Contact Screw Adjustments

Some effects can be achieved simply by tightening the contact
screw, or moving its tip closer to the armature bar. Some artists
call this the air gap, contact gap, spring gap, ect. When you take
the armature bar nipple and press down on it, so that the rear
spring flexes downward toward the base of the frame (and the
armature bar rests on the coil’s core); the distance from the top
or front spring, and the contact screw’s point is the gap we are
referring to. You might think that because the contact screw is
touching the front spring, it does not matter how far you tighten
it down (or lower it). This is a very big misconception. Tightening
down your contact screw can require you to use less voltage, it
will also decrease the throw of the machine. It can make your
machine run faster as well, if you leave the voltage alone – and
tighten down the contact screw, you will notice your machine
speed up.