Mook Posted February 5, 2020 Share Posted February 5, 2020 Hey all, A screw that was holding in my strap lock snapped off in the body. As you can see the screw is broken off deep in the body and can't be reached with pliers. I have been advised to fill the hole and drill another hole a couple of mms away from it to place the new screw. I have resigned myself to doing it this way but afraid that it would affect the basses balance and just wanted to check if anyone else had the same issue and whether they came up with any other solutions. It looks like you can use a tube to drill around the screw and pull it out that way but I'm afraid I'd do more damage with my lack of drilling skills. Any thoughts would be appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ezbass Posted February 5, 2020 Share Posted February 5, 2020 I doubt moving the button position just a couple of mm will make a masdive difference. However, you could try drilling the snapped screw out. IIRC there is also a reverse thread product that allows you to screw into the broken one and once tight, removes the broken shank. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mook Posted February 5, 2020 Author Share Posted February 5, 2020 Thanks for that. Just looking at the screw extractor sets on Amazon....might be worth trying a set before drilling another hole. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reggaebass Posted February 5, 2020 Share Posted February 5, 2020 You can try drilling a small hole into the snapped screw , and tapping a slotted screwdriver into the hole , it should grip enough to unscrew 🙂 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted February 6, 2020 Share Posted February 6, 2020 17 hours ago, Reggaebass said: You can try drilling a small hole into the snapped screw , and tapping a slotted screwdriver into the hole , it should grip enough to unscrew 🙂 If you try this or a screw extractor, then before you start, hold the tip of a hot soldering iron against the stub for a minute first. It will make the screw expand and when it cools down again it will be much looser than it is at the moment. But I agree with @ezbass , moving the button up to a centimeter will make no difference to the balance. If you do this, go up from the present position (towards the left in your photo) 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mook Posted February 6, 2020 Author Share Posted February 6, 2020 Great stuff thanks for the tips, I'll give it a go this weekend. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassBunny Posted February 6, 2020 Share Posted February 6, 2020 20 hours ago, Mook said: Thanks for that. Just looking at the screw extractor sets on Amazon....might be worth trying a set before drilling another hole. I think you will find the damaged screw extractor sets require the head of the screw to bite into. I don't think they would work on a snapped screw. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete.young Posted February 6, 2020 Share Posted February 6, 2020 8 hours ago, BassBunny said: I think you will find the damaged screw extractor sets require the head of the screw to bite into. I don't think they would work on a snapped screw. Have to say I've never had much joy with screw extractors, especially on small-diameter screws. They frequently break, and if that happens you're totally screwed because the hardened steel is very difficult to drill out. I've resorted to spark erosion before now, to get one out of a VW cylinder head. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tom skool Posted February 7, 2020 Share Posted February 7, 2020 (edited) Drilling a tube around the screw is the best bet. It's too small for anything else to get purchase on it. If you drill anticlockwise you might be lucky enough for the tube to grab the screw and wind it out Edited February 7, 2020 by tom skool 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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