Yes, this method works, but I do it a bit differently.
If anybody else has already mentioned this, I'm sorry. I was lazy and didn't take the time to read the other posts.
Instead of raising the ceramic pot and risking the chance of breaking an electrical connection, I use a long small blunt pin to hold the ceramic pot down, and at the same time pull the bridge. Then pluck out the wick fibers from the coil. To keep the atty still and steady so you can use both hands, drill a hole into a board slightly larger than the atty and drop the atty in the hole.
If you don't want to turn your atty into a drip vaper and would rather continue wicking with a cartridge, you can do that too! But, you need good eyesight, patience, a bright light, and a better set of tweezers that have angled (or needle-like) tips. You can still access the coil on either side of the bridge, thus you don't have to remove the bridge. Carefully pluck out the burnt wick fibers from the coil as the OP suggests. Since the bridge is still there you can continue wicking with a cartridge, but remember to keep your e-cig pointed more directly to the floor from now on to get a full vape (although not entirely necessary, just a suggestion if you want to optimize your vaping experience).
If you're wondering why this works, it's because everytime you take a draw on the e-cig you're forcing the e-liquid from under the ceramic pot up into the ceramic basin. Most of the attys I've seen have 3 holes in them... 1 for the center air flow and 2 more for the coil leads, but most of the e-liquid is perked via the center hole. Also the mesh around the ceramic pot can only hold but so much e-liquid, so any overspill will seep into the ceramic basin. You see, the wick in the coil is not entirely necessary, it's just there to help distribute e-liquid evenly across the coil, help keep the coil at an optimum temperature, and reduce the chance of flooding. However, I've done this mod several times and haven't had a flooding issue yet.
And while I'm at it, I'll offer another pointer of something I like to do... When you have your atty mod connected to power and ready to fire, and exactly right before you put your FULL cartridge back on, go ahead and fire up the atty and wait for it to begin glowing red (only takes about 1 or 2 seconds). Then gently blow into the atty for 1 or 2 additional seconds like your trying to start a fire with a dying piece of coal. Then turn loose of the power button and immediately put your FULL cartridge on. All of this should be done in 5 seconds or less, which would benefit users who use a battery with a 5 second cut-off timer. This process will burn off any remaining char on the coil and your e-juice will cool the coil back down while tempering it a bit. I've found this helps to lengthen the life of the atty, produces awesome vapor, and I don't have to clean the atty anymore using other methods. You simply get prime time vaping time. But, remember you only do this when you're having trouble getting a good vape. Excessive tinkering can, and will, burn out the coil. But heck, since you're playing around with a so called "dead" atty anyway, you have nothing to loose. See what you can get that baby to do!
