How do Outdoor Ukulele strap buttons hold up?

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Hi, everyone. I thinking about getting an Outdoor Ukulele and would like to get a strap button installed on the uke's base. I've seen photos of how it's installed—with a bolt threaded through a hole drilled into the base—and I wonder if it might snap the plastic body.

How does it hold up over time? Does it stress the plastic too much? Does the plastic crack at all?

Thanks!
 
Just use a bolt, fender washer, and nyloc nut and it will be fine.
 
My tenor is a little over a year old and it lives in my car. It has seen temps well below zero to well above 100 in the summer. There is no signs of cracking at the button or any where else for that matter.
 
I sent my tenor back to get buttons installed as I bought it from a local dealer. I do see cracks on both buttons but cannot feel them on the surface. Nothing has changed in the past months, so I am not worrying about it. See photos for more info. I think that had the buttons been installed during assembly (2 pieces), this would not have happened.

Side note: they posted picture of the work area on Facebook, clearly showing the upcoming Blue ukuleles.

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I sent my tenor back to get buttons installed as I bought it from a local dealer. I do see cracks on both buttons but cannot feel them on the surface. Nothing has changed in the past months, so I am not worrying about it. See photos for more info. I think that had the buttons been installed during assembly (2 pieces), this would not have happened.

Side note: they posted picture of the work area on Facebook, clearly showing the upcoming Blue ukuleles.

View attachment 107258View attachment 107259View attachment 107260

Ouch. That's the sort of cracking that I'm afraid of.

Does this mean that your button's just a single piece? It's not bolted on like the others?
 
Ouch. That's the sort of cracking that I'm afraid of.

Does this mean that your button's just a single piece? It's not bolted on like the others?

No...it is a button that seems to be mounted with a bolt and a lock nut instead of a screw as you would use with wood. I do not see any washers.
 
No...it is a button that seems to be mounted with a bolt and a lock nut instead of a screw as you would use with wood. I do not see any washers.

Thanks. I think that's how they install them during assembly, too.
 
I sent my tenor back to get buttons installed as I bought it from a local dealer. I do see cracks on both buttons but cannot feel them on the surface. Nothing has changed in the past months, so I am not worrying about it. See photos for more info. I think that had the buttons been installed during assembly (2 pieces), this would not have happened.

Side note: they posted picture of the work area on Facebook, clearly showing the upcoming Blue ukuleles.

View attachment 107258View attachment 107259View attachment 107260

That sure is strange. I've done a lot of work with plastics, and that crack looks like what you would get if you tried to force a bolt or screw through too small a pilot hole. (Best way is for there to be zero resistance when you insert the bolt.) But it's hard to imagine them messing that up at the factory.
 
I did not get strap buttons on my tenor over worries about cracking. Since I rarely play standing up, and use a strap only to keep the neck in place while fretting, a ribbon around the waist and tied at the headstock works great.

That blue will make me take the plunge on the soprano. Swore I would get strap buttons on the next one, but now not sure.
 
That sure is strange. I've done a lot of work with plastics, and that crack looks like what you would get if you tried to force a bolt or screw through too small a pilot hole. (Best way is for there to be zero resistance when you insert the bolt.) But it's hard to imagine them messing that up at the factory.

You’re the chemist, so I absolutely defer to your expertise. I just thought that the Outdoor Ukulele material (polycarbonate) was not quite a plastic like other plastic ukuleles (the Macaferries were Styrene, and I think the Waterman and Bugsgear are ABS). Maybe that’s all the same stuff. But I thought that the Outdoor Ukulele material was more like plexiglass (much tougher) than plastic—and that’s how I justified the cracks. There is a sunburst of cracking around the upper button, too—but I can’t feel the cracks on the outside. No idea what is actually happening here.
 
Had two buttons factory installed on mine. No damage. They are installed using a bolt with a nylock nut on the inside of the uke. They don't use a washer inside or any felt or rubber washer on the outside. I can see this as a potential problem in the future, but so far it's OK.

The biggest problem I have is that they install the top button in the wrong side of the heel -- on the 4th string side. Causes the strap to run at the wrong angle and as the strap gets worn in it will be more likely to come off the button. If I had it to do over, I'd order it without buttons and install them myself.
 
That sure is strange. I've done a lot of work with plastics, and that crack looks like what you would get if you tried to force a bolt or screw through too small a pilot hole. (Best way is for there to be zero resistance when you insert the bolt.) But it's hard to imagine them messing that up at the factory.

My thoughts, exactly. I'd send it back.
 
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