frozen screw in a boss pedal

[ahpook]

right - here's the score.

played the wettest gig i ever a few weeks ago in wales, and all my equipment survived, except for my boss bass chorus - it no longer works properly when powered by a wall wart (sound is distorted and very quiet).

now, i'd like to get the back off to check it's not something easy to fix, but one of the screws on the bassplate is frozen in - i've tried WD40, heating the head of the screw up with a soldering iron, but still no luck...and the screw's getting pretty stripped now.

any good ideas before i give up and drill the offending screw out ?

[mrcrow]

[quote name='ahpook' post='566902' date='Aug 12 2009, 04:07 PM']right - here's the score.

played the wettest gig i ever a few weeks ago in wales, and all my equipment survived, except for my boss bass chorus - it no longer works properly when powered by a wall wart (sound is distorted and very quiet).

now, i'd like to get the back off to check it's not something easy to fix, but one of the screws on the bassplate is frozen in - i've tried WD40, heating the head of the screw up with a soldering iron, but still no luck...and the screw's getting pretty stripped now.

any good ideas before i give up and drill the offending screw out ?[/quote]

i used to use a fine chisel and tap it round the edge in the appropriate direction...anti clockwise
the closer you get to the edge the more torque you get
what you are doing is jarring it out with little licks.. instead of a fine chisel a screwdriver head might do
and go easy...mark

[crez5150]

One thing you should try if you haven't already is to try and tighten it further...... sounds mad but works... should help losen it up

[ahpook]

[quote name='crez5150' post='566961' date='Aug 12 2009, 04:43 PM']One thing you should try if you haven't already is to try and tighten it further...... sounds mad but works... should help losen it up[/quote]

that's how i managed to free the other three !!

[quote name='mrcrow' post='566958' date='Aug 12 2009, 04:41 PM']i used to use a fine chisel and tap it round the edge in the appropriate direction...anti clockwise
the closer you get to the edge the more torque you get
what you are doing is jarring it out with little licks.. instead of a fine chisel a screwdriver head might do
and go easy...mark [/quote]

thanks crow-san, i'll give that a whirl

[ahpook]

well i tried mrcrow's suggestion, but only succeeded in knocking a corner off the offending screw.

now what ?

drill it out or just snap the bassplate off ?

i'm thinking it might be a better option to just buy a new pedal - there's no guarantee that i can get it working properly anyway.

[mrcrow]

[quote name='ahpook' post='568650' date='Aug 14 2009, 08:57 AM']well i tried mrcrow's suggestion, but only succeeded in knocking a corner off the offending screw.

now what ?

drill it out or just snap the bassplate off ?

i'm thinking it might be a better option to just buy a new pedal - there's no guarantee that i can get it working properly anyway.[/quote]

keep tapping quietly at that corner and introduce some WD40
remember...zen overcomes..

ps will the corner allow you to get some twisting purchase ..how about a pic

and if you do drill out you neednt worry about replacing the screw with a similar...use a machine screw with hex head

Edited August 14, 2009 by mrcrow

[ahpook]

well, i've given up and drilled the head of the screw out.

sadly i can't see anything obviously wrong with the pcb - no scorches or obvious mess.

gonna leave it open in the vain hope that it dries out during the day, and then have a proper look tonight after some work on the bathroom.

hope i can resurrect it...

[mrcrow]

sorry mark
hope that you get it dried out...slowly and in a dry place...airing cupboard or a greenhouse/shed
cheers
geof

[ahpook]

[quote name='mrcrow' post='570207' date='Aug 15 2009, 08:34 PM']sorry mark
hope that you get it dried out...slowly and in a dry place...airing cupboard or a greenhouse/shed
cheers
geof[/quote]

well, it looks dry as a proverbial now (it's been outside in the shade all day)...just about to grab a multimeter, a screwdriver and a guinness and see if anything looks abviously wrong.

/sluurp/

[mrcrow]

[quote name='ahpook' post='570213' date='Aug 15 2009, 08:40 PM']well, it looks dry as a proverbial now (it's been outside in the shade all day)...just about to grab a multimeter, a screwdriver and a guinness and see if anything looks abviously wrong.

/sluurp/[/quote]

well i am here in the living room with the lights off so i will join you in the dark
brilliant sunset tonight

/jealous burp/

[ahpook]

[quote name='mrcrow' post='570217' date='Aug 15 2009, 08:43 PM']well i am here in the living room with the lights off so i will join you in the dark
brilliant sunset tonight

/jealous burp/[/quote]

sadly the small skies in london meant that i didn't see it.


BUT...the inspirational power of guinness !

guess who forgot about the old 'boss power supply magic'...the chorus won't work with a standard wall wart unless it's grounded through another pedal via the input cable shield.

so...there's nowt wrong with it - it's just a sad case of operator error.

at least i cleared the frozen screw and got a replacement to slide in


cheers !

[mrcrow]

[quote name='ahpook' post='570233' date='Aug 15 2009, 08:58 PM']sadly the small skies in london meant that i didn't see it.
BUT...the inspirational power of guinness !
guess who forgot about the old 'boss power supply magic'...the chorus won't work with a standard wall wart unless it's grounded through another pedal via the input cable shield.
so...there's nowt wrong with it - it's just a sad case of operator error.
at least i cleared the frozen screw and got a replacement to slide in
cheers ![/quote]

ahpook pedal guru strikes again

cheers