Martin OMC-1E: Loose strap button / electric socket

[lolliot]

I'm not 100 % certain that this is the right forum section, but I'll give it a go and hopefully a friendly moderator can move it to the general guitar discussion if this one is meant for more comprehensive repairs.

Anyways, I've got a small but yet annoying issue with my trusted Martin. The strap button which also doubles as the socket for plugging in the wire should I choose to amplify my sound, is loose. It's not falling off (it's connected to the chord that goes up to the pre-amp, so it wouldn't, obviously) but with any movement to the body of the guitar it will "shake" and make annoying sounds. I can't imagine it does the amplified sound any good either, but I hardly ever plug it in so I wouldn't know.



Now I've identified the issue, which is that the nut on the inside that fastens the strap button has wriggled loose. The nut is there as it is held (more or less) in place by the electrical chord that goes up to the preamp:



It's hard to see the actual nut in this picture, but it's there, I promise!

While having all the strings off during a cleaning I was able to put my arm in through the sound hole and just barely reach it with a single finger, and then tighten it a little bit. But it wasn't enough, at it wriggled free again as I am not able to get any force to tighten it properly.

Have anyone experienced something like this before, and if so, how did you solve it? I just can't see myself getting a good grip on the nut with any tool (there's a sentence I didn't believe I'd be writing) and be able to tighten it properly. Is it best to just take it to a shop, and if so how do you thing they would fix it?

Thanks in advance, and sorry if this is too trivial a problem to belong in this section!

[Fran Guidry]

There are various tools for this job but my latest discovery is a 1/4" dowel. It fits nicely into the jack and binds just enough to hold the jack securely. The outside nuts fit over the dowel so the job of loosening, removing, adjusting, and reinstalling turns out to be rather easy. And the dowel is cheap and available at most hardware stores.

Fran

[charles Tauber]

Generally, the way end pin jacks are installed is with a nut and washer(s) on the inside and a nut and washer(s) on the outside.

The interior nut is there as a depth stop, to control how far out of the end of the guitar the end pin/jack projects. It doesn't tighten the end jack, per se.

On the outside of the guitar is a hollow nut to which you attach your strap. It is threaded onto the end of the threaded end jack. Remove it by hand or with a set of pliers. (If pliers are necessary, use a towel over the nut.) Once removed, you will see a nut and washer attached to the end of the threaded jack that projects from the hole on the outside of the guitar. In conjunction with the interior nut providing a depth-stop, it is the exterior nut that is tightened to secure the end jack.

The interior nut should be positioned so that an appropriate length of threads projects from the outside surface of the end of the guitar. To adjust position of the interior nut, remove the exterior nut and washer, allowing you to pull the entire assembly free from the inside of the guitar. Adjust the position of the nut by trial and error - or measurement - then re-insert in the hole in the end of the guitar. Reattach the exterior washer and nut and tighten the exterior nut with a suitable wrench. Excessive force can cause the finish to crack around the washer. Make it snug, but don't use a pry-bar on it.

Reattach the hollow nut that fits over the exterior nut, to which the strap attaches and you are done.