gadobro - Posted - 07/12/2024:  06:20:10

Do y'all know if the tension screw for a continental cone (in a Recording King guitar) would be the same as a Beard or Replogle cone? If not, any ideas for sourcing a tension screw that would fit. Thanks!

MarkinSonoma - Posted - 07/12/2024:  22:03:21

I haven't the slightest idea if the screw is different for a Continental cone but if I be money I would think it's the same as for the American made cones. I think a call or email to Beard would get you the answer.

When the Frugal'horns (Wechter/Scheerhorn) were in production, for the first few years they came with a Continental cone. When Tim Scheerhorn finalized his own cones, they started putting them into  the Frugal'horns until the product line went away around 2013. I would gamble that it's the same screw as utilized by the American cone suppliers.

Edited by - MarkinSonoma on 07/12/2024 22:04:13

daver - Posted - 07/13/2024:  04:49:00

You could always go to the Ace or True Value hardware, find the Hillman hardware bins, test the cone with multiple machine screws, and buy the one that works. I do it all the time, and have brought stranger things to the hardware store than Dobro cones.



If you prefer to test threads at home, here is the kit you need.

stewmac.com/luthier-tools-and-...-guitars/

MarkinSonoma - Posted - 07/13/2024:  06:11:11

Dave, your old "handle" on the no longer Jerry Douglas  Forum -  Inveterate Tinkerer - showed up in the post above.

66 bucks for a kit from StewMac to size a thread for a tension screw that Beard sells for one dollar - this just might be overkill. 

resophonicoutfitters.com/produ...S-21.html

Phaedrus - Posted - 07/13/2024:  06:15:02

In my experience there are basically two types of cone tension screws. Cones made in the US are 4-40 course thread, while off-shore cones utilize either 4-40 OR metric M3 screws.



One problem that you may run into is the thread pitch. I purchased a box of 4-40 screws off Amazon that turned out to be Chinese manufactured and, while the screw "fit" it was loose... the screw wiggled in all directions due to loose threading. A box of 4-40, made in USA screws from Grainger cured the problem, offering a tight fit.



Interesting side note... I've run across an occasional small spring on the tension screw situated between the cone and the spider on some Asian imports. This puzzled me until I experienced "slop" in the tension screw from improperly threaded screws. This is an assumption, but is that spring there to take up the slop in the screw?

Edited by - Phaedrus on 07/13/2024 06:21:22

gadobro - Posted - 07/13/2024:  06:27:03

Thanks for the information guys.

This particular guitar is in a local shop, but when I tried to play it it’s very buzzy in open G, and I noticed that the tension screw had been removed. I acquired a screw from Replogle, and was going to see if the shop would let me install it. They likely don’t know anything about resos so no telling.

I’m also making the assumption that the original cone is still in the guitar, which may not be the case.

gadobro - Posted - 07/13/2024:  06:31:01

Forgot to mention I called Beard, knowing that they retrofitted RK guitars for a while some years back, but the parts person wasn’t sure.

I might swing by the hardware store on the way to the music store and get a M3 screw just in case.

daver - Posted - 07/14/2024:  21:08:53

quote:

---

Originally posted by MarkinSonoma

Dave, your old "handle" on the no longer Jerry Douglas  Forum -  Inveterate Tinkerer - showed up in the post above.

---

Yes, I guess it did, figuratively.  I still am an inveterate tinkerer.  Usually successfully.  And the Hillman hardware bins are a favorite resource.

quote:

---

Also originally posted by MarkinSonoma

66 bucks for a kit from StewMac to size a thread...

---

Sorry, Mark, I ran out of winking smiley face emojis to let folks know that I was in fact being facetious about buying a $66 thread gauge set; I LIKE StewMac and I'd still rather go to the hardware store.

quote:

---

And further originally posted by MarkinSonoma

... for a tension screw that Beard sells for one dollar - this just might be overkill. 

resophonicoutfitters.com/produ...S-21.html

---

And I REALLY LIKE Resophonic Outfitters.  But I can get the screw for 30 cents AND check for proper fit at the hardware store, without waiting for the part to be shipped.  So that's what I'd do...

quote:

---

Originally posted by Phaedrus

In my experience there are basically two types of cone tension screws. Cones made in the US are 4-40 course thread, while off-shore cones utilize either 4-40 OR metric M3 screws.



One problem that you may run into is the thread pitch. I purchased a box of 4-40 screws off Amazon that turned out to be Chinese manufactured and, while the screw "fit" it was loose... the screw wiggled in all directions due to loose threading. A box of 4-40, made in USA screws from Grainger cured the problem, offering a tight fit.

---

That sounds like enough uncertainty that if it were me, it's still a trip to the hardware store with parts in hand.

@gadobro:  Let us know what worked for you.

Dobrojan - Posted - 07/15/2024:  08:28:42

Dave I didn’t know you were a member of Jerry’s forum

MarkinSonoma - Posted - 07/15/2024:  11:26:56

Regarding dobro tension screws in general, I went  to both my local Ace Hardware and Home Depot to awhile back to see if I could grab a small bag of this type of screw just to have around and I came up empty at both locations.

resoranger - Posted - 07/16/2024:  11:06:45

The screw is different from other tension screws. I did not have any luck finding a replacement at Ace.