The little screw keeps backing out and one day I am going to lose it

Question

Mine is held together partly by a small screw and about once a week I notice it has backed out a turn or two. I check it now out of habit, but I am aware that the day I do not check is the day it falls out somewhere I will never find it.

I do not want to glue it because it has to come apart for cleaning. Is there a standard answer to this?

hardware_hal · Accepted Answer

Removable threadlock. It is made for exactly this, it holds against vibration, and it still comes apart with normal hand tools when you want it to. Get the low strength one, not the permanent one, and a very small amount.

brass_tacks · Answer

Order two spare screws at the same time. They cost almost nothing and one day you will want one on a Sunday.

tempered_glass · Answer

Also check the thread itself. If it has been going loose weekly since new, that is normal vibration. If it started recently, the thread may be worn and no amount of threadlock fixes a thread that has given up.

one_turn_a_week · Answer

It has done it since the beginning, so probably just how it is.

careful_carl · Answer

Then threadlock and spares and stop thinking about it. Every device with a fastener does this and the people who never mention it are the ones who sorted it in the first month.

The little screw keeps backing out and one day I am going to lose it

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