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View Full Version : How to adjust the bridge height on a Webber thumscrew bridge



Joe86
Jun-11-2011, 5:11pm
I just got a Webber Gallatin F mandolin (which is great BTW). It has a 5/16 locking nut and a thumbscrew. Which direction do each of these go if I want to lower the action.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

Joe

George R. Lane
Jun-11-2011, 5:20pm
You turn the wrench to the right to lower the action. They recommend a height of 1/8 inch on the G string at the 12th fret. I like mine just a tad lower.

Nonprophet
Jun-11-2011, 9:49pm
You turn the wrench to the right to lower the action. They recommend a height of 1/8 inch on the G string at the 12th fret. I like mine just a tad lower.

Are you sure George? I have a Weber Traditional on my Bridger A and I could swear that you turn the nut to right to raise the bridge and to the left to lower it.....


NP

Ivan Kelsall
Jun-12-2011, 12:26am
Joe - I'm assuming that this is the Weber 'Trad' bridge ??. If it's a right handed screw thread & you view it from the top,that would have it turn clockwise to screw the thumbwheel towards the base to lower it & anti-clockwise to screw it away from the base to make it higher - however NP could be right,i'd have to check on it to be sure.The 'locking nut' that you refer to isn't a locking nut,it's a hexagonal boss on the thumbwheel. You can use the small spanner ( wrench to you folks) to adjust the bridge height under full string tension. For a quick answer,just phone or e-mail Weber direct.
One thing to be VERY careful of,is that if you choose to adjust the height under full string tension,make sure that the small wrench fits onto the thumbscrew nut properly.It's very easy to have it slip & the steel wrench will strip the corners off the thumbscrew nut like a hot knife through butter. I can't understand the use of a hard steel wrench on a soft brass nut. The thumbwheels & threaded bridge posts should have been steel as well. That's the only crit.i have of the Weber bridge. A few corners have gone off mine & i personally slacken the strings off these days. The ease of adjustment & the lesser chance of damaging the 'nut',far outweighs having to re-tune,
Ivan:popcorn:

Robert Mitchell
Jun-12-2011, 11:05am
Weber's site shows .063" @ the 12th fret, check it out,,perhaps. you misread.

Nonprophet
Jun-12-2011, 4:56pm
I just checked my Weber Traditional Bridge to be sure. Like I thought, you turn the adjusting nut clockwise (right) to raise the action and counter-clockwise (left) to lower the action.

Hope this helps....

NP

George R. Lane
Jun-12-2011, 5:33pm
Evidently I don't know my right from the left. Thanks NP.

Tom Wright
Jun-12-2011, 7:24pm
On my Weber Traditional Brekke bridge the adjusting wheel is not a nut riding on the static bridge post screw, it is the screw itself threading into the saddle above it. So you turn it the opposite sense than you would a Cumberland or other Gibson-style bridge.

To raise by increasing post height you unscrew it, turning clockwise viewed from above---it is a normal right-handed thread if you viewed from "above" the screw, which is from underneath the saddle.

Ivan Kelsall
Jun-13-2011, 12:42am
NP - You're dead right. My mistake was not thinking long enough re.what happens. Of course it's the thumbwheel that screws downwards then pushes against the bridge base to raise the saddle.I got my brain muddled by thinking it was the bridge post screwing down.Well,my brain is getting on in years - sorry !!.:(
Tom - Are you sure ?. If what you say is correct,that would mean that the thumbwheel was actually part of the bridge post in order for it to make it turn. That would make it quite costly for a small item. What you say is what i thought in my first post,until i realised that there's also not enough 'screw' depth available in the bridge saddle or base for this to work. Anyway,i'm changing the strings on my Fern today & it's full strip & clean job this time,i'll check out the thumbwheel business,but i think NP's right,
Ivan~:>