Ground contact to bridge - How To

[Chuck Tweedy]

Ok, probably stupid question, but I'm a noob at this electric guitar thing

I'm going to run a ground wire to the bridge, as is generally required, but how specifically do I make the electrical attachment?
I've done repairs on several electrics, but never really noticed how this is done

I tried soldering to the massive brass bridge - and it does not seem likely that I'm going to get solder to flow on that brick.
So do I just sandwich a conductor under one of the screw points?
It is a fixed bridge so, pretty easy to get something under there.

[Bill Raymond]

Yes.

[Chuck Tweedy]

[Barry Daniels]

It doesn't even have to be attached to the screw. Just lay the ground wire on top of the guitar under the footprint of the bridge. Electrical contact will be made.

[Chuck Tweedy]

and I suppose that since it is well covered there is no concern of oxidation?

sorry, been watching British shows, and I feel that it has given my speech somewhat of a imperial twist.

[Peter Wilcox]

I just push the bare wire INTO a convenient screw hole before attaching the bridge.

[Gordon Bellerose]

I strip the wires so the stripped portion is about 1 1/2 inches long.
I then separate and splay the wires out under the bridge, much the same as what Barry said.
I find this works well for ground, and is as thin as possible.

[Chuck Tweedy]

Thanks guys - funny how I just question everything when I'm working on something unfamiliar.
The only thing I think about when building an acoustic is getting the neck-angle/action right.

[Chris Richards]

Just to extend this a bit... On Les Paul's you push the ground wire in to the hole for the bridge or tailpiece mounting boss before hammering it into the body, also some people prefer to use the copper foil tape stick it under the bridge plate and solder the wire to that... The more difficult bit is routing the wire to the control cavity, you can either go into the bridge pickup cavity or straight to the control cavity it depends on which is easier, either way it's a good idea to have long drill bits to get a shallow angle and avoid the drill chuck taking a chunk out of the body.

On trem Strats the ground wire connects to the spring claw this can be difficult to solder on to, file a clean area and use a bigger soldering iron and solder won't work on a chromed surface.