Reapiring neck mounting screw holes

[Stratman]

I've got a Strat with a couple orf neck screws stripped.I'm thinking,drill/dowel/re-drill?If this is the case,what should I watch out for,aside from the obvious,drilling too far,et al.If there's a better way,please enlighten me.I want my Baby back!Thanks in advance!

[Scott Rosenberger]

Dont use a bit too large. I use 1/4". Glue in a Hardwood Dowel, when dry sand flush

[frank falbo]

I'd say the thin superglue is best. Sometimes I use a regular dowel, since I know the thin CA will penetrate it, and I just pound it into the screwhole without drilling it out. I'll usually taper the tip of the rod. But it's soft enough to really conform to the hole and the CA locks everything in place and fills little gaps. With wood glue too often I go back and take the neck off later and the dowels have walked out of the hole slightly. Wood glue can move like a glacier over time. You might also try just dripping a little thin CA into the existing hole. It will coat the surface and often "unstrip" the hole. Plus then its stronger around that area from the CA penetration. I did that with a mahogany neck recently and it was perfect. But I caught it before it really stripped. I could feel that it was about to strip out.

[Scott Rosenberger]

Frank, it sounds like you're using Titebond II which never cures hard. I've never had the problem you mention using original Titebond Wood Glue

[Stratman]

Ok,guys...I'm a mechanically proficient PLAYER,NOT a tech...what IS CA?I appreciate the hell out of the help you guys provide nonetheless...This board is a Godsend!

[Devon Headen]

Cyanoacrylate. Most super glue is CA.

[frank falbo]

Frank, it sounds like you're using Titebond II which never cures hard. I've never had the problem you mention using original Titebond Wood Glue

That could very well be. Although the bottle I have now is the original. I just like CA whenever repairing screw holes. Even if you do drill them out, the fibers are all distorted in there from either the stripping or the drilling or both, no matter how sharp your bits are. I feel like the CA sucks in there and dries hard while the titebond just coats it. Which is fine for glue joints but I think bad for screw holes where you remove most of the dowel anyway, and are basically left with a thin cylinder filler tube. I feel the same way about tremolo post holes. Any time I can saturate a "high wear" area with CA it makes me feel better. Not even really for my experience, but for years later when someone is swapping necks around on one of my old guitars, it will stay stronger through future wear.

[bibleboy3]

Hi Stratman,

A few years ago I bought a Fender lead II it had a warmoth neck and I got it for $100 .. the only catch was there was a neck screw broke off deep in the neck and another one that was stripped out so I took and cut dowels and I used carpenters wood glue and it has been fine .. it has worked for over 5 yrs and its still holding just fine..please understand there is a lot more detail here. but at least you know it can be done...

matter of fact I'm going to refinish it within the next 6 months ( blue ) please undeerstand there is a lot more detail here .. I hope this helps ya

May Jesus bless you

Sincerely,

Bill

[soapbarstrat]

For plugs like that, I like to do what furniture makers/repairers do : carve a groove along the length of the plug say 12, 3, 6, and 9 o'clock. I put the dowel in the vise, put tape on one vise jaw and run a small V shaped chisel along it to cut the groove. It's the only way to get the excess glue to squeeze out on a tight fitting plug. I think I might switch over to CA like frank does, and maybe still carve the grooves.

If your holes are really big, you can stuff another type of CA in them ( the state of California) . Ok I just made one of the most lame jokes ever to appear on the internet.

[lucky1]

Edited September 19, 2004 by lucky1

[soapbarstrat]

I have read that using machine screws with threaded inserts screwed into the neck is a much more stable option than plugging with glue and dowel. I have never tried that option so your on your own if you go that way.

That's actually the best advice on this thread, because those inserts (if installed properly) will allow the neck to be taken off and put back on about as many times as you would ever want, and not wear out like threads in hardwood.

I've been doing that on my own guitars for years, using hardware store inserts, and machine screws without a neck plate. Now I've been slowly working on a way to do it more like Vintique does, but cheaper if possible (this requires either a custom made plate, or custom made screws)

[skibum5545]

I have found that those inserts are hard to screw in straight. I have tried all sizes, types, and materials, and in the end found that it was actually stronger to drill and tap 10-24 holes DIRECTLY INTO A MAPLE NECK, as well as perfectly straight. We tapped a hole, screwed in a stainless steel bolt, and pried on the sucker with a crowbar; we broke the head off of the stainless steel bolt before it ever started to budge in the hole. This method might well work for your problem instead of the threaded inserts.

[Stratman]

I just wanted to thank you guys for your help.Some background on my Strat...my ex-wife had custody of it,and after over 2 years,I finally got it back.You can imagine the "good" care she was giving it.Kept it in a damp basement closet.Well,I used the advice I got here,and fixed the neck.Then came time to set-up,and all the saddle screws were frozen.Freed those up,COMPLETE disassembly and clean-up,And,VOILA!I got my baby back!THANKS AGAIN!