strap buttons..2 different size screws..wtf ?

[TheWellGoodShow]

They have this giant tooth-picky looking sticks, those work even better. As they are thicker.

 

[Publius pro tem]

Save the toothpick bullsh!t for your $150 Epiphone.
Trust me, go with the Danelectro method.

Another $.02 along those same lines if a little sliver of Pine inside your EXPENSIVE Gibson seems like a bad idea....

RattleSnakeRoadHouse - Schaller straplocks

RattleSnakeRoadHouse - Toothpicks - ARGH!!!

Or do it the cheapo way and take your chances - it's your guitar after all....


If I ever get my hands on a real deal '59 Les Paul, I pray to God some bozo hasn't done the "toothpick trick" on it.

 

[TheWellGoodShow]

Save the toothpick bullsh!t for your $150 Epiphone.
Trust me, go with the Danelectro method.

Another $.02 along those same lines if a little sliver of Pine inside your EXPENSIVE Gibson seems like a bad idea....

RattleSnakeRoadHouse - Schaller straplocks

RattleSnakeRoadHouse - Toothpicks - ARGH!!!

Or do it the cheapo way and take your chances - it's your guitar after all....


If I ever get my hands on a real deal '59 Les Paul, I pray to God some bozo hasn't done the "toothpick trick" on it.

My method actually works better, its much more than just tooth picks.
The thing i am talking about is basically 3 toothpicks thick. and i put teflon on the screw also, and it isnt coming out anytime soon.

 

[Publius pro tem]

I've just added a new item to my checklist for buying used guitars.
When I'm looking over a used Les Paul, I'll be pulling the strap buttons off.

Never know what somebody might have done in there, the world is full of 'em.

 

[lp_junkie]

NeoCon- I was using the glue and toothpick method on Gibsons in the late 70's as a kid and in the 80's, and 90's on guitars that I gigged with around the world and not one time have I ever had an issue with them coming loose.

I can assure you if you ever ran across a guitar that I have owned it will be modified for the schaller locks and have the glue and toothpicks in the holes.

I can understand you not liking the method and that's cool, but elitist attitudes irritate a lot of players, there are tons of perfectly playable guitars that have been modified this way.

 

[Vintage_Burster]

So you cant just get a better fitting screw from the Hardware store?

 

[lp_junkie]

VB- Gibson uses a screw in hook when they finish them so the bottom hole is larger, the problem is that the screws for the Schaller locks are smaller diameter and a larger screw would not fit the strap lock button to attach it to the guitar. The only option is to fill the holes with whatever method you choose, the cheapest method is the toothpicks and tite bond method, there are others that are more invasive.

 

[Publius pro tem]

I can understand you not liking the method and that's cool, but elitist attitudes irritate a lot of players

Nothing Elitist about it - it's a cheapo lame-ass way of going about it.
Why not simply drill a hole thru a strap pin and preserve the threads inside the guitar?
Wouldn't you want somebody to show more love to your guitar than THAT?

As far as being an elitest, the LP is an iconic guitar with people worrying an fretting over the tiniest, most obscure details on every aspect of the guitar.
To find this single unnecessary action accepted with such a "fxck it!" attitude defies all logic.

I challenge you to name another repair performed on a Les Paul with such disregard for common sense, longevity, or future implications. There isn't one.

I got no problem with people compromising their own guitars, just don't be offended if I suddenly grow cold in my interest of yours when you're trying to sell it to me.

Taking a few minutes to do it right, and telling others how I've learned from it pisses people off all the time, I've had this very same discussion a dozen times over the years.

Amazing how people don't want me to think they are a tightwad.
They don't want me to think they will accept halfass repairs done in the past.
They don't want me to think they aren't smart enough to do it right.
They don't want me to think less of their guitars they are so proud of.

Yet, when I shed a little light on the issue, I'm the elitist bad guy?

My dealer has done the same thing a million times on used guitars and his own personal stuff a million times since the early seventies, he knows I won't go for it.

He WILL perform a strap pin repair properly if you want to pay him for his time.

 

[lp_junkie]

That's where we differ, I agree that other methods may be better to preserve the integrity of the guitar but I could care less about collector values on guitars, I love the Les Paul as a tool to be used and played hard.

Others see "vintage gold", I see a really cool but overpriced used guitar.

 

[loaded six string]

I took Danelectro's advice and got a #8 1 1/2 inch wood screw and turned the head down, and it worked like a charm. 5 minute job done right. Thanks dan.

 

[Danelectro]

I took Danelectro's advice and got a #8 1 1/2 inch wood screw and turned the head down, and it worked like a charm. 5 minute job done right. Thanks dan.

Glad to hear you fixed it the right way. Like you said, it takes five minutes, so why take a shortcut and put your guitar at risk?

I have one more suggestion regarding the Shaller straplocks. If the receiver portion of the straplock (the part the goes on the strap) has only one nut, use locktight or nail polish to lock the nut in place. Even if you tighten it tightly with a wrench, the strap is soft and has some give, so there still a chance the nut may loosen over time. Locking the nut with a thread sealer will give you one less thing to worry about.

A couple sets of the straplocks that I bought came with two nuts. If you tighten the first nut down against the strap then thread on the second nut and tighten the two nuts against each other using two wrenches, they won't go anywhere.

 

[stinger]

Glad to hear you fixed it the right way. Like you said, it takes five minutes, so why take a shortcut and put your guitar at risk?

I have one more suggestion regarding the Shaller straplocks. If the receiver portion of the straplock (the part the goes on the strap) has only one nut, use locktight or nail polish to lock the nut in place. Even if you tighten it tightly with a wrench, the strap is soft and has some give, so there still a chance the nut may loosen over time. Locking the nut with a thread sealer will give you one less thing to worry about.

A couple sets of the straplocks that I bought came with two nuts. If you tighten the first nut down against the strap then thread on the second nut and tighten the two nuts against each other using two wrenches, they won't go anywhere.

I was hoping you would post your method here Dan. I've been using that method on all my historics since I saw your post at the LPF. Thanks