Screwdriver Operator's License

[props]

I was trying to figure out the best place to post this - Hardware, Setup & Repair or maybe the Luthier's Corner - but then I thought, "Well, I'm mostly just venting so maybe Miscellaneous".

There ought to be a misdemeanor out there entitled "Criminal Misuse of a Screwdriver" or "Operating a Screwdriver Without a License". I'm often surprised by how many used basses there are out there that the previous owner has damaged by carelessly trying to twist the screws in and out of it. Don't get me wrong, I don't need all of my basses to be pristine and I think a lot of basses look great with the heavy wear they've developed over the years, but I hate to see needless damage done to the instruments.

Case in point: I just picked up a used bass from a pawn shop that looked like it had been very well cared for considering it was more than 30 years old, but when I got it home and started working on detailing it and setting it up properly, I discovered the screwdriver malpractice. Practically all of the screw heads had been stripped out badly, and in fact a few of them I thought I was going to have to drill and then remove with a vice grip. The previous owner had also tried to install a pair of Strap Lock strap buttons. I'm not sure how he got the one on the upper horn to go in at such a crazy angle, and the screw was one of the ones that I thought I was going to have to drill out. The screw for the other strap button had been snapped off inside the body and then the new screw had been run into the old hole on top of the broken screw. That pushed it off to such a dramatic angle it came close to coming out of the back of the bass. Then that strap button had been banged around so much that I could almost pull the screw out with my fingers. Yeah, I noticed the problem with that button at the pawn shop, but still...

Anyway, just had to get that off my chest. I feel better now. But still, I know it's your bass and you can do to it what you want, but have mercy and don't attack it with tools unless you're sober and know what you're doing. That is all.

[Lonesomedave]

well done...welcome to the wide world of venting.

i do so often myself, although, since mine are more trivial and usually have nothing to do with music, i put them in off topic...but you have made an excellent choice...

carry on

[MatticusMania]

May I also gripe about auto mechanics over torquing bolts in this thread?

[Lonesomedave]

Originally Posted by MatticusMania

May I also gripe about auto mechanics over torquing bolts in this thread?

let me show you to your table, Monsieur

[fraublugher]

Well there's allways rouge and a buffing wheel.

Agreed, people don't learn without practice that a screw driver takes two hands to operate.

[Bloodhammer]

This has been my experience with EVERY SINGLE USED GUITAR OR BASS I've come across. Personally, I wouldn't have bought any of the ones I've worked on for my friends, but then again, that's probably why they needed my help in the first place and therefore my experience is likely skewed. I keep a bunch of extra pick guard screws and toothpicks handy just for this problem. One guitar I fixed was so bad off, I had to fill the holes with putty and re-drill them - and, of course, replace all the screws. I've glued strap button screws in just so no one can wreak havoc on them any more.

I worked on one guitar that even had one of the intonation screws on the bridge stripped. WTH?!

Then you have the Jake-leg wiring in some. Twisted-together wires with no solder - or on the flipside - huge mountains of solder on the backs of the pots, missing pickups, bypassed pots and switches, broken ground wires no longer connecting the bridge, etc, etc....

Dang. Now you have me ranting.

[Bloodhammer]

Originally Posted by fraublugher

Well there's allways rouge and a buffing wheel.

Agreed, people don't learn without practice that a screw driver takes two hands to operate.

I think the problem is an inherent lack of dexterity. It's as if they were drunk AND wearing astronaut's gloves when they were working.

Or a gorilla did it.....

Matticus: Over-torqued bolts are a big problem with not only cars (overzealous use of pneumatic drills, usually), but with anything that has bolts. A lot of people just have no finesse. They mangle and manhandle everything like they're wrestling with the machine for the title belt. Pretty annoying when you're trying to extract a bolt and you notice your wrench is at a 45 degree angle because the bolt is bent.

[basscooker]

my employer has a contract with the company who services all of our equipment. under this contract they are the only permissable maintenance people. interestingly enough, the last time they came out to "maintain" the coolers, they systematically went down, one by one, over the course of the next week. is this what they call "job security" nowadays?

[Floyd Eye]

While we're on the subject, people should have to take classes and register caulk guns too. Most people who use them, shouldn't.

[Arial Bender]

One size fits all......not. Someone on here told someone asking about tuners that if the holes didn't line up you could just jab the screw in the wood and twist, no pre-drill no problem.

[bootsox]

The worst offenders are owners of knife sharpeners and dremel tools.