Dekley: Nylon Threaded Plugs

Dan Beller-McKenna · From: Durham, New Hampshire, USA

I am putting a Dekley D-10 back together after a strip-down, clean, lube, etc. Some of the holes in the back apron are giving me a hard time accepting any of the black nylon threaded plugs that hold in the cross shafts. Anyone have any tricks up their sleeves for dealing with these?

Thanks.

Bob Metzger · From: Waltham (Boston), MA, USA

Hi Dan,

Sometimes, but not always, teflon tape (or plumbers tape) will help situations like this. I use it for a number of things when things refuse to grip anymore. it's great to get old mic stands to cooperate but also on the tremolo bar threads of a Stratocaster so the bar has just the right amount of drag to push it out of the way (and stay put), making the trem more positive, taking up any slack.

Look for a teflon tape with the smallest width. Here's some applied technology:

https://www.thespruce.com/how-to-use-teflon-tape-2718712

Hope you're doing well - Happy Holidays,

Bob M.
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Bob M.

Dan Beller-McKenna · From: Durham, New Hampshire, USA

Hi Bob, thanks for the reply, and happy holidays to you too. Actually, I am having the opposite problem: some of the holes are behaving as though the plugs were too large (which they are not; they came out of the holes). I managed to coax most of them in, but the hole for pedal 2 is proving to be a problem (and those nylon plugs with their sharp edges are tearing up my fingers!)

To be clear, most of them allowed me to get the plug started by hand, and then I finished with a screwdriver. I've always found these plugs to be a bit difficult to work with (third Dekley I've done).

Bob Metzger · From: Waltham (Boston), MA, USA

Dan,

In that situation where some fit good, some fit ok and some don't fit at all, I think it would be best to make sure that the nylon plug goes back into the same hole it came out of. In other words, to mark each one for it's eventual destination. But you may be past that point now. You could try a lubricant on the stiff ones or use a small file to bevel the start edge or remove any small thread imperfections. I'm not completely sure without seeing the problem closeup. But swapping these plugs around to different holes might be an answer.

Good luck with it (you'll figure it out!)

Bob M.
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Bob M.

Georg Sørtun · From: Mandal, Agder, Norway

I shape them a little with a box-cutter - sometimes also scrape grades off the hole-edges in the frame, and hammer them in. Just check that the axle fit in them first.

Dan Beller-McKenna · From: Durham, New Hampshire, USA

Thanks Georg,

I got similar advice from Tommy Cass . This worked!

Tony Glassman · From: The Great Northwest

Examine plug for burrs and trim. When I worked at Sierra, I would chamfer the leading edge of the nylon bushings on a disc sander before tapping them in with a dead blow hammer.

Charley Bond · From: Inola, OK, USA

You could chase the threads, that will insure the correct fit. That is an easy fix.
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Dan Beller-McKenna · From: Durham, New Hampshire, USA

Charlie, I thought about that, having already done that for several of the 6â€“32 bolt holes in the pullers. Ultimately, though, I think it was the nylon getting all gnarled as it was being extracted that was causing the problem with these threaded plugs in the back apron. Not a bad design, just showing the effects of nearly 40 years of sitting there in their socket. The fixes Bob, Georg, and Tommy suggested worked well, although in my zeal to finish the job, I lost track of one of those darn plugs. Oh well, I needed a reason to clean up my study ....

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