Installation of the Tension Coil Springs

In this posting I will install the coil springs. The tension from these springs will offset the tension from the guitar strings. More fine tuning will have to be done during the setup phase to make everything work perfectly. But for now let's get the components installed.
This small metal plate holds one end of the coil springs. There are 2 wood screws that help adjust the overall tension of the coil springs. During final setup these wood screws will be tighten to increase the tension or loosen to decrease the tension. Right now I'm just getting them install.

Notice that there is a wire coming off the plate. This wire needs to be grounded or else your favorite rock star will get quite the electrical shock when he plays his guitar. I drilled a small hole that connects the back compartment with the front pickguard compartment. I feed the wire through and fasten it to the cooper tape that is grounded (shown here).

I connect the 3 coil springs to the bridge and to the metal plate. There are multiple locations you can place these springs but this is the most common location for the springs.

Before I install the back cover plate for the coil springs, I want to cover up the white that is visible in the plastic. I want this guitar to be visually all black as possible. To do this I use a black Sharpie and color it in.

Then I drill some guide holes and screw the plate on. Note during the setup phase I will have to remove this plate to adjust the wood screws to increase or decrease the spring tension.