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Post subject: So after a layoff of several years...
Posted: Wed Apr 21, 2010 9:59 pm
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I've pulled the strats (2 late '90s American Standards) out of storage and am trying to get them back into shape. Since I'm replacing the switch tips for the umpteenth time, anyone have any suggestions as to how to keep them on permanently?


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Posted: Wed Apr 21, 2010 10:16 pm
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Hi Ron,
Not sure why the tips are coming off. Maybe it's the storage space? Guitars don't like swinging temps. Were the guitars in cases? Was there extreme heat and cold going on at storage?

In any case. I'd buy new tips and keep the guitars in cases and put them where you'd be comfortable yourself.

Welcome to the forum. Maybe some details about this tip-coming-off issue is needed before we can help.

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Posted: Wed Apr 21, 2010 10:41 pm
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Welcome to the forum and nice to see you are back in the woodshed.


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Posted: Wed Apr 21, 2010 11:14 pm
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Another welcome. I was trying to think of an alternative to gldfshkpr's thoughts but I can't. Other than direct exposure to strong sunlight frequently, his answer seems exactly right. Temperature extremes will be causing a lot of expansion and contraction and it may also be making the tip material brittle.

I've had one guitar for over 40 years and still has the original tip on the pup selector. My oldest Strat is 11 and no problems so far. Even if you don't have extreme cold, extreme heat alone could be doing it by super-stretching the tip when the metal expands. I know that my storage shed here can go over 110 degrees on a super hot summer day.


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Posted: Thu Apr 22, 2010 1:16 am
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I put a drop of superglue on the side of the switch blade. It is just a spot though. I put the superglue onto a piece of card, dip the tip of a matchstick into the puddle. Then dab it onto one side of the blade.
When you need to take the tip off it can still break the glue seal without doing any damage.

I'd ask myself why the tips keep coming off. Are/were you like me and a bit rough on em.

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Posted: Thu Apr 22, 2010 2:36 am
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nikininja wrote:
I put a drop of superglue on the side of the switch blade. It is just a spot though. I put the superglue onto a piece of card, dip the tip of a matchstick into the puddle. Then dab it onto one side of the blade.
When you need to take the tip off it can still break the glue seal without doing any damage.

I'd ask myself why the tips keep coming off. Are/were you like me and a bit rough on em.


Good idea that; I'm sick of the PU selector switch tip flying across the room when I change between PUs 'enthusiastically'!


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Posted: Thu Apr 22, 2010 7:11 am
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I've found this to work: use a small piece of Scotch Tape (Cellotape) and wrap it once around the tip of the switch blade. This seems to add just enough to the profile of the blade to keep the plastic tip on snugly. If one wrap around isn't enough, just add another until it does the job. Totally noninvasive and undoable.


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Posted: Thu Apr 22, 2010 7:19 am
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a very tiny amount of glue... super-glue or gorilla glue... you don't need much !!


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Posted: Thu Apr 22, 2010 10:58 am
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gldfshkpr wrote:
Hi Ron,
Not sure why the tips are coming off. Maybe it's the storage space? Guitars don't like swinging temps. Were the guitars in cases? Was there extreme heat and cold going on at storage?

In any case. I'd buy new tips and keep the guitars in cases and put them where you'd be comfortable yourself.

Welcome to the forum. Maybe some details about this tip-coming-off issue is needed before we can help.


Thanks for the reply. Should have made it a bit clearer, this isn't heat or storage releated. Both guitars are the same vintage and I was having this problem before I packed them away. I think this is something that's peculiar to that model/production era.

Edited to add: It's both guitars and this isn't the first time (or second, or third...) that this is happened.


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Posted: Thu Apr 22, 2010 11:18 am
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nikininja wrote:
I put a drop of superglue on the side of the switch blade. It is just a spot though. I put the superglue onto a piece of card, dip the tip of a matchstick into the puddle. Then dab it onto one side of the blade.
When you need to take the tip off it can still break the glue seal without doing any damage.


I had thought of that, but didn't know how the plastic would react to the glue.

nikininja wrote:
I'd ask myself why the tips keep coming off. Are/were you like me and a bit rough on em.


No, handling hasn't been an issue. They've been that way since I bought them new. I'm guessing that it's a production lot issue. The knobs have been prone to coming of in the past as well. And I had, at one time, a CBS era hardtail that I got new and never had any sort of problem with the knobs/switch.


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Posted: Thu Apr 22, 2010 11:54 am
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nikininja wrote:
I put a drop of superglue on the side of the switch blade. It is just a spot though. I put the superglue onto a piece of card, dip the tip of a matchstick into the puddle. Then dab it onto one side of the blade.
When you need to take the tip off it can still break the glue seal without doing any damage.

I'd ask myself why the tips keep coming off. Are/were you like me and a bit rough on em.


This is the way I've done it. Works great. One drop only.


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Posted: Thu Apr 22, 2010 5:28 pm
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I dont think the plastic on 90's strats was especialy susceptable to household chemicals. It's not the same stuff as on the old 51 Broadcasters or 54 strats.

I think you'll be ok, I've never had a problem. It could well be a production problem of the time. In my experience once they come off, they keep doing it. I think fender use something to seal em onto the blade.

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