strap button keep unscrewing.

Junco Partner

one of the strap buttons on my tele keeps unscrewing. I think it might be the fault of my straplock or could the hole be badly drilled?

Dord

Put a toothpick in the hole and break it off. Put the screw back in again and it'll have more to grip on.

Junco Partner

thanks.
dont have any toothpicks but a match would probably do the job?

punchdrunk

f0ggy92 wrote: »

thanks.
dont have any toothpicks but a match would probably do the job?

preferably a match dipped in a bit of PVA/woodglue,stuffed into the hole,use two or three if you have to,leave it overnight to dry then cut off the ends and put the screw in the next day

Dord

Yup a match would work provided the hole isn't too small.

Owen

Get a rubber glove, cut some of the rubber off, force it into the hole, and rescrew. Works incredibly well.

68 lost souls

The matchstick in glue is the best option, just make sure you have a cloth handy and dont use too much glue, any excess should be cleaned off straight away because you dont want it to stain your finish.

Butch Cassidy

I second the matchstick with glue option. I saw one of the guys in Musician Inc do it years ago so I started doing it any time I had a problem. Probably not a bad idea to do it anyway if you're changing strap buttons or putting locks on.

Junco Partner

didn't have any glue hndy so i just used a match. it should be alright a i had to pare the math down a bit to make it fit so it's pretty tight.

Owen

Matchsticks don't work over long periods of time with large activity on the strap. I used match sticks dozens of times until I tried the rubber glove method. It's vastly superior, and lasts ... well, the strap lock on my Jem hasn't come off in 4 years now. With a matchstick, I'd end up doing it every 6-9 months.

68 lost souls

The problem with the matchsticks happens when you dont use glue. The wood has nothing to stick to and comes out, glue is stronger then wood itself. If you put the match in on its own of course it will come out because the screw is esssentially in the match only and then that is held in with friction. Am I making any sense? I have used the matchstick method on my JEM replica and its lasted since the day I got, I reckon about 6 years now.

punchdrunk

Oh and to clarify i don't just use 1 match if 2 or 3 fit
basically jam the whole as tightly as possible with the wood
(quiet at the back boys! )

so when the glue dries your screwing into (almost) solid wood again

Fingers Mcginty

punchdrunk wrote: »

basically jam the whole as tightly as possible with the wood

:D

PeterIanStaker

Wood filler works as well.

punchdrunk

Fingers Mcginty wrote: »

:D

I feckin knew it'd be you!

Butch Cassidy

Yeah I second this. Keep jamming the hole full of matches basically. Usually I use the one. I'll stick it in and break off the excess and then shove the excess in.