Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Where does one find strap bolts for the Schaller type locks in black? There is a set on eBay in black across the pond in the UK but I really would rather not pay $40. for them plus shipping.

Sepp

You could buy regular Schaller strap locks in black and replace the wood screw with a 10-32 machine screw...

CJ,

Will the bolt head pass through the opening or will it require a bit of "massaging" ?

Sepp

The hold is a bit too small, but, if you go to your local hardware store and buy a 10-32 tap A few bucks, here's what they look like from Ace Hardware), the original home is the perfect size for it, You "screw" the tap through the hole and is will put threads inside the hole perfect for screwing the 10-32 machine screw into. Or you can just drill it a bit bigger so the screw till fit through. Hold the strap lock button in pliers (or better, a vise) with a piece of leather or rubber around it to keep from messing it up. You can use a crescent wrench to turn the tap if you don't have an official tap wrench.

The biggest problem will be finding a machine screw with a small enough head to fit into the recess of the strap lock. If you have an electric drill and a file you can put the screw into the drill and run the head against the file until enough is shaved off to fit.

They look like this when done:

Cj,

Ah, that I can do. "My fathers a TV repairman, and he has an awesome set of tools!!" In all seriousness, I have a 10-32 tap so I'd be able to do that with ease. I wanted to do the same exact thing to a set of Dunlop's but the hole in that strap lock would have necessitated me taking most of the bolt head off to the point there was barely a shoulder on it.

Thanks for the tip buddy!

Sepp

Kopfjaeger wrote:Cj,

Ah, that I can do. "My fathers a TV repairman, and he has an awesome set of tools!!" In all seriousness, I have a 10-32 tap so I'd be able to do that with ease. I wanted to do the same exact thing to a set of Dunlop's but the hole in that strap lock would have necessitated me taking most of the bolt head off to the point there was barely a shoulder on it.

Thanks for the tip buddy!

Sepp

But there will remain enough head to hold the Dunlop Straplok just fine. I've done it to every Rick I have\had. Cap screws work nicely. You do not want to use a cone head screw.

johnallg wrote:

Kopfjaeger wrote:Cj,

Ah, that I can do. "My fathers a TV repairman, and he has an awesome set of tools!!" In all seriousness, I have a 10-32 tap so I'd be able to do that with ease. I wanted to do the same exact thing to a set of Dunlop's but the hole in that strap lock would have necessitated me taking most of the bolt head off to the point there was barely a shoulder on it.

Thanks for the tip buddy!

Sepp

But there will remain enough head to hold the Dunlop Straplok just fine. I've done it to every Rick I have\had. Cap screws work nicely. You do not want to use a cone head screw.

Just to clarify, this would be for the Dunlops. A regular flat head works fine in the Schallers once it's trimmed down...

There are some pictures of my modifying the machine screw in this thread:

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=392030&hilit=+drill

Checking back, I found that I had a thread with all of the steps but it was only a link to a now-defunct Geocities page ...

Oh yeah, that thread! I see in there that you corrected me and it should be a 10-24 thread! I guess I'm just stuck on fine thread sizes or something, I got it wrong here too...


It's a 10-24! 10-24! 10-24! 10-24! 10-24! 10-24! 10-24! 10-24! 10-24! 10-24! 10-24! 10-24! 10-24! 10-24! 10-24!
There, maybe I'll remember it now...

What size is the thread, CJ??

(no fair peeking back!)

Uh... Uh... Dang, my memory hasn't worked worth a darn since I turned 50... and that was a while ago...

cjj wrote:Uh... Uh... Dang, my memory hasn't worked worth a darn since I turned 50... and that was a while ago...

My memory is bad enough at 60 now ... I had completely forgotten that my 'do it yourself' instructions were on Geocities and not in a thread here!