Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Hey everybody...does anyone have a long term solution for a strap bolt that keeps backing out during gigs?...I thought that just some white glue would fix it...but safer to let my forumites chime(jangle?) in first.

I believe RIC used Loctite in production. As long as the threads are still good, it should work fine.

I usually use a few wooden matchsicks or toothpicks. Stuff a few in the hole and then screw in the bolt or screw.

I usually use a few wooden matchsticks or toothpicks. Stuff a few in the hole and then screw in the bolt or screw.

I do the toothpick trick but I also add a few drops of elmers glue ...

I've used wood glue for this several times with no problems, if the hole wasn't too far out of shape.
You can remove them later by using Vice Grips & a piece of cloth to protect the bolt head.

In the factory they use a set of front cutters to tighten the strap buttons. The cutter is modified with a circular cutout in the blades that grabs the strap button around the neck. It leaves no marks.

I use thick cloth (often doubled up) & the curved part of the Vice Grip jaws.
I tend to mess with mine frequently since I bolt my straps on to my basses with the stock bolt & a washer. The tailpiece bolt usually works back & forth while playing unless a dab of glue is used.
I never have to worry about them dropping.

I'd be wary of using glue in the strap button hole; if you ever want to remove the strap button there is a risk of breaking it if it's glued in.

(I've broken glued-in screws before, but not on a Rick.)

My 1979 4001 has Dunlop straplocks on it. I've never had any trouble with them. Every few weeks I double check them to make sure they haven't come loose, but I do this on all my instruments, including those without straplocks.

I have always had this problem but never heard it addressed. So the other night I took Mr. Hall's advice... sort of. The screw hole seems to go all the way through on my 360/12v64, so instead of dropping the water into the hole, I ran the screw under the faucet for just an instant, and got it to hold two drops in the threads. Then I screwed it in. Seems to be working great.

All of this seems so simple. On my old gigging basses I just took a huge wood screw and some metal washers and tightened them down. I can never remove the strap, but it ain't fallin' off either.

I use washers on all my non-strap-lock guitars. Learned that from a John Flansburgh article.

Same here, screw the bolt back in place with a washer between it & the strap. It doesn't come out, but you do need a different strap for each guitar.
Just a small drop of wood glue is pretty safe, it just refreshes the threads in the wood that have loosened with age & wear.