Lucius Paisley Posted November 11, 2022 Report Share Posted November 11, 2022 Found a few things here concerning damage control when a screw breaks off, but not anything regarding the aftermath. If dowel is employed as the remedy (i.e. remove wood around screw, fill with dowel, insert new unbroken screw), will this have any detrimental effect at all, even minor? What's worse is this happened twice. Not by me, I had the local store do some work and this is part of the result. Thankfully, I'm getting a substantial discount on the cost of the work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bizman62 Posted November 11, 2022 Report Share Posted November 11, 2022 15 hours ago, Lucius Paisley said: will this have any detrimental effect at all, even minor? Plugging is a very common way to fix holes that will be redrilled. If you choose the same sort of wood and make a plug that has the same grain orientation, it will live just as the original. Even using some different hardwood would not be an issue for a screw size dovel, or bigger. If you think about a set neck guitar, there's several species of wood glued together, both as slabs and as in mortise and tenon joints. I bet you've never heard that a neck has swollen so badly that it has split the body? Do I see right, is there a split already in the screw in the hole? Or just a tiny hole? One option is to drill a couple of aligned holes for a flat head screwdriver. Another option is to find a left handed drill bit the size of the screw (yes, they do exist!) and try to drill the screw out. There's two potential results: Either you can drill the screw off or the bit starts to unscrew the screw, whichever gives the least resistance. If the above don't work, you'll have to make a bigger hole. One way is to find a piece of metal tube that barely fits around the screw. File some saw teeth to one end and preferably use a drill press where you can attach the guitar. For this one time use any metal should do - actually I'm thinking about brass and copper car brake tubing! One good way to prevent such mishaps is to a) drill a hole for the screws (most likely done) and b) lubricate the screws with paste wax or soft bar soap. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucius Paisley Posted November 17, 2022 Author Report Share Posted November 17, 2022 Good news, it's back. Crisis averted, they managed to remove the screws using a small flathead screwdriver and a hammer - as in hammer the sharp end of the screwdriver into the screw until it gains purchase, not just chip away at the guitar hoping for the best, just to be clear. Total price of the setup was around $150 including parts and strings. I was charged $23. I am very happy about that. Having now got to play it, I have to say it's quite an awesome instrument. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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