A Problem with a Squire Stratocaster

[Technetium]

My English is not the best, and I'm not that good in guitar vocabulary, so I'll use pictures.

This is one of my guitars, a Squire Stratocaster:

http://img220.imageshack.us/img220/6605/99407662bd6.jpg

Last week, I installed 0.010 strings on it, after a long time of using 0.009 strings. I did it myself, and I only installed them. I did no further setup. I stretched them, but I felt like I needed to stretch them again today, and I started from the high E. This is how I stretch the strings:

http://img207.imageshack.us/img207/9264/50723441sy7.jpg

I did almost nothing, and look what happened:

http://img207.imageshack.us/img207/4803/27902015qf0.jpg

I found the parts that were broken (of course, threw the broken string to the trash), and here they are:

http://img207.imageshack.us/img207/6811/80859368qe3.jpg

I guess they're supposed to go like this (only on the guitar, lol):

http://img220.imageshack.us/img220/2156/90310974jn1.jpg

1. Did I do anything wrong?
2. How can I fix this? Can I do it by myself?

[stratoskier]

This is not a big problem. There was nothing wrong with the way you were stretching the strings -- it just appears as if the intonation adjustment screw was barely threaded into the saddle, so the added tension from the stretching caused it to pop off.

Before putting it back on, you need to be sure that the threads aren't stripped on the screw or in the saddle. Thread it in there to see how it feels. If that's OK, put it back together. If something is stripped, replacements for both the screws and the saddles are easy to find.

Also, from one of your closeups of the bridge, it looks like the intonation hasn't been adjusted properly (the saddles are almost all in a straight line, and I doubt that is right). You probably need to have a technician adjust the intonation. Also, with heavier strings, the truss rod will need to be adjusted. You might want to just take the whole thing to a tech and have him do a setup at the same time they reassemble the bridge.

Regardless, this is not a major problem so you can relax.

Bert

[Technetium]

Originally Posted by stratoskier

This is not a big problem. There was nothing wrong with the way you were stretching the strings -- it just appears as if the intonation adjustment screw was barely threaded into the saddle, so the added tension from the stretching caused it to pop off.

Before putting it back on, you need to be sure that the threads aren't stripped on the screw or in the saddle. Thread it in there to see how it feels. If that's OK, put it back together. If something is stripped, replacements for both the screws and the saddles are easy to find.

Also, from one of your closeups of the bridge, it looks like the intonation hasn't been adjusted properly (the saddles are almost all in a straight line, and I doubt that is right). You probably need to have a technician adjust the intonation. Also, with heavier strings, the truss rod will need to be adjusted. You might want to just take the whole thing to a tech and have him do a setup at the same time they reassemble the bridge.

Regardless, this is not a major problem so you can relax.

Bert

The screw fell a couple of days ago, actually, but nothing changed. I could still play.
Thanks for your help!