Heririck Posted January 8, 2009 Posted January 8, 2009 Hello I'm new to this sight. I have an H-150 Ultra (Vintage sunburst or antique sunburst?) that I special ordered from Guitar-X in Denver a few years ago. Unfortunately, Guitar-X is no longer with us but I love my Heritage. Only problem is the screw keeps coming loose on the strap button. I figure a squirt of Gorilla glue will fix it ,but is that a proper repair? What would a guitar tech. do? I know, this thread is useless without pics. Will comply soon. Thanks!
High Flying Bird Posted January 8, 2009 Posted January 8, 2009 I would recommend either a larger screw, but just enough bigger to allow the threads to bite into the hole, or use some wood glue and shavings from a match to plug the hole and then redrill. My buddy's 150 had this problem and we just shot a touch of glue into the hole and put the screw back in. I wished we had done a better job on it but he didn't want to mess with it. There are more qualified people on this board to guide you than myself and they can get into more detail. Welcome to the HOC. Hide your wallet. People usually end up with more guitars after a few months at this place. :wink:
Kuz Posted January 8, 2009 Posted January 8, 2009 Here's an easy fix that worked for me. Get a toothpick and jam it in the hole. Cut the the toothpick so it is above the hole slightly (sticking out). Now set the strap botton on and tighten. I have done this on 2 Heritage strap buttons and on one I think I had to do the same procedure twice, but they are firmly anchored now.
Rude Dog Posted January 8, 2009 Posted January 8, 2009 glue a tooth pick in the hole with wood glue or super glue. let it set. Then screw it back in. I wouldn't "glue" the screw directly in the hole. (that sounds pretty funny) Tip: this works for loose door hinges and other such things as well (use stronger woold than a tooth pick) Bonus tip(s): put bees wax on the threads of screws before screwing them back in (makes them go in nice and smooth). when rescrewing, rotate the screw counter clockwise (unscrewing motion) until you feel it do a little drop into the groove of the preexisting thread. Then tighten (screw) as usual. This prevents the the hole from becoming stripped.
plexirocker 68 Posted January 8, 2009 Posted January 8, 2009 Rude Dog got it right. Easy and cheap, I've done it a few times plexi
big bob Posted January 8, 2009 Posted January 8, 2009 this happened on my stst dlx, the proper fit is to plug the hole with a dowl and an alphatec resin glue and re drill. I used elmers wood glue (just a little) and flat toothpicks, let dry overnight shave off the excess wood with a x-acto pre drill with a smaller bit and reset the button. Do not use grollia glue as it expands when it drys and will foam out of the hole and be a bitch to remove from the finish. elmers school or wood glue is better..
Thundersteel Posted January 8, 2009 Posted January 8, 2009 I've done the toothpick trick on my Les Paul close to 20 years ago, and it's still holding tight.
Steiner Posted January 8, 2009 Posted January 8, 2009 The toothpik trick didn't work for me. I've filled a couple holes with epoxy and drilled. The epoxy repair has been stable for a number of years.
Bluzman54 Posted January 8, 2009 Posted January 8, 2009 You could also glue in a wooden dowel that is the same size of the hole and then drill. Jim C
GuitArtMan Posted January 8, 2009 Posted January 8, 2009 Rude Dog nailed it. You can also use Chap Stick to lubricate the screw threads if you don't have any beeswax around.
Rude Dog Posted January 8, 2009 Posted January 8, 2009 Rude Dog nailed it. You can also use Chap Stick to lubricate the screw threads if you don't have any beeswax around. Nice. Someone recently turned me on to using chapstick in nut slots.
peterbright Posted January 8, 2009 Posted January 8, 2009 Nice. Someone recently turned me on to using chapstick in nut slots. Please come here immediately & clean my monitor screen as I just spit a mouthful of diet coke onto it.
Rude Dog Posted January 8, 2009 Posted January 8, 2009 Unfortunately chapstick doesn't work well for cleaning monitors.
yoslate Posted January 8, 2009 Posted January 8, 2009 Rude Dog nailed it. You can also use Chap Stick to lubricate the screw threads if you don't have any beeswax around. Or scrape the screw threads across a candle....
GuitArtMan Posted January 8, 2009 Posted January 8, 2009 Nice. Someone recently turned me on to using chapstick in nut slots. That might have been me. I prefer it to those exotic and expensive nut lubes like Astroglide... Oops wrong forum! > ;D
brentrocks Posted January 8, 2009 Posted January 8, 2009 Nice. Someone recently turned me on to using chapstick in nut slots. i do that ;D
cosmikdebriis Posted January 8, 2009 Posted January 8, 2009 I'm with the fill the hole, re drill brigade... A couple of things to add.... Don't be tempted with a larger diameter screw. But consider a longer one.
cod65 Posted January 9, 2009 Posted January 9, 2009 I would recommend staying with the same size screw, but breaking off some hardwood in the holes, like some toothpicks and some elmers. sounds cheesy but it works and is a pretty standard repair AFAIK. Take a toothpick and dip in glue, then stick in the hole, break it off , then try screwing into that mess. you might need 2 toothpicks. or if you are ambitious you can fill the hole with an epoxy and re-drill a starter hole a little narrower than the screw. If you go with a bigger screw then you might have problems with the straplock hardware or regular hardware fitting- I wouldn't go to a wider screw, or a longer screw if you can avoid it.... this is kind of a slippery slope ..... if you ever have to do it again you are going to need a yet bigger screw ....... my 2 cents p.s. ... yeah sound like a good idea to wait until the stuff dries to not permanently glue it in there- but on the other hand a wet glue and toothpick thing might be a better conforming shape- and I don't think elmers will really prevent you from getting it out if you really had to.
Kuz Posted January 9, 2009 Posted January 9, 2009 Here's an easy fix that worked for me. Get a toothpick and jam it in the hole. Cut the the toothpick so it is above the hole slightly (sticking out). Now set the strap botton on and tighten. I have done this on 2 Heritage strap buttons and on one I think I had to do the same procedure twice, but they are firmly anchored now. I contend no glue is necessary, just shove the toothpick in and reinstall the strap button. The toothpick will act as new wood to thread on and expand. I have done 3 guitars this way with no filler, glue, ect.
Heririck Posted January 9, 2009 Author Posted January 9, 2009 Wow! I didn't expect this much help. I finally decided to remove the screw and use a 16 penny nail instead. Just kidding. I do want to thank everyone and will have to decide which way to go. I promise not to use Gorilla glue and probably won't use a larger or longer screw.
cosmikdebriis Posted January 9, 2009 Posted January 9, 2009 Actually... I've been thinking... Your guitar is clearly severely damaged. I think you should replace it with a new one. I'll even give you $50 towards it for the old one. do we have a deal. ;D
Heririck Posted January 10, 2009 Author Posted January 10, 2009 $50.00 sounds generous to me but I wouldn't burden you with my Ultra. Those coil tap switches are really confusing and all the extra binding is too flamboyant.
Rude Dog Posted January 11, 2009 Posted January 11, 2009 Pro Tip: When using a nail for this type of repair, make sure it's galvanized. ;D
chico Posted January 11, 2009 Posted January 11, 2009 I'd go with the least invasive surgery. no glue. no filller. no redrilling. no no no...
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