Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

One of the screw holes in my '87 4003 treble pickup is stripped. Can I get a recommendation of a procedure to fix it? I have a tap & die set, but I wondered what the best material to fill the threads in, to be able to tap it back out.

Thanks

I swear I didn't turn one screw! {:^)

It was good when I got it from you Charly, but once I removed the dried gum that was holding the pickup together, it really loosened up!

LOL!

I had no eye at all for things Rick at that time. I bought it off ebay blind, took it in for new strings and a setup twice (2nd time for Chromes), and never even looked under the pickguard IIRC.

I really do like it alot. It's got a perfect neck. A great player's Rick! Once I get this issue resolved she'll be great again.

Have you noticed how many people love the mid to late eighties necks?

'85-'87 especially. My '86 was just ridiculously slim.

My 4003 Blueboy was "cross-threaded" and wouldnt hardly adjust. I managed to get the screw backed out, screwed it in correctly and have had no problems since.

Mine is just loose. The screw starts OK, then once there is any tension on the spring, it starts pulling out.

This is just what I would do as a first step to see if the p/u base can be saved so proceed at your own risk.

Take the p/u trim ring off so you have easy access to the screw hole on the bridge p/u base. Then just apply a few drops of superglue to the inside of the hole so it runs down the threads. Let it dry and repeat until you have built up the inside of the hole a tad. Let it dry for a few days then run a tap through it and you should be all set.

Obviously apply the superglue as thin as possible and let it dry for several hours between coats. Avoid the temptation to tap it early because it seems dry....it may not be fully cured under the top layer. Also space the p/u off of the bottom of the p/u route with some sort of spacer so you don't accidentally glue them together. I would think the superglue should be plenty strong enough since you are just building up the thread surface in the existing plastic.

Thanks Brian. Is that piece made of plastic? I wasn't sure.

As far as I can tell......I am no plastic expert though.

Paul, do you have any comments on this? I haven't done anything yet.

Thanks

FYI, I ended up going with the super glue technique. It turned out that my taps were all too big for that hole, but I was able to just run the regular screw through it anyways, and it holding well (and it's not glued in!).

Another issue was that I put the Pickguardian pickup surround around this treble pickup, and the springs for these screws were coming up through the top and not giving the required tension. I picked up a few larger springs today and put them in, and now everything is holding in place really well.

Thanks for the help!

Good to hear it worked out for you, Greg.