Should have been a 5 minute job...

[merciful-evans]

Where does the time go? If you have the patience and the belly for it, read on.

I only wanted a couple of new straps. (Big Bill: Williams & Walker July 6)

 

 

Ordered two from the US. They arrived. Very nice. So far so good. Really need strap locks for these, so decided to try some Grover ones from StewMac. If good, I’d buy another set.

The Grovers arrived but thread OD was way too big for the W & W strap holes. So should I cut into the new leather straps? No. I put the Grovers to one side and try a Daddario set I have for size. They fit fine, so I order two more sets of those.

Once I receive the Daddario locks, I try to fit them to the Ric 650. I get a surprise. The Ric pins are ‘one piece’ integral types with studding. They are bolts, not screws. The thread OD is massive and the Daddario screws go in without touching the sides (yep, a pr1ck in a bowler hat). I have many different screws but none of the right diameter has a large enough thread. So should I fill the Ric holes and recut? No. I put the Ric to one side and find another guitar to use instead.

I’ll use the Les Paul. I remove the LP pins to find the tail end screw much larger than the forward end screw. Odd, but no matter. It came from Gibson that way - I opened the box myself.

I fit the Daddarios to the Gibson. The straps attach to the forward pin fine, but will not lock on to the tail pin. Why? I try all 3 sets with the same result. Could that one pin be made out of tolerance? I check the size but it seems fine. Then I notice that the tail screw is slightly domed and sits higher inside the pin than the other one. I remove the domed screw and file most of the dome off. It now fits and locks ok.

The next guitar is the Squier Esprit. Both of these screws are domed and they also will not lock (BTW, the Daddario screws are smaller than all these guitar screws). So I file those screws into flatheads also. With the new pins and felt in place, the fit is not as good as it was. Partly because the screws are not penetrating so far and partly because there are weight relief cavities where the screws go. So I will need to figure this out later. Probably do the matchstick thing?!

 

Meanwhile I have the unused Grover locks. I find a strap to fit these. It’s a 25 year old Levy that’s still in good shape. I fit the Grovers to the Fingerbone Strat. Works fine.

Now I still haven’t suited the Ric yet. I notice the Ric pins look like the Grovers. They measure up exactly the same. So the Levy strap can now be used securely on the Ric too.

 

It’s not quite what I had in mind and still not over. The Squier still needs sorting.  

 

I only wanted a couple of new straps & locks. Should have been a 5 minute job…

and that's where the time goes.

[pippy]

Why can't I get the theme tune for 'Laurel and Hardy' out of my head?...

Pip.

[Big Bill]

I used Schaller S Locks on my strap for the Les Paul, fit like a charm.

Which straps did you get?

 

[zigzag]

Put some hair around it (?).

[merciful-evans]

1 hour ago, Big Bill said:

I used Schaller S Locks on my strap for the Les Paul, fit like a charm.

Which straps did you get?

 

 

This is another fine mess you've gotten me into!

 

The two on the left. They and the Levys are the most comfy ones. 

[merciful-evans]

I've just learned that Ric pins are designed to work with Schallers. So the Grover pins must be identical to Schallers, but the caps that attach to the straps will be different. 

[Big Bill]

Those are some nice straps. I would like to get some more, but I have so many right now...