 10/32 stainless steel machine screws to retain the neck instead of standard wood screws. (This was on my throw-away touring guitar back in the day.)

Insert nuts and 10/32 machine screws can tolerate substantially more torque than standard issue wood screws, and can do it over and over again without the wood stripping out. They also provide for very even torque values. FWIW, I torque those screws pretty tight, and I bedded the neck (like bedding a gunstock) to get maximum coupling from neck to body. I use a slightly thicker neck plate to avoid neck plate distortion. I never had any problem with finish cracking, but of course it is a MIM body so who cares. Like I said "Scrap-o-caster".

IME, extra-high torque on the neck screws has a stability and tonal benefit. So far, no ski-jump has developed at the 12th fret or anywhere else, after near 20 years that way on this guitar. I played it a couple days ago live and it was perfect. Speaking as a player there is a detectable improvement in neck and tuning stability with this mod. But the most important benefit for me was that the guitar can be easily and quickly disassembled and reassembled repeatedly.

I actually developed this quick-neck removal system when I was touring. I had to fly overseas from the U.S. a long way to a show. Guitar cases cost extra, didn't carry well, and were prone to theft and damage. So I got a special road case that fit a strat body AND a detached neck when placed diagonally across the case. I would unscrew the neck on Scrap-o-caster and place it crosswise across the guitar body in that case, strings still on it with a rubber band holding them to the neck at the nut.

I could have that neck back on the guitar in five minutes and it was like snapping a lego in place. Perfect every time. No shims, no fussing, thanks to those machine screws and the neck bedding.

I wish you could have seen the faces of those stage-hands in Shanghai when I walked into a large venue with my "guitar case" and it was square.

CoolBlueGlow said:

no ski-jump has developed

Click to expand...

Yeah, but that way you don't stress the wood directly, which may (or may not) make a difference. Am not saying there's any truth to this though, it's just something I've heard certain folks warn about.

That said, I've got the necks on my '70s three-bolt derivative Teles (2 x Custom & 1 x Deluxe) screwed on pretty tight myself, and none has developed a ski jump either. So I dunno, YMMV and all that?

You can use a torque screwdriver in reverse - that is, as you attempt to loosen each screw, you can record how much torque it took to loosen each of the screws. Compare this to the amount of force required to loosen the screws of your other Fenders and F types. If the force is equivalent, this could mean the steel in this particular neck plate is softer than usual. Or, the wood is softer. Or both.

If the force value is decidedly higher, talk to some other techs and see if it is well known that this tech is just unaware of his own hamfistedness.

On Modern guitars, ya just replace the damaged plate. Not much you can really do, when the plate is vintage and value is assigned to matching the plate to the specific guitar.

I wouldn't even loosen the strings.

Just back out each screw and retighten to what feels right, then move to the next screw.

I personally run them snug, not tight.

Snug tight is just right, not "bend the plate" tight. In fact, I've never witnessed a neck plate even close to being deformed. I can't imagine any neck plate I've ever used being thin enough to deform from typical neck screw pressure. I think you must have a fairly thin neck plate on that guitar.

Personally, I'd order up a new, quality neck plate and replace with the screws just snug tight. Otherwise, I'd just back them out and then just snug them up, one at a time and call it good.

Also... learn to work on your guitars... it's not overly complicated, nor difficult to do with some good instruction and a few tools. Be very wary of who you trust your guitar work to. I think there are a lot of not-so-great (if not bozo) guitar "techs" floating around out there.