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Loose Strap Button

J

jordan2

Apr 2, 2011
135
5
#1
Hi Guys I have a question. The hole fore my strap button has been stripped and I am trying to figure out what the "best" way to fix it is. I've heard of many different techniques including using toothpicks and wood glue, using a small dowel and glue, and using wood filler. I am just wondering what what you guys do.
Thanks.
 
#2
jordan2 said:
Hi Guys I have a question. The hole fore my strap button has been stripped and I am trying to figure out what the "best" way to fix it is. I've heard of many different techniques including using toothpicks and wood glue, using a small dowel and glue, and using wood filler. I am just wondering what what you guys do.
Thanks.
Click to expand...
A very common thing, easily fixed with a slightly longer screw with a bigger thread and a little epoxy resin.
 
#3
Cutting new threads with a larger or courser screw will only make the hole - which is chewed up now - bigger and waste more body wood.

Some strap pins won't accept a bigger screw anyway - at least not the head of many or most of them.

Stick a toothpick or two into it with some Elmer's white or yellow glue and shove the original screw back in and it'll be fine for a long time ----------- unless you are swinging on the bass strap between sets.
 
#4
Toothpicks and wood glue. Screw strap button in just to barely snug. After letting it dry overnight, see if screw will turn a tiny bit more with just moderate light turning force. Ive found when doing this repair that next day can ussually do a small additional turn of screw to make it snug tight. Not brute force tight, just good and snug. Idea here is if you tighten it too much with glue wet, your not going to acccomplish whats needed.
 
#5
So screw the strap button in right as I put the glue and toothpicks in or wait a little bit after I put the glue and toothpicks in (like half an hour or so) to put the screw in. And you would recommend this over waiting for the toothpicks and glue to dry completely and then drilling a new hole with a power drill and screwing the button in that?
 
#8
+1

also, go ahead and screw that jank in tight right away; if it starts to strip, you didn't use enough wood, and if the wood glue doesn't squeeze out a little, you didn't use enough glue.

you want it tight because wood glue needs clamping pressure to be strong. a tightened screw provides that, clamping the new wood against the sides of the old hole, and creating cast-in threads as the glue dries.
 
#11
actually, drilling out and gluing in a thin dowel like 6mm is not overkill, it's inadequate.

you lose the clamping action of the stuffed wood slivers pressed against the old threads of the old hole by the screw, and typical end-grain dowel wood is weak in that orientation. you end up with a thin layer of end-grain wood around the screw that's smooth on the outside and not clamped very strongly against the surrounding wood.

now if you drilled out and inlaid a 12mm cross-grain hardwood plug, you might have something. otherwise, slathering, stuffing and screwing is actually stronger.
 
#15
I don't know why people are so into the whole dowel rod thing. You really don't need to go to all that trouble of drilling it out and then messing around like that. I mean if you really want to, great, you could probably kill a fly with a shotgun too but it's a lot less trouble with a fly swatter.

I have just jammed that hole with toothpick parts, and glue, screwed it in and away I went with no problems at all. In fact I've even jammed it with toothpick parts and not used glue, it worked just as well as long as you really fill it with the toothpick pieces. I would recommend glue but in a pinch you could get by without it if need be.
 
#16
Not trying to hijack, but I have a theory about what causes the punky wood on strap button screws, at least those in on the end of the body.

Every bass I've ever had with a punky screw hole for the rear strap button has the usual wide flared strap button, which holds the strap hard against the body. When you run your cord under the strap and into the jack, you have effectively created a lever from the strap with the cord as the fulcrum, exerting constant outward pressure on the strap button.

I have an early 90's j plus which came with strap locks when I bought it new. These fender style locks stand the strap far enough off the body for a cord to run between the strap and body without the strap bearing on the cord. This bass has never had a loose strap screw. Every other bass I've ever owned was used and all those with the standard strap buttons have had punky threads at the rear strap button even if the body is made of hard wood like ash.
 
#18
Good observation fhm555, I wear my nylon strap with the doubled side attached to the tail, then pass my cable between the two pieces of strap if that makes sense. The other normal way always places stress on the cable end; no matter how much loose I have pulled through, by the end of a set, It's pulled tight again stressing the jack. A leather strap needs a different solution...
 
#20
Theory on why stap buttons come loose on the bottom of the bass. Drop it once holding it by the neck (typical) and see what hits first. My guess is that kind of a blunt force hit on the bottom strap button will compress the wood and the screw will not hold as tight. As the screw starts to wiggle slightly it loosens more and more the fit and eventually is loose in the hole.

Nothing worse for a screw fit than a loose screw and force. I have seen drawer knobs have the screw hole destroyed my a loose screw and regular use which continuously destroys/opens up the hole.

Just a theory, and I'm not interested in testing it.
 

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