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Thread: My screws fell out

  1. #1
    Registered User rosewoodmusic's Avatar
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    Default My screws fell out

    Both neck joint screws fell out of my 1995 Gibson Montana A5. The neck doesn't seem to be moving and it's strung to pitch.
    -Should I replace the screws?
    -If so, should I Loc-tite them?
    -And a source for a really long 9/16" Allen wrench?

  2. #2
    Registered User slimt's Avatar
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    Default Re: My screws fell out

    Screws?

  3. #3
    Registered User Roger Moss's Avatar
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    Default Re: My screws fell out

    I wasn't aware that Gibson even made a mandolin with a screwed in neck joint. Could you expand on that and maybe provide some pics?
    We are the music makers,
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  4. #4

    Default Re: My screws fell out

    You might contact Bruce Weber, he would be very familiar with that type of neck joint.

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    Default Re: My screws fell out

    The bolts were there to hold the neck in place till the glue cured. I would contact Bruce (406-580-6053), but I am sure you don't need to replace them.

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  8. #6
    Registered User rosewoodmusic's Avatar
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    Default Re: My screws fell out

    Another thread also said that the screws were there to use as clamps and also allowed for some fine adjustments while the glue cured. I was thinking that I'd might as well put the screws back in, just in case it added any strength to the joint.

    Thanks for the phone number. I will call Bruce.

  9. #7
    Moderator MikeEdgerton's Avatar
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    Default Re: My screws fell out

    I'm shocked they fell out, I'm not surprised someone took them out. They were there as has been stated to act as a clamp for the glue on the neck joint. They aren't necessary after the glue has dried.
    "It's comparable to playing a cheese slicer."
    --M. Stillion

    "Bargain instruments are no bargains if you can't play them"
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  10. #8
    Registered User rosewoodmusic's Avatar
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    Default Re: My screws fell out

    Thanks, Mike. Yeah, they fell out about two months apart. I didn't know what to think when I found the first one rattling, but the light came on when I found the second one.

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    Orrig Onion HonketyHank's Avatar
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    Default Re: My screws fell out

    When I read your topic, I was pretty concerned. If somebody loosened one of my screws, my counterweight would fall off. I'm glad you're all right.
    New to mando? Click this link -->Newbies to join us at the Newbies Social Group.

    Just send an email to rob.meldrum@gmail.com with "mandolin setup" in the subject line and he will email you a copy of his ebook for free (free to all mandolincafe members).

    My website and blog: honketyhank.com

  12. #10
    Registered User slimt's Avatar
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    Default Re: My screws fell out

    was that a common practise on most mandolins? its it Due to the joint being so small and fragile?

    This is where I learn More.. Im new in the mandolin world..

  13. #11
    Registered User Roger Moss's Avatar
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    Default Re: My screws fell out

    I understand your concern. Mine have been loose for some time now. I supplement with duct tape.
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  14. #12
    Lurkist dhergert's Avatar
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    Default Re: My screws fell out

    ... And bailing wire.
    -- Don

    "Music: A minor auditory irritation occasionally characterized as pleasant."
    "It is a lot more fun to make music than it is to argue about it."


    2002 Gibson F-9
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    1975 Suzuki taterbug (plus many other noisemakers)
    [About how I tune my mandolins]
    [Our recent arrival]

  15. #13
    Registered User rosewoodmusic's Avatar
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    Default Re: My screws fell out

    Quote Originally Posted by slimt View Post
    was that a common practise on most mandolins? its it Due to the joint being so small and fragile?

    This is where I learn More.. Im new in the mandolin world..
    This mandolin has a mortise and tenon joint. I guess it is difficult to clamp properly, thus the screws. I'm sure builders on this forum could add details that I don't know.

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  17. #14
    Confused... or?
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    Default Re: My screws fell out

    Quote Originally Posted by slimt View Post
    ... was that a common practise on most mandolins? its it Due to the joint being so small and fragile?
    Screws to back up a glued joint are not at all common. Most traditional acoustic mandolins and guitars (not talking electric solid-body here) go either of 2 ways:

    - On the lower end, a simple mortise & tenon joint that, depending on the quality of glue and care of construction, may or may not hold forever. Lots of '30s thru '50s-era mandos & guitars eventually develop loose necks. (Some higher quality instruments have used M&T successfully.)

    - Most high-quality instruments use a "3-dimensional" dovetail joint where the wood pretty much locks together almost regardless of the glue. Much more difficult to do w/out without precision machinery and/or extreme skill, IMHO. They rarely come apart and usually require lots of heat & humidity to make that happen.

    BTW, "glue" is a whole topic unto itself, and a point of much discussion around here.

    Where screws & bolts ARE common (o/t some very modern arrangements, such as current Taylor guitars) are the home-grown repairs to those '30s thru '50s Sears, Kay, and Montgomery-Ward instruments.

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  19. #15
    Moderator MikeEdgerton's Avatar
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    Default Re: My screws fell out

    The screws on the neck joint were a hold over from the Flatiron days. At some point Charlie Derrington moved the production process to a dovetail after he took over managing the production. There are many threads on the Gibson Flatiron purchase and the eventual movement of the production from Montana to Nashville. And thus Sound To Earth was born.

    I'm guessing they vibrated out. I don't recall hearing about this before now but perhaps the age has come where it will be a common experience.
    "It's comparable to playing a cheese slicer."
    --M. Stillion

    "Bargain instruments are no bargains if you can't play them"
    --J. Garber

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  21. #16
    Registered User slimt's Avatar
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    Default Re: My screws fell out

    Learned something New..

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