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Stuart makes a very valid point.

The original steel block allowed the Stratocaster's tremolo arm to be screwed up fairly tightly in order to obviate the mechanical backlash which is commonly found in copies and even in non-USA Fenders with alloy blocks. But it doesn't last forever because of the stresses imparted to the thread inside the block, with alloy threads wearing out in short order. I have two USA vintage reissues (steel block) whose arms sit fairly snugly with no "slop" or noise. But I've tried quite a few which do, and this has been a problem for many decades now, hence the PTFE partial solution which Dave mentions above.

Really, Fender should have fixed this years ago. The main rival, Bigsby, doesn't suffer from it, and perhaps Fender should have redesigned the Strat arm with a fixed upright and a backlash-free interference-fit between it and a separate arm. It sounds as though that exactly what Staytrem has done. I have the Staytrem mod on a Made In Japan Jazzmaster and can testify that it is excellent - doing exactly what it says on the tin.

If you do as I did and fit a Callaham block, then you'll find it has a nylon insert which holds the arm and prevents looseness and rattles.

Or you can use one of the trem systems where the arm drops in and you have a small allen screw to adjust the tension. Wilkinson make some nice ones but there are cheaper alternatives using alloy blocks instead of steel.

(A friend recently said to me, "There's something the matter with my Strat, I can't get the arm to tighten up however many turns I give it." I said, "Look underneath, there may be an allen key there." He did, and there was - he hadn't realised. I didn't embarrass him by asking how long he'd had the guitar!)

Fender's vibrato arm is a brilliantly simple and effective design -- as long as you set it up properly.

The screw thread on the arm is not a machine screw that you "torque" until the threads distort: it's a helical bearing surface which is wound in until there is just enough friction to hold the arm exactly where you leave it. Each full turn increases the contact surface area and therefore the friction.

NEVER "tighten-up" the arm: there should be no resistance to you turning it. It should move to where you put it and stay there until you move it again. If you can feel any resistance then you've over-tightened it and the threads will wear. Raising or lowering the arm to a comfortable position above the guitar is done by bending the arm, not by winding it in and out.

If you have distorted the threads -- or you have acquired an arm/block combination where the threads don't match or are worn -- then the friction adjustment cannot work. Equally, if you use a hard steel arm in a soft alloy block then the alloy surface will wear out and the friction will decrease to the point where it cannot work. Basically, the whole thing is FUBAR and you have only two alternatives -- bodge it or replace it.

If you use a steel arm in a steel block with matched threads, then the wear is minimal. Even if there is some wear, the total friction is then kept constant by the thrust-spring, Fender part no.099-4931-000 (that was the one you threw away or lost ). The spring is intended to apply a force to the end of the arm and keep the faces of the threads in contact: it is not a "helicoil".

If the threads don't match or are distorted/worn to the point where the arm moves freely and clunks, then you will have to bodge it and fill the gaps with a material to create some friction. Traditionally, this was "plumbers" or "gas-fitters" tape (adhesive-backed linen cloth) -- not PTFE, which is an ultra-low friction material! This tape will need replacing regularly because it is even softer than alloy.

The best solution is to buy a good quality steel arm and steel block with MATCHED threads and a thrust spring, which you can hold in place with a blob of BlueTac. Set it up correctly and it will give 50+ years of use, without any drooping or clunking.

DaveC.

Very helpful hints, thank you Dave. I put some fibres of a cord into the thread. Worked pretty well for some years.

There was comment on this thread earlier regarding the fortunes of some guitar manufacturers , in today’s Sunday Telegraph, page 4,it states the ‘competition and Markets Authority’ have raided certain musical manufacturers regarding price fixing. A number of famous brand names are highlighted.