Hello all.

I've got a '91 American-made Strat that I've played off and on over the past 20 years. Most recently off - for about 3 to 4 years and I'm wondering if that has something to do with this problem....

As I was changing the strings and cleaning it up the other day, I noticed that the neck plate (the steel plate on the back of the guitar that actually guides/holds the four screws that attach the neck to the body) is bent/bending. It's fairly slight - but enough that it's actually digging into the wood and causing the "clear coat" to crack.

I just had some new pick ups put in and had the neck set up properly. I don't think that would have a thing to do with a thing though. (In other words, I can't imagine a truss rod adjustment could bend a steel plate!)

I've read that over-tightening the screws could possibly do this - but I don't know that the neck has ever been separated from the body and the screws re-tightened at any point.

I'm wondering if it's just "old age" (metal fatigue) and where I can purchase another plate for this guitar? Should I be concerned for any reason??

Thanks for any help.

Reid

Welcome.

The truss rod has nothing to do with this.

Regardless of whether the neck is removed or not, tightening the screws can definitely bend the plate. Plate bending is an extremely common situation. The bending could be due to metal fatigue, it could be due to soft wood in that area, it could be due to outright over tightening of the screws, it could be due to the guitar getting severely jolted or any combination of the above.

Replacement plates are readily accessible as are neck cushions which aid in preventing the plate from bending. Here's a link for both:

http://www.darrenriley.com/shop/cart.ph ... tail&p=809

and

http://www.darrenriley.com/shop/cart.ph ... ail&p=1531

With the cushion, you'll have to match mark the micro tilt hole in the neck plate and then manually drill the hole in the cushion before mounting.

_________________
You dig?