On the way back from the Why not Ride, my Russell backrest was moving around on me and I thought I just needed to tighten down the 2 adjustment screws. Upon further inspection, I saw that one of the screws that holds the backrest onto the silver wedge had backed its way out. The screw has a round, unslotted head.
I contacted Russell Day Long and they told me that it was a drive screw and it was odd that it backed its’ way out and in fact, those screws are very difficult to remove even if you want to. This kind of stuff happens to me, a lot.
Of course, I have never dealt with a drive screw before. (FYI-Drive screws feature round, unslotted heads, multiple start threads with large helical angles, and an unthreaded pilot point. Similar to nails, hammer drive screws are driven into mating parts with a mallet, hammer, or hammer-drive device for quick and permanent assembly. No tapping threads are required in the mating part, but an undersized predrilled pilot hole is required, and the U-drive screw must be made of harder material than the mating parts.)
I asked him if I could use a hammer to put them in and he said no, just use a bench vise and let the vise pressure push the screw in place. Russell said they would send me out the right drive screws or I could send the backrest back into them and they would take care of the repair. The only problem is they are closed the last 10 days of December. I opted for them to send the screws and received them on Christmas Eve. Thank you Santa Russell
Believe it or not, I have a bench vise and it was large enough to do the job. The drive screw is back in (Shaza) and I hope it stays in.
