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Hi ya'll, I'm wanting to buy Gold truss rod cover screws but I think the cost from Stew-Mac is to much. They charge $0.30 per screw and well, screws just don't cost that much to make sooooooooooo.

Anyone know where I can get gold #2x3/8" round head slotted wood screws? I know I can get brass ones from Grainger for about $0.0345 per screw but they aren't gold. I'm also wondering if I could just polish the head of the screw with some polishing compound and my drillpress buffer but would they come out gold looking or just polished brass (might be close enough).

Is Stew Mac the only place to buy gold wood screws? I'm sure they get them from somewhere.

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Ace Hardware...or any of the old-time full-service hardware stores with the old farts that know everything about more than we ever thought about!

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JJ
Napa, CA
http://www.DonohueGuitars.com

Man Rod - you are one cheap bastage.................

I know Hesh,

If I were to buy them from Stew Mac it's not just their price but the brokerage fee from the shipping that would suck. I could get 24 of them at the $0.18 discount but I'd be charged $10 from UPS just for the pleasure of getting them to me . So, it's not just about the Stew Mac price it's the add on from the shipping that frosts my cookies

I should have said that in the first place.

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My Facebook Guitar Page

"There's really no wrong way, as long as the results are what's desired." Charles Fox

"We have to constantly remind ourselves what we're doing....No Luthier is putting a man on the moon!" Harry Fleishman

"Generosity is always different in the eye of the person who didn't receive anything, but who wanted some." Waddy Thomson

Brass will tarnish pretty quickly so you might want to put a quick coat of lacquer on it, but that seems like a lot of work to save 30 cents.

Buy 24+ from stewmac & they're almost half the price! (under $4 for 24)

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Dave
Milton, ON

or you could epoxy the truss rod cover on.

people only mess with them if they can get at them

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FWIW, brass will tarnish under KTM-9 too.

Just tryin' to change your mind...

long

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"No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it's not the same river and he's not the same man.” -Heraclitus of Ephesus

Jeeps.......how many do you need? Send me a SASE and I'll send you some................

David the SASE may be over budget for Rod.............

running for cover here..........

Bob, looks very clean - how's that cover held on??

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Dave
Milton, ON

Thanks, Dave... It's just two wedge shaped pieces of plan ole rubber eraser glued to the cap. They are sized to fit snugly down in the truss rod slot. I've been doing this since my first guitar 12 years ago.

long

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"No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it's not the same river and he's not the same man.” -Heraclitus of Ephesus

That's a great Idea, Bob. I never did like the screw.

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Ken Franklin
clumsy yet persistent
https://www.kenfranklinukulele.com

Thanks Bob. I think you mentioned this some time back. I tried it (with white drafting eraser) without great success. Could you share your technique for shaping/fitting the eraser(s), and then positioning to the underside so the cover slides in & indexes to the proper position? (I understand if you're not anxious to give away your secrets for doing this nice feature....doesn't hurt to ask.)

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Dave
Milton, ON

I've had stuff from StewMac shipped via USPS/CanadaPost in the past, though they may have changed their shipping policies. I find that ordering by phone can often work better than using websites, especially for cross-border stuff.

I also agree with folks that think screws are a pretty ugly way to deal with those covers.

Cheers
John

No problem, Dave, I thickness the rubber to fit snugly in the slot and also I relieve the leading edges a little so it will slip into the slot without hanging-up on the headstock. Then, I push them all the way into the slot ... one between the nut and the truss rod, and one between the end of the rod and where the slot tapers to nothing. I leave them proud of the HS when I first put them in, then, I mark and cut them flush with an exacto knife. Then I mask off the HS and, with the wedges sitting in the slots, I put a little of the thick CA (or epoxy) on each wedge and tape the cap on exactly where I want it. Just make sure you don't have too much glue on them... you don't want any squeeze out. In a couple minutes you can pull the cap off and the wedges will be (of course) now glued to the back of the cap. BTW I use the left-over CA from K&K installs kits to glue mine on.

It's a lot easier to do then it is to explain.

long

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"No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it's not the same river and he's not the same man.” -Heraclitus of Ephesus

Appreciate it Bob. I tried the CA approach when I did mine on the finished headstock & promptly screwed up the lacquer with squeeze out. With the eraser so deep into the cavity, can you remove the cover ok with the strings on?

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Dave
Milton, ON

The strings do have to be loose to take the cover off. I figure it's a small price to pay to avoid being screwed,
long

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"No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it's not the same river and he's not the same man.” -Heraclitus of Ephesus