Members pureanalog Posted December 7, 2009 Members Share Posted December 7, 2009 Pickup screws getting loose and humbucker going lower by itself... has anyone experienced this in their Gibson or another guitar? the pickup screws holding the pickup on the ring get loose and unscrew and the pickup height lowers byitself? any workarounds? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Espresso Posted December 7, 2009 Members Share Posted December 7, 2009 new screws,perhaps? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members pureanalog Posted December 7, 2009 Author Members Share Posted December 7, 2009 its the screw hole that gets worn first I believe. Replacing the screws would be pretty easy... The screwhole is part of the pickups. Well, you could always repair it with a new piece of metal (have already done it for a strat pickup) but it is a bit of a hassle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mike42 Posted December 7, 2009 Members Share Posted December 7, 2009 Here's a thought - not very elegant, but it might work. Epoxy a couple of the nylon-insert lock nuts on the bottom of the tabs. Have to use something larger than the thread on the screw, but the insert would probably grab the screw thread anyway. I actually think somebody makes just the plastic lock nuts now for self-tapping threads, but I have no idea how you could get those to stay on the tabs - I'm sure they're made of some kind of very slick material. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members joseflovesyou Posted December 7, 2009 Members Share Posted December 7, 2009 No, but I've never owned a guiar where the input jack would stay in place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Furtive Posted December 7, 2009 Members Share Posted December 7, 2009 Pickup screws getting loose and humbucker going lower by itself... has anyone experienced this in their Gibson or another guitar? the pickup screws holding the pickup on the ring get loose and unscrew and the pickup height lowers byitself? any workarounds? I have this happening to a single coil on an old Ibanez Roadstar. Next time I change the strings, I'm going to fix it: - remove pickup from pickguard. - fill stripped out hole in pickup with JB Weld. - re-tap screw hole in pickup. I'm sure there are other ways to do the repair, but this is the best I can think of. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members webwarmiller Posted December 7, 2009 Members Share Posted December 7, 2009 If the screw hole in the pickup is simply worn out you need to find a u-clip that will work with the pickup screw. Here's a website to give you an idea of what to look for. You local Ace Hardware or any GOOD hardware store (not Lowes or HD) that has a ton of those little bins with odd connectors should have what you need.http://www.hwaguo.com/p_items__en9430.asp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Ancient Mariner Posted December 7, 2009 Members Share Posted December 7, 2009 You could try making up 'springs' from surgical silicone rubber tubing like vintage Strats and Teles use. That will bind on the screw and top it turning so easily. Obviously if the thread of so badly worn that the shaft of the screw is slipping through then it won't help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members axegrinder Posted December 7, 2009 Members Share Posted December 7, 2009 If the threads are stripped on the tab, I'd find a nut at the hardware store that fits the height adjustment screw. You will have to epoxy the nut to the tab unless you don't mind adjusting the height while the pickup is off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mike42 Posted December 7, 2009 Members Share Posted December 7, 2009 Agree with the silicon tubing - that was my first thought also - if the threads in the tabs are still usable. Hobby shop should have model airplane fuel line in 2 or 3 sizes that would work for this. My experience with JB Weld is that it works for lots of stuff, but gets pretty iffy in small, thin amounts such as filling small screw holes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members pureanalog Posted December 7, 2009 Author Members Share Posted December 7, 2009 a nut epoxied on the tab was what I did to the strat pickup and it worked wonders. In this case the threads are not totally worn. When shaking the pickups with your finger you could see the screw slowly unscrewing. (very slowly) The first thing I will try will be a different screw that I have from an old SG. Furtive's solution looks kind of interesting if I could find such a material.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members stanfield Posted December 7, 2009 Members Share Posted December 7, 2009 Loctite is a liquid product to ensure that screws do not loosen due to vibration. There are at least three grades of Loctite, choose wisely. New screws might do the trick, but at the same time, the issue may be the hole's threading, on the pickup, and not the screw itself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members pureanalog Posted December 7, 2009 Author Members Share Posted December 7, 2009 If the screw hole in the pickup is simply worn out you need to find a u-clip that will work with the pickup screw. Here's a website to give you an idea of what to look for. You local Ace Hardware or any GOOD hardware store (not Lowes or HD) that has a ton of those little bins with odd connectors should have what you need.http://www.hwaguo.com/p_items__en9430.asp that's also a great solution, although I dont live in the US and I am not familiar with the shops that you refer to. The problem is that our screw hole u-clips round here would be in metric system (both diameter and thread no.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members pureanalog Posted December 7, 2009 Author Members Share Posted December 7, 2009 Loctite is a liquid product to ensure that screws do not loosen due to vibration. There are at least three grades of Loctite, choose wisely.New screws might do the trick, but at the same time, the issue may be the hole's threading, on the pickup, and not the screw itself. Yes I ll try the screw just in case. I am not really hoping that the screw is the problem here... Btw are the original Gibson screws philips screws? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members hrcnsfan Posted December 7, 2009 Members Share Posted December 7, 2009 You could try making up 'springs' from surgical silicone rubber tubing like vintage Strats and Teles use. That will bind on the screw and top it turning so easily. Obviously if the thread of so badly worn that the shaft of the screw is slipping through then it won't help. This is what my Fralins came with instead of springs. When you screw in the pickups the tubing is squeezed and "grips" the screw. Even if the threads are a little worn and loose i'm pretty sure the screws won't turn on their own. Just make sure the tubing is small enough that you feel just a little bit of resistance when you put it on the screws....it should stay put on it's own and not slide off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members pureanalog Posted December 7, 2009 Author Members Share Posted December 7, 2009 i swapped the upper with the lower screws and things are kind of tighter now. Ill see how that goes... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Pope on a Rope Posted December 7, 2009 Members Share Posted December 7, 2009 If the hole is just a bit loose it can sometimes be fixed by squeezing down the ridge around the screw hole with pliers or a vise. If you can't do that, clean and rough up the area around the hole, put the screw through it and then put a tiny bit of solder around the the screw and the hole on both sides of the tab. The solder should hold well to the tab and the screw will be able to turn, you will just need to break it loose with a screwdriver. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members pureanalog Posted December 7, 2009 Author Members Share Posted December 7, 2009 since I have no time to experiment more I will do this right now actually. pour some solder in the threads of the plate on the pickup and then screw the screws back in. Hopefully everything will stay in place firm. I don't know how easily the height will be adjusted and if the excess solder will be all screwed out of the thread, but we'll see about that very soon... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Pope on a Rope Posted December 7, 2009 Members Share Posted December 7, 2009 since I have no time to experiment more I will do this right now actually. pour some solder in the threads of the plate on the pickup and then screw the screws back in. Hopefully everything will stay in place firm. I don't know how easily the height will be adjusted and if the excess solder will be all screwed out of the thread, but we'll see about that very soon... Apply the solder while the screws are in the holes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members pureanalog Posted December 7, 2009 Author Members Share Posted December 7, 2009 that's what I did. I applied heat while screwing in and holding the springs tight. Pretty tricky but it worked. Now I marked the screw positions with pencil on the pickup ring to monitor if they unscrew during the next few days of playing. Apply the solder while the screws are in the holes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Pope on a Rope Posted December 7, 2009 Members Share Posted December 7, 2009 that's what I did. I applied heat while screwing in and holding the springs tight. Pretty tricky but it worked. Now I marked the screw positions with pencil on the pickup ring to monitor if they unscrew during the next few days of playing. It's worked well for me a couple of times. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members PanaDP Posted December 7, 2009 Members Share Posted December 7, 2009 Red loctite (222). Put a bit on any screw (including output jacks) you want to stay put and it will stay put. It's low strength so you can still loosen or adjust with hand tools. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sk8centilli Posted December 7, 2009 Members Share Posted December 7, 2009 Longer springs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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