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Problem - Straplocks on Dot


jamie-t

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Posted

So I just recently bought a Dot and I need straplocks on it. I just don't feel comfortable gigging without them. Anyway when I went to screw the straplocks in I found that the screw wasn't big enough for the hole created by the strap button that used to be there. I could not find a different screw to go through the straplock and the original screw from the button was too big. I decided to try drilling the straplock to fit the original screw through it which worked for about half an hour and then it broke.

 

Long story short - Is there a straplock with a different sized screw that will fit my dot?

Posted

Might we get a pic to see the status of the guitar itself at the moment?

Wish you'd taken a look at our straplock threads.

I'm a big fan of my "Grolsch" straplocks.

Posted

The easiest thing would have been to use wooden Skewers for BBQ, in the holes, and the smaller screws would

tighten up, just fine. Some use tooth picks, or wooden match sticks. I've done all of those, at one time or another,

and they worked well. The larger skewers worked best, for the kind of thing you're talking about. A little wood glue,

will help, keep them in, as well. Just push them in, as far as they will go, cut them off flush with the edge of the body,

and, use an ice pick for a small starter hole (if needed). Otherwise, check out the hardware store, or Home Depot,

for any screws that might do the trick.

 

Good luck!

CB

Posted

I will post pics as soon as I can, I searched for dot+strap giving me all the straplock threads and all I saw were ones being recommended. I don't need a general straplock recommendation, I have a problem that I thought may be specific to the guitar so I made a new post.

 

edit - thank you for the two solutions, I will try those tomorrow.

Posted
Might we get a pic to see the status of the guitar itself at the moment?

Wish you'd taken a look at our straplock threads.

I'm a big fan of my "Grolsch" straplocks.

+1 on the "Groltsch" straplocks. I use Dunlops on all of my solid bodies, but didn't want the extra protrusion frm the button on the heel of the neck. And ya get a couple of brews to boot!!!

Posted

+1 for toothpicks. I keep a box in my toolbox that travels with my gear, which also holds picks, strings, a flashlight, screwdrivers, batteries, an extra strap and set of straplock buttons, spare tubes, and a box of rubbers.

 

What? I want to be prepared for ANY emergency...

 

But seriously, just cram two or three toothpicks in the hole, and screw the straplock in. In most cases, two will do, and the glue is somewhat optional. If you don't have wood glue, regular white Elmer's glue works just as well. Just dip the toothpicks in the glue before insertion, no need to try and fill the hole or anything. Stick the toothpicks in as far as they will go, and break them off flush with the body. Reinstall the straplock button, and you're done. Recheck it to make sure it's tight after a little while of playing, and tighten as necessary. Occasionally, you may have to take the screw out and add one more toothpick, as the toothpick wood compresses with time... It's not as dense as most guitar body woods.

 

Just make sure you use round wooden toothpicks, not the flat ones or the plastic ones, LOL!

 

The flat ones do make good shims for bridge bushings though, should you ever have one of those go loose...

Posted
I need to find this grolsch beer you guys are talking about... Is it a Europe only thing' date=' or can I find it in the states?

[/quote']

 

Well, if you look at my location, you'll see I'm in the USA. Never have trouble finding it, but i don't think it's at your local megamart. you might need to look for a smaller specialty shop or a decent party store to track it down.

Posted

i can attest to both the toothpick in the screwhole method and the grolsch method. the toothpicks didn't require anything at all; i broke one in half (gold, to match the hardware =D>), tossed the piece in the hole and screwed the new strap button in. no problem.

 

the grolsch method is a little harder to pull off as you are looking for these:

 

grolsch_preview.jpg

 

which are getting harder to find nowadays. i can still find them at a specialty wine/booze store, but most liqour stores and supermarkets have the twist open bottles. that little red gasket under the white top is your strap lock. you just slap that over the button and you're done. honestly, it didn't work that great, but the buttons i have them on aren't that big. i'm going to get a few more and try them on another guitar with bigger strap buttons.

 

also, a well made strap is key. i recommend couch brand straps. quirky, comfy, vegan and well (usa) made. i had lots of problems before because the schaller strap locks i was using would stretch/tear the keyholes on the cheap tabs. so bear that in mind, too. spend a few more bucks and get a decent strap.

Posted
the grolsch method is a little harder to pull off as you are looking for these:

 

grolsch_preview.jpg

 

which are getting harder to find nowadays

The washers themselves are available at a home brewing supply store. Cheap, too.

Posted

The washers themselves are available at a home brewing supply store. Cheap' date=' too.[/quote']

 

But it's not as FUN to get THOSE! *grin*

Posted
But it's not as FUN to get THOSE! *grin*

Well, if I can't find Grolsch beer, I can always get my washers at the brewing supply,

and pick up a sixer of PBR at the 7-eleven on the way home:-"

Posted
Once apon a time I used to re-use the Grolsch bottles because I used to make home-brew... they are reusable for a few times.

 

Same here ..... I used to homebrew for a few years some time back. Good stuff as long as you practice basic sanitation techniques and have some good recipes. I used to brew wicked habanero mead (kind of like wine, but made with honey as the fermentable ....... anything from a slightly warm champagney type mead up to extreme MI winter warmer still mead - 17% abv and incredibly sweet and HOT !!!! And I had a great American Pale ale recipe (heavy on the Cascades hops, please =D> )

Nothing like holing up on a dead-of-winter MI evening, crack open a homebrew and strum the Epi for a few hours !!!

Posted
Same here ..... I used to homebrew for a few years some time back. Good stuff as long as you practice basic sanitation techniques and have some good recipes. I used to brew wicked habanero mead (kind of like wine' date=' but made with honey as the fermentable ....... anything from a slightly warm champagney type mead up to extreme MI winter warmer still mead - 17% abv and incredibly sweet and HOT !!!! And I had a great American Pale ale recipe (heavy on the Cascades hops, please =D> )

Nothing like holing up on a dead-of-winter MI evening, crack open a homebrew and strum the Epi for a few hours !!![/quote']

 

I never made mead. My specialty was dark beer. After a visit to Germany I had to have more dark brew so I started making it and yeah I hit right around the 17% mark a couple of times. Honestly though, I prefered ones closer to 12%.

Posted

 

I never made mead. My specialty was dark beer. After a visit to Germany I had to have more dark brew so I started making it and yeah I hit right around the 17% mark a couple of times. Honestly though' date=' I prefered ones closer to 12%.[/quote'] Yeah, the 17% mead was just too strong to bottle condition, so it was still like wine. And I've brewed my fair share of dark beers..... like the porters, love the stouts .... but I have a soft spot in my heart for my habanero mead........ hmmmm, makes me want to go out and buy new equipment (I gave mine away to a good friend when we moved south, as I didn't look forward to packing 4 5-gallon glass carboys and a whole BUNCH of bottles for moving...LOL - not to mention, I just don't have the time anymore...takes the mead a long time to be ready to drink, as is wine.

 

 

And, to stay on topic, straplocks are likely a good idea if you play when you've been drinking homebrew:-"

Posted

I just did this to my Sheri last week.

 

Put Proline strap locks (Schaller clones that are $10 cheaper) that had screws that were smaller than the original Epi screws, so................

 

I drilled out the hole in the new button where the screw threads to go through (the small hole) but the head of the screw was also too big (I'm guessing this was the same thing you found) but instead of trying to drill the center of the button to fit the screw head (which again I'm guessing is what you tried to do) I chucked the Epi screw in my cordless drill and took a flat file and turned the screw head down until it fit, didn't have to take a lot off, and looking at it in the guitar you could never tell

 

Worked great and no toothpicks or any other foreign objects needed.

Posted

As an ex-gunsmith, I used to make my own screws at times..........and have used the following method to reduce the head diameter on several screws to help them fit inside my straplock bases.

 

1. wrap screwthreads with tape (one or 2 layers will do).

2.insert the taped shaft into an electric drill, tightening enough to hold it firmly.

3. hold a medium cut (average wal-mart) file against the edge of the screwhead.

4. run drill until desired diameter is acheived.

 

use care handling the screw, it will be hot for a few minutes.

 

EDIT:..........yep, what SLEDGE said.......

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