Loose straplok screw

[Joshua Phelps]

On one of my bsr shaped smiths the front strap screw loosens up very quickly after its been tightened. The threads on both the wood (walnut) & screw are perfect & when you tighten the screw all the way you can feel it tighten snugly into place without feeling like its going to strip. I know about the wood glue & toothpick trick to dowel the hole & redrill it but was wondering what other smith users would recommend. I was thinking about some very thin shaved slivers of toothpick in the hole with NO glue might do the trick & also not be permenent.

[Joshua Phelps]

Also, these are flush mount straploks

[Jens Westerinen]

I'd use a bit bigger screw and drill a slightly bigger hole in the knob since I don't like messing with the wood too much.

[Joshua Phelps]

I'd use a bit bigger screw and drill a slightly bigger hole in the knob since I don't like messing with the wood too much.

one thing i am 100% positive on is that a larger screw is NEVER a good idea. the wood you remove from the inside of the hole can never be put back, its better to dowel the hole with glue & toothpicks rather than going larger. my issue is that the screw fits & tightens when screwed in it just loosens.

[Joshua Phelps]

Hey ken,

What do you guys do at the shop when this happens?

[Ken Smith]

Hey ken,

What do you guys do at the shop when this happens?

It never does unless it's an older bass coming in for set-up, TLC or repairs. It is not that common. If it does, we either put a small 1/8" dowel piece in with a small bit of white glue and them put the screw back in or if the hole is worse, we glue a dowel in, let it dry and re-drill but the dowel is usually softer then the body wood. When trying to fix your bass yourself, be careful not to make things worse. If you are not really sure of what you are doing, then don't do it.

[Joshua Phelps]

If I leave it do you think it will cause damage?

[Ken Smith]

If I leave it do you think it will cause damage?

It might get worse. It's best to fix things sooner than later.

[Jens Westerinen]

one thing i am 100% positive on is that a larger screw is NEVER a good idea. the wood you remove from the inside of the hole can never be put back, its better to dowel the hole with glue & toothpicks rather than going larger. my issue is that the screw fits & tightens when screwed in it just loosens.

If you say so. :)
By doing that, the idea was that no more wood would be removed - don't see why it should (just a slightly bigger screw, enough to keep it tight).
I'd rather do that than dowel and then drill a new hole, but hey, that's me. :)

[Ken Smith]

If you say so. :)
By doing that, the idea was that no more wood would be removed - don't see why it should (just a slightly bigger screw, enough to keep it tight).
I'd rather do that than dowel and then drill a new hole, but hey, that's me. :)

With strap loks, you can't just use any screw. If the Pin with the ball bearings do not lock into place because of a Screw changing the depth of the space for the pin to enter and lock, then you will have a damaged bass when the strap flies off the bass.

Jens, your suggestion might work with other applications but in this case, I think some caution must be exercised when you have exact needs for the fit of the Locks.

[Scott Pope]

What Ken said. The best fix is as set forth above: remove the straplock and its screw. Drill oversized. Glue in a piece of hardwood dowel. Redrill the screw hole to accommodate the original screw, or an exact replacement if there is wear to the head or threads. Touch up the dowel to match the contour and whatever finish color is preferred. Reinstall the straplock.

As far as tonal concerns, we're talking about so little wood and glue that it will not have any audible effect. As far as visual/aesthetic concerns: very little. Way less than if the straplock were to fail and the bass fall to the floor causing damage.

[Bob Faulkner]

Mildly off topic, but during one rehearsal (on a concrete floor) I had failed to fully latch the horn straplock and between songs it popped out.. My Smith fell straight down.. I caught the bass in mid air about 6 inches short of the ground.. After recovering from the heart attack we then completed the rehearsal with the strap locks well seated.