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What kind of lubrication to use on guitar screws?

newpatch

Junior Member
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Hi All,

I remember seeing a post about using some kind of lubrication when installing neck screws, pick guards, etc. Can't remember if it was soap or bees wax?

What do you guys use on the screws threads to helps them go in easier?

dinkyguitar
 
I just scrape the threads of screws across an old candle. 
Does the trick every time  :headbang1:
Good luck &  :rock-on:
 
Realistically, any kind of wax or soap will do the trick - it's not like we're trying to calibrate a lubricant to a high-temp, high-rpm motor here or anything.
 
"What kind of lubrication to use on guitar screws?"

Oh there are so many fun ways to answer that question...!
 
kboman said:
"What kind of lubrication to use on guitar screws?"

Oh there are so many fun ways to answer that question...!

must . . . resist . . . so . . . many . . . bad jokes . . .
 
B3Guy said:
kboman said:
"What kind of lubrication to use on guitar screws?"

Oh there are so many fun ways to answer that question...!

must . . . resist . . . so . . . many . . . bad jokes . . .

Don't even get me started on f-holes...
 
I should have known better than to mention "lubrication" and "screw" in the same sentence  :laughing7:

But when I'm (here we go again  :toothy12: ) screwing into wood, it's tight and sqweeky, so I'm trying to avoid breaking screws.....tuner screws in particular....Maple is a very tough wood....

There's just no other way to ask my question without using screw, wood, lubrication....  :laughing3:

dinkyguitar

Oh yeah....thanks again for the suggestions.
 
I have a tube of bee's wax one of my brothers gave me several years ago. I fully expect to be able to leave it to my grandchildren, who will be able to leave it to their grandchildren. You don't need much, is what I'm saying. Rockler sells smaller packages of Screw Lube which is mostly bee's wax and pretty inexpensive.

53670-01-200.jpg


But, you can always use plain ol' paraffin (sealing wax) if you have any around, or even candles or crayons. Soap works, but isn't recommended because you never know what's in the stuff. You also want to avoid anything that might contain silicone.

Keep in mind that many of those tiny screws on a guitar aren't really used as fasteners so much as locators. The tuner screws are the best example. They don't hold the tuners in, they just keep them from rotating, so they don't have to be tighter than dammit. So, make sure you're drilling the proper sized hole. As for the pickguards and covers, you are fastening those things down, but they don't weigh much or take much loading.
 
Almost nothing will stick to silicone. It's sorta like Teflon, without the temperature tolerance.
 
Bagman67 said:
Why do I want to avoid silicone?  Apart from the obvious...

121158_front.jpg

Those photos are reason enough to avoid silicone....  But on a guitar, luthiers hate it because just a tiny bit of the stuff tends to contaminate the entire guitar, making refinishing or re-glueing impossible.  You never know what may break somewhere down the line, and its good to be able to fix it if it does happen.
 
Nightclub Dwight said:
Bagman67 said:
Why do I want to avoid silicone?  Apart from the obvious...

121158_front.jpg

Those photos are reason enough to avoid silicone....   But on a guitar, luthiers hate it because just a tiny bit of the stuff tends to contaminate the entire guitar, making refinishing or re-glueing impossible.  You never know what may break somewhere down the line, and its good to be able to fix it if it does happen.
you know those are some nice screws, I was going to suggest KY but I bet most of those screws do not need to be lubed, I think they all have been lubed quite a bit already
 
Cagey said:
Almost nothing will stick to silicone. It's sorta like Teflon, without the temperature tolerance.

Actually, you can get silicone that has a really high temp tolerance.  It is used in mold making, and can be baked if you get the right kind. 
 
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