Loose strap button

stufisher · August 2023

I've been playing my Ibanez AM93 Artcore Expressionist a fair bit recently and I've noticed that the bottom strap button is loose and becoming more so with each session.

If it were a solid body guitar it'd be a no brainer fix but given it's a hollow body I'm not sure of the best way to effect repair.

Should I just use a thicker woodscrew? Should I remove the button and fill the hole? What with? What other options are there?

All advice welcome.

Penn · August 2023

If you glue a piece of toothpick/cocktail stick in the hole then cut it flush you should be able to screw it back in and it will work ok.

WezV · August 2023

as it's the bottom strap button it will go into a tailblock - there is probably an inch of wood to screw into.

The usual fix for solid bodies will work fine

BillDL · August 2023

[EDIT: I was typing without refreshing while Wez was posting]

I may be wrong here, but I'm sure the AM93 is a SEMI-Hollow body just like the AS93 is. It should have a solid centre block into which the pickups are routed. You should be able to verify this by either peering through the F-Holes with a torch or sliding something down through an F-Hole and aiming it towards the middle of the guitar. If is IS a semi-hollow, then the centre neck block goes all the way to the base of the guitar and the strap screw should be through the side and into the end grain of the block. In that case I use a few toothpicks coated with ordinary white wood glue to fill the hole OR a barbecue skewer if the hole has become very enlarged. You usually don't have to re-drill a pilot hole for the screw because the screw chews into the toothpicks, but if you have used something thicker like a barbecue skewer on a larger hole it would be advisable. I always rub the screw along a candle, soap, or lip balm stick to lubricate it on its way in.

Even if this was a fully hollow "jazz" guitar, there should always be an end block glued at the base of the guitar just as steel strung acoustic guitars have, and that takes the screw.

[Optional informational content below]

Times when you WILL have to think carefully about support for the strap button is if you decide to relocate the button from the heel or body at the neck joint of a semi-acoustic or fully hollow electric guitar to the point on the upper horn. In this instance the only thing that would hold the screw threads would be the thickness of the sides. You can create a reinforcing block of wood for the screw by:

(a) Measuring the thickness of the sides.

(b) Measuring how far up and down the sides from the top and bottom the notched wooden kerfing strips / lining ribbon extend, so you know how much space you have between them where it is only the bare wooden sides.

(c) Tracing the shape of the horn and deducting the thickness of the sides from the shape.

(d) Shaping a wooden block that will fit neatly into the inside contour of the horn between the kerfing.

To glue this reinforcing block up inside the upper horn of the guitar you would have to make sure that your wooden block was able to drop down through the F-Hole. You would then:

(a) Drill a small hole in the upper horn exactly mid way beteen the back and front of the guitar.

(b) Hold the wooden block in place on the top of the guitar where it will be fitted inside and sight downwards to mark where the hole in the horn is. Hold the block against the side of the guitar taking account of where the kerfing is inside and sight to mark the vertical position of the hole.

(c) Drill a fine hole through the block at the same angle as the screw will pass through into it.

(d) pass a guitar string down through the hole in the horn, fish it out the F-Hole, pass it through the hole in the wooden block, and tie a knot in the string at the back and pull it tight so it makes a dent in the wood and won't twist. Wipe some lip salve or similar on to the last bit of string so it doesn't end up glued into the hole in the block. Mark the string at the front of the block with felt-tip pen.

(e) With the guitar on its back glue up the block, drop it carefully through the F-Hole and make sure it's facing the right way, and pull it forward into place with the guitar string (dragging on the bottom/bck of the guitar without twisting the string) until you feel it sliding into the inside profile of the horn and you see the felt-tip marking on the string coming through the hole. If it doesn't, then the block has flipped 180 degrees and you will need to twist the string until it does slide into place accurately.

(f) Pull the string taut and clamp it on the outside of the guitar until the glue sets.

(g) Drill a properly sized pilot hole.

The same is true if you are relocating a front-mounted output jack to the side of the guitar. You should ideally glue a thin ring of wood to the inside of the side around where the jack will be mounted for additional support and to hold screws more firmly if using a jack mounting plate.

[End of additional informational content]

Danny1969 · August 2023

I was doing a gig last week with my trusty 1986 Ibanez and the strap suddenly gave way. When I looked at it I saw the screw had completely sheared in half leaving the other half unretrievable from the body.

Luckily another guitar playing mate was in the audience and had some tools in the car and some screws and we were able to refit the button in a slightly different place on the guitar in the break.

But that was a first for me, the screw just completely Breaking in half

BillDL · August 2023

I bought a kit guitar about a year ago that had some pretty budget metal hardware, and in particular the screws for the bridge and strap buttons looked to be made from really soft metal. My worry was of shearing the heads off or mangling the cross on the heads rather than of them breaking in use, but it just shows that even on a good quality guitar with (I assume) better screws, it can happen.

stufisher · August 2023

Thanks everyone for such considered advice.
The AM93 is indeed a semi hollow body so when I investigate later with a torch I'll hopefully find the centre block.

I have plenty of toothpicks so I should be able to fix OK

BillDL · August 2023

I hope they are old toothpicks you've had for a while. The older ones were perfectly round and made from nice wood that compresses well as the screws go in. The last ones I bought were all different diameters, some of them flattened and with chunks missing in places, and they seem to be made from bamboo which is not as good for filling holes because it is too "fibrous" and splits easily. They don't make toothpicks like they used to

ICBM · August 2023

Most guitars are supplied with strap button screws which are too small, both in length and diameter. If the hole in the button is big enough, the first and best option is to use a larger screw.

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