Metal Bar on the Headstock Popped Off

[Kosko]

Hey Guys,

I've got a Lakland DJ 5 and and it has a metal bar across the headstock which tightens the tension on all the strings (I think). Now I go back to my bass the other day and that metal bar is popped out on one side and hanging from the other. I tried to screw it back in but the whole is stripped.

So what are my choices here? Anyone else have this happen?

Fill it with wood cement and redrill the holes?

Just take off the metal bar and forget about it?

Go to a lutheir?

[thirtypoint87]

I've fixed a few of these over the years. I'd suggest filling the hole with a glued in piece of hardwood dowel (no toothpicks!). Oak dowels are usually easy to find at a hardware or hobby store. Then you can re-drill a pilot hole for the screw and reinstall that string retainer bar. When doing this you can make a judgment call about whether the screws you're using are long enough or if they ought to be replaced with something a little longer.

Good luck!

[lethargytartare]

And you don't want to just take it off because that bar helps insure the strings have a steep enough break angle to keep a good point of contact on the nut (string windings help too).

I'll confess -- I'd just use glue and toothpicks...overdrilling and using a dowel would definitely be a more thorough and solid fix...but I lean quick-n-dirty for small screws like these.

[Zooberwerx]

I wondered about this, myself. My 55-02's string retainer is less than stable...the screws are wobbly with no string tension. You can't really tighten them down as they'll drive the underside of the strings into the headstock "berm" just beyond the nut.

Riis

[lethargytartare]

I wonder if it would help or be more sturdy to use threaded inserts -- if they make any that would accommodate the correct size screws...would let you get a wider coarser thread into the wood, but still a small screw for the retainer bar...

[Zooberwerx]

Originally Posted by lethargytartare

I wonder if it would help or be more sturdy to use threaded inserts -- if they make any that would accommodate the correct size screws...would let you get a wider coarser thread into the wood, but still a small screw for the retainer bar...

Thinking the same thing. The inserts would probably be no larger than those used with control cavity covers.

Can somebody provide some source links, please?

Riis

[walterw]

off we go into the weeds again!

toothpicks and wood glue, screw cranked in while the glue is wet, done.

[Zooberwerx]

Originally Posted by walterw

off we go into the weeds again!

toothpicks and wood glue, screw cranked in while the glue is wet, done.

Its not stripped...yet. I'd also like the option of making repeat adjustments without stressing the union of a conventional screw / wood interface.

Riis

[walterw]

Originally Posted by Zooberwerx

Its not stripped...yet. I'd also like the option of making repeat adjustments without stressing the union of a conventional screw / wood interface.

that makes sense theoretically, but i wonder if machine screws in easily-turning threaded bushings might be prone to back themselves out over time from string vibration?

there are loads of 25-year-old guitars with floyd rose trems featuring the same hold-down bar behind the locking nut, and it has to be removed with every string change (which is way more often than the typical bass string change).

as long as it's a good-sized screw going into maple, and they don't get "double-threaded" when re-installed afterwords, they should be fine.

that the OP's stripped out makes me think the screws could stand to be a bit bigger or longer, that's all.

[lethargytartare]

Originally Posted by walterw

off we go into the weeds again!

toothpicks and wood glue, screw cranked in while the glue is wet, done.

Post #3

Originally Posted by lethargytartare

...I'll confess -- I'd just use glue and toothpicks...

That said, I still like the idea of putting an insert there...

[Zooberwerx]

Originally Posted by walterw

that makes sense theoretically, but i wonder if machine screws in easily-turning threaded bushings might be prone to back themselves out over time from string vibration?

there are loads of 25-year-old guitars with floyd rose trems featuring the same hold-down bar behind the locking nut, and it has to be removed with every string change (which is way more often than the typical bass string change).

as long as it's a good-sized screw going into maple, and they don't get "double-threaded" when re-installed afterwords, they should be fine.

that the OP's stripped out makes me think the screws could stand to be a bit bigger or longer, that's all.

Screws backing out? Never! Yeah, that was a concern not unlike we see with bridge components. I may have over-emphasized the "repeat adjustment" aspect when, in fact, once the retainer bar is installed and correct clearance is established, there will be virtually no need for re-adjustment...unless you run across a string set with a bizarre wrap configuration. I've run across a couple of Peavey Millenniums where the retainers were over-torqued / lowered to the point that the strings created furrows in the underlying wood. As a matter of practice, I change strings one-by-one to minimize the chance of shifting the bar in any direction. FTR, the 55-02 import and more costly big brother 55-94 use the same hardware.

Riis

[rojo412]

Woodcraft carries brass inserts. Most hardware stores carry the correct screws in stainless.

If I were taking a guide off repeatedly, I'd do the insert thing. UNLESS, you replace it with Hipshot Quick release string trees. Those are awesome.

If I were fixing this problem on my bass, I'd do the toothpick and glue or Hipshots.

[Kosko]

Thanks for all the tips guys. I haven't been able to get some time to work on it yet, but I'm leaning towards toothpicks and glue, as I never adjust it and it seems a little more towards my capabilities. Thanks again everyone.