Strap button problem....need your help!

[THE UNIVERSAL ONE]

Hey guys, I ran into a problem today. It goes as follows:

While playing the guitar(Gibson double-neck), I noticed it break lose from the strap . I immediately thought it was the strap coming off the button, but what had happened was the button's screw broke in half . The other half of the screw (threaded end) is still in the body. How can i get this out and put the strap button back in? I'm not one to take on a project of repairs before I have some ideas, so any and all help will be greatly appreciated. Thanks guys.

[BrianH]

dang, I'm glad I'm not you... what a freak mishap. I'll be curious to see how you get that screw out... dang..

[Idiot]

Oops..

You could try (carefully) dremel-ing a small slot into the flat end of the screw stuck into the guitar to effectively turn it into a normal slot-head screw, then give it a couple of careful turns with a small screwdriver to get it out... It depends how deep it is in the body, I guess, and how loose it is. Another alternative is to drill out the centre and insert something into the drill-hole and 'twist 'n' hope'.

Not sure what youll do once you have got it out, though... you might need to come up with a better strap fixing solution

Hope this helps a bit. Be careful and good luck.

[THE UNIVERSAL ONE]

Thanks for the help, and yes, it really sucks being in this position, especially with a huge investment of a guitar such as this. The way the screw broke is perfectly level with the rest of the body, so the dremel idea is kinda gone for that. My other idea was to carefully drill out the screw with a metal drill bit and fill with wood puddy and basically start out a new hole for a STRONGER screw. Fingers crossed, pray for me guys....and keep thinking of ideas.

[Two hands31]

Basically what you said sounds like the best idea to me in this situation. That really sucks though. Good luck on the repairs man!

[THE UNIVERSAL ONE]

Ok, well, here it goes, I will let you guys know how it turns out. But like I said before, and and all help, including help to come, would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[jemsite]

this is very tricky if the screw is tight in the body, because removing it can cause more damage. But if you fill and redrill a new hole next to it, that only creates more damage. I would probably try to remove the broken screw first. You might try to drill it out using a metal guide or home-made "guide" so that the drill does not slip off the broken screw and create more damage to the body.

if you can get fine-nose pliers around the broken screw, it probably would create the least damage. you might want to use some soapy water or light oil to help loosen the screw when you try to back it out. good luck... glen

[musicdr]

I ran into this before.I tried drilling out the screw with bad results,too hard to not slip off the screw.I ended up putting a new screw next to the old one.The strap button concealed most of the old screw and was hardly noticeable.But then sometimes I have a screw loose!

[wallopwallop]

Here is a solution that I read in Guitarist magazine recently. I've never tried it and it's just a suggestion so don't flame me!!

Take a soldering iron get it nice and hot and hold it on the head of the screw. This will burn the wood around the threads and enable you to pull the screw out by whatever means. Fill the hole with plastic wood. Drill a new one, screw in the strap button and ROCK!!

I don't know what this will do to the finish around the screw but it's gotta be better than drilling extra holes.

Matt

[THE UNIVERSAL ONE]

Ok, I took my time with this as not to damage anything in the process. I got the screw carefully filed down lower than the body without touching the finish. I filled with a little wood filler and drilled a hole right next to the previous hole. I used a much stronger screw to prevent this from happening again. Thanks everyone for the helpful ideas. Glen, you may close this up now if you feel it's time.

Take it easy guys,
David

[ibanez otaku]

Originally Posted by THE UNIVERSAL ONE

While playing the guitar(Gibson double-neck), I noticed it break lose from the strap

It's nice to see, in these times of global turmoil when people frequently glare angrily up at the sky and ask where God is, that he's still finding time to punish us for using objects designed for more limbs than we were issued.
[/restore_faith]


Gray