501 scales are loose...

J

JD Bear

Gold Member
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Aug 4, 2015
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I got a 501 a few weeks ago and I've been really happy with it so far. It's the perfect size to just throw in my pocket and it's been there everyday since I got it. However, I just noticed the scales have gotten loose. I thought I kinda felt it a couple days ago and I was just wiggling them and no doubt they've got some play. Anyone else come across this with the 500 series? If so, how bad does it get?
 
Every single 501 I've owned had this issue. I don't think you have to worry about them falling off, but it can be annoying. Whatever you do, do not try to fix it yourself by punching down on the rivets. From what I was told, they use a special anvil when they're setting those rivets, because they're actually hollow. You can try to see if you can get some super glue between the liner and the scale. That was the initial fix suggested to me by Mr. Houser, a Buck employee. I was never able to get enough glue under there to keep them in place though, so I ended up sending mine in.

Good luck!
 
Once upon a time Buck used to glue and pin these scales. Now they just pin, hence the problem. Be grateful for the pins as those they now simply glue will drop off sometimes.
 
Thanks guys. As long as they stay put I reckon I can deal with it. I've just never seen that before and I thought Buck used adhesive with the rivets.
 
You think they would put some adhesive in there? That'd probably be the only fix...
 
The 501 has been my favorite and have carried them over 25yrs never had loose scales. Send it to Buck and have them fix it.
 
st8yd said:
The 501 has been my favorite and have carried them over 25yrs never had loose scales. Send it to Buck and have them fix it.
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True. Like I said above, they used to glue and put rivets, both. There were no issues. But I guess cost savings had them stop doing that so they do one or the other, nowadays.
 
That's ridiculous. One little dot of glue would probably do the trick. What do I know.
 
I think you're right BuckShack and a drop of glue probably would work, but man it'd be tough getting it down in there. They're tight to the frame and I can't see a gap, but they definitely have some wiggle. It's not a huge issue and I still carry it everyday. That being said, it'd like it to not have scales that move. I like it so much I've considered getting one from the CS...
 
JD Bear said:
I think you're right BuckShack and a drop of glue probably would work, but man it'd be tough getting it down in there. They're tight to the frame and I can't see a gap, but they definitely have some wiggle. It's not a huge issue and I still carry it everyday. That being said, it'd like it to not have scales that move. I like it so much I've considered getting one from the CS...
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Oh, no. I meant at the factory, go back to using glue even if pinning the scales on. (DocT mentioned they used to do this). Even just one little dot of glue would probably be enough.
 
BuckShack said:
Oh, no. I meant at the factory, go back to using glue even if pinning the scales on. (DocT mentioned they used to do this). Even just one little dot of glue would probably be enough.
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Gotcha...that would make a lot of sense for them to do. It's a minor inconvenience, but it's a disappointing one.
 
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