Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Kevin, it is a standard (US) thread, but I don't have the info here at work. I'll post an update from home later today.

One thing, for my home-made alternative Schallers, I have to grind down the head of the screw to make it fit inside the strap button. I'm not sure how the Dunlops are by comparison, but you might have to do a similar modification on the machine screw for your application, too. Just figured I'd give you a heads-up that it may not be as simple as just buying the "correct" screw.

Thanks. I'd appreciate it.

Grinding shouldn't be much of a problem. I actually build guitars, but know little about Rics. Those Dunlop screws do have a small head on them...

I bought a 360-6 last year, but realized I really wanted the 12-string, so I sold it. Then I waited for a while before buying the 12-string. I finally got around to buying one when I saw that the headstock was being changed, and figured I'd rather have the old style...

Tell me more about your home-made alternative.

The machine screws are 10-24 thread. I buy 1" length screws and cut them off to about 7/8", which is about right when the screw is inside the strap button.

There is an older thread on these with one pictures:

../43/21248.html"http://www.geocities.com/glclauson/DIYRICstraplocks/RICStraplocksDIY.htm" target=_top>http://www.geocities.com/glclauson/DIYRICstraplocks/RICStraplocksDIY.htm

and it still is lacking text(!).

Basicly, I take standard Fender Schaller straplock strap buttons (a Fender accessory available at a nearby Fender dealer) and drill the hole a little larger to accomodate the machine screw. I then use a drill and a file and trim down the head of the machine screw so that it will fit inside the strap button. Last, I use a hack saw to trim the length of the screw to about 7/8", and dress the threads (I check smoothness with a 10-24 nut). Add a #10 nylon washer to go between the button and the guitar body, and that's it.



I'll be glad to help you through it with your Dunlops. I'm actually curious whether they can be made to work.

Thanks... I'll give that a try this weekend with the Dunlops.

Does anybody else have the bolt-loosening issue to deal with?

Definitely. I ended up wrapping the threads with (shudder) a small piece of plastic garbage bag (wrapped like teflon tape on pipe thread). No problems since, but I probably enlarged the hole, and seriously dulled the threads. Machine threads in wood never did make much sense to me, but it's traditional!

I think I remember someone suggesting wetting the inside of the bolt hole to expand the wood fibers, then squirting a bit of white/yellow glue in the hole before replacing the bolt.

Carpenter's wood glue is not gap filling and does not bond wood to metal well at all. If you want permanence, look for a different glue. Water won't expand the fibers but for a few minutes, a product like Chair-Loc might work better.

So, has anyone tried the plumber's Teflon tape around the screw ... and does it work? I have a fairly new 360 and haven't encountered the loosening problem yet, but it sounds like it's just a matter of time.

Damn -- I do prefer the Dunlops to Schallers, too.

Paul:

Teflon tape is to seal pipes. It also will make things screw (and UNSCREW) easier! It won't help your strap bolts to stay in and may hasten your guitar's demise.

Whereas I recommended Loctite red in another thread (pun intended) for bridge height screws, in this case you might want to try a dot of contact cement (the kind used to glue Tolex to an amp case). Weldwood is a good brand.

Place a bit on the screw and then screw it in while the cement is still wet. Let it set up at least overnight. Don't get any onto the paint--it'll dissolve the conversion varnish.

This stuff lasts for years, yet the screws can be undone without damaging them should you want to take them out for some reason.

...haven't encountered the loosening problem yet, but it sounds like it's just a matter of time.

I wouldn't say that. I've only ever had one Ric where I could even unscrew it manually, and that was an older one (same type screw but pre-Schaller). Loosening can happen with any type screw in wood and it's probably more frequent with Rics because it's a machine screw, but it's not bound to happen.

Dave, I thought the white glue/water advice was odd too, but it was from Mark Arnquist. I guess the point was to get the grain to swell, and the white glue to keep the fibers that way - not to bond to the bolt.

I originally thought of teflon tape, but used plastic from a plastic bag instead because of the slippery-ness of teflon. The bolt has stayed in place ever since. But, I'm not recommending anybody else try this!

John, the plastic bag trick worked (so far) because you in effect enlarged the screw threads, wedging them into the wood.

Mark's a good guy and very knowledgeable. His "white glue" suggestion is a widely-used luthier's trick which I tend to avoid for the reasons that Dave mentions above--It swells and hardens the wood fibers, but does not bond to metal, so eventally the screw COULD work its way out (although I'll bet Mark has never seen this happen, which is why he suggests this method!

Somebody up there also suggested plastic wood. Yecchhh. I use plastic wood for one thing--the small can of it that I found in my garage when I bought my last house, was just the right size to hold up one corner of my damaged workbench...

I wrote a short paper for my students on why they should avoid Plastic Wood. But it's too long to put up here, and probably just as well, too! But in this case, the reason is the same--it clings to wood just fine, but does not adhere to metal worth a hoot. You need something that does both.

Paul wrote:

... should avoid Plastic Wood ... it clings to wood just fine, but does not adhere to metal worth a hoot ...

I understand your point, but I'm not sure that you understood mine. I was not using plastic wood as a cement to bond the metal to wood, rather, I was using it to (1) fill in the gaps in the semi-stripped threads of the wood, (2) bond to the wood, and (3) establish "fresh threads" that would then be tight (and strong) enough to hold the bolt. This repair on my 460 has held up since 2003.

OK, Gary--you're right. Now I understand what you are saying. Makes sense to me.

I still hate the stuff, though.

If the threads are really bad, you could use something like a helicoil. but that includes drilling and tapping, and we all know how many people like to take a drill bit to their guitar.

Its still easier then a pressed insert, or in my opion easier then filling the hole and starting over.

JP

The really good thing about this thread is the variety of solutions that can be tried. Whatever works, works!