Pinch Posted January 28, 2020 Share Posted January 28, 2020 Stripped out hole. Just jam it in and screw in the screw? Which is softer/better? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marky Forrest Posted January 29, 2020 Share Posted January 29, 2020 I've been using toothpicks for about 50 years and they always have worked. I think you will be happy with a toothpick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pinch Posted January 29, 2020 Author Share Posted January 29, 2020 5 hours ago, Marky Forrest said: I've been using toothpicks for about 50 years and they always have worked. I think you will be happy with a toothpick. Thanks Marky! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pinch Posted January 30, 2020 Author Share Posted January 30, 2020 Fill the hole up with the toothpick before re-inserting the screw, or trim down the toothpick? I read some guy said fill to half the diameter or so. I know, probably not critical...but I'm not afraid of asking stupid questions... Â Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted January 31, 2020 Share Posted January 31, 2020 3 hours ago, Pinch said: Fill the hole up with the toothpick before re-inserting the screw, or trim down the toothpick? I read some guy said fill to half the diameter or so. I know, probably not critical...but I'm not afraid of asking stupid questions...  Don't fill the hole all the way, these are tiny holes, and tiny screws. Yo can probably put one small drop of superglue in the hole and accomplish the same thing without the toothpick, but don't put much in. Do not fill the hole. Wait until it dries before installing the screw. Do not force the screw. You can easily shear the screw or break wood off around the hole. If necessary take a tiny (1/16" or smaller) drill bit to open the hole slightly after filling by either method. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pinch Posted January 31, 2020 Author Share Posted January 31, 2020 8 hours ago, j45nick said: Don't fill the hole all the way, these are tiny holes, and tiny screws. Yo can probably put one small drop of superglue in the hole and accomplish the same thing without the toothpick, but don't put much in. Do not fill the hole. Wait until it dries before installing the screw. Do not force the screw. You can easily shear the screw or break wood off around the hole. If necessary take a tiny (1/16" or smaller) drill bit to open the hole slightly after filling by either method. Makes sense. Thanks!  Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pinch Posted February 3, 2020 Author Share Posted February 3, 2020 (edited) Maybe best to go with just a tiny drop of glue, let it dry, and put the screw in. Seeing as it's such a tiny hole, maybe the wood of the toothpick will expand too much around it? Ah, choices, choices... Don't wanna crack anything. Maybe a tiny strip of duct tape or something down the hole will suffice. Edited February 3, 2020 by Pinch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted February 3, 2020 Share Posted February 3, 2020 I would not use something like duct tape. The adhesive will transfer inside the hole and/or to the screw, and make a mess of things when you screw it in or out. You won't be able to do a permanent fix after that without some prep work to try to remove adhesive residue from the hole. It's just asking for trouble down the line. A tiny piece of toothpick would be a far better choice if you want to choose an easy but less-than-permanent solution. The only problem with this is if it forces the screw out of alignment with the center of the hole, the screw may not go in straight. If you're uncomfortable with any of this, just take the guitar to a decent tech. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pinch Posted February 3, 2020 Author Share Posted February 3, 2020 Think I'll go the toothpick route, then, and take care to properly align the screw. Not sure how a tech would do it differently... Can't really do more than glue in some wood, like a piece of toothpick. Well, maybe a tech would drill a pilot hole. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pinch Posted February 12, 2020 Author Share Posted February 12, 2020 On 2/3/2020 at 8:24 PM, j45nick said: I would not use something like duct tape. The adhesive will transfer inside the hole and/or to the screw, and make a mess of things when you screw it in or out. You won't be able to do a permanent fix after that without some prep work to try to remove adhesive residue from the hole. It's just asking for trouble down the line. A tiny piece of toothpick would be a far better choice if you want to choose an easy but less-than-permanent solution. The only problem with this is if it forces the screw out of alignment with the center of the hole, the screw may not go in straight. If you're uncomfortable with any of this, just take the guitar to a decent tech. Hm... Should I just shear of a tiny piece of toothpick and put put it to the side of the hole? Can't really put it in the middle, or the screw won't go in. Sorry for all the questions 🙂 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted February 12, 2020 Share Posted February 12, 2020 6 hours ago, Pinch said: Hm... Should I just shear of a tiny piece of toothpick and put put it to the side of the hole? Can't really put it in the middle, or the screw won't go in. Sorry for all the questions 🙂 You can try that, but this is the basic issue with using a sliver of wood to fill the hole: you're making the hole asymmetrical, and it may be difficult to get the screw to go in straight. Take a tiny sliver of toothpick and put it in one side, and see if that does enough to get the screw to wedge into it and bite. It may take only a tiny piece. It may be easier to carve the toothpick end down to a sliver (but still attached), stick it into the hole, then slice it flush with a razor blade. This is the reason I usually end up with just a tiny drop of glue in the hole instead. The toothpick trick works fine with larger screws in larger holes, but these are tiny screws in tiny holes. If you end up using glue in any way, you may need to mask off carefully to avoid getting it on the headstock face. Having said that, it is worth trying a tiny sliver of wood, filling only a small portion of the hole. It doesn't take much to get a small screw to bite enough to stay in place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pinch Posted February 12, 2020 Author Share Posted February 12, 2020 2 hours ago, j45nick said: You can try that, but this is the basic issue with using a sliver of wood to fill the hole: you're making the hole asymmetrical, and it may be difficult to get the screw to go in straight. Take a tiny sliver of toothpick and put it in one side, and see if that does enough to get the screw to wedge into it and bite. It may take only a tiny piece. It may be easier to carve the toothpick end down to a sliver (but still attached), stick it into the hole, then slice it flush with a razor blade. This is the reason I usually end up with just a tiny drop of glue in the hole instead. The toothpick trick works fine with larger screws in larger holes, but these are tiny screws in tiny holes. If you end up using glue in any way, you may need to mask off carefully to avoid getting it on the headstock face. Having said that, it is worth trying a tiny sliver of wood, filling only a small portion of the hole. It doesn't take much to get a small screw to bite enough to stay in place. Thank you. That makes sense. It's so tiny, a tiny drop of glue (wood glue good?) makes the most sense. I would think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted February 12, 2020 Share Posted February 12, 2020 6 hours ago, Pinch said: Thank you. That makes sense. It's so tiny, a tiny drop of glue (wood glue good?) makes the most sense. I would think. I thought about the wood glue angle last night. That would probably work. If you don't have a precision glue syringe, a drop on the end of a toothpick might do. Clean up any mess on the headstock face a bit with a damp (but not wet) rag. I'd give it a chance to set up overnight before installing the screw. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pinch Posted February 13, 2020 Author Share Posted February 13, 2020 8 hours ago, j45nick said: I thought about the wood glue angle last night. That would probably work. If you don't have a precision glue syringe, a drop on the end of a toothpick might do. Clean up any mess on the headstock face a bit with a damp (but not wet) rag. I'd give it a chance to set up overnight before installing the screw. Thanks! 🙂 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave F Posted February 13, 2020 Share Posted February 13, 2020 I’ve repaired a few tuning key holes. I just put a drop of wood glue on the tip of the screw and screw it in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pinch Posted February 13, 2020 Author Share Posted February 13, 2020 (edited) 1 hour ago, Dave F said: I’ve repaired a few tuning key holes. I just put a drop of wood glue on the tip of the screw and screw it in. Mm, but I need to be able to get it out for adjusting the truss rod, too 😉 I'll put in a drop of wood glue, let it sit overnight and screw it into the hardened glue. I think. Or should that be overthink 😉 Edited February 13, 2020 by Pinch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave F Posted February 14, 2020 Share Posted February 14, 2020 I’ve never had problems removing the screws afterwards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pinch Posted February 14, 2020 Author Share Posted February 14, 2020 (edited) 5 hours ago, Dave F said: I’ve never had problems removing the screws afterwards. And you could still screw them back in, and they would set/the problem would be fixed? That would be great. Sorry if my questions are dumb... A carpenter I am not, as you can probably tell. Edited February 14, 2020 by Pinch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave F Posted February 14, 2020 Share Posted February 14, 2020 If the holes I’ve used this method on, I’ve only removed and reinserted the screws a couple times and never had an issue. If I did , I would just add a drop again. This is probably more like using loctite to keep a screw in place in metal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pinch Posted February 14, 2020 Author Share Posted February 14, 2020 50 minutes ago, Dave F said: If the holes I’ve used this method on, I’ve only removed and reinserted the screws a couple times and never had an issue. If I did , I would just add a drop again. This is probably more like using loctite to keep a screw in place in metal. Thanks Dave, I'll probably end up using your method (with wood glue). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pinch Posted March 28, 2020 Author Share Posted March 28, 2020 On 2/12/2020 at 2:24 PM, j45nick said: Having said that, it is worth trying a tiny sliver of wood, filling only a small portion of the hole. It doesn't take much to get a small screw to bite enough to stay in place. Still haven't fixed it... Think I'll shave off a thin sliver with a razor and skip the glue. Although it can't hurt to just leave it be for now, can it. Quarantine Saturday... Not exactly a whirlwind of activity. Good job with the bat soup, or whatever it was... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pinch Posted March 29, 2020 Author Share Posted March 29, 2020 Quarantine Sunday, just as eventful... Maybe drop really tiny pieces of toothpick shavings in the hole, and then insert the screw... That way, alignment wouldn't be a problem, nor should it put much stress on the hole? Ah, the joys of overthinking things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pinch Posted May 19, 2020 Author Share Posted May 19, 2020 On 3/29/2020 at 10:18 PM, Pinch said: Quarantine Sunday, just as eventful... Maybe drop really tiny pieces of toothpick shavings in the hole, and then insert the screw... That way, alignment wouldn't be a problem, nor should it put much stress on the hole? Ah, the joys of overthinking things. Still leaning towards this. Dear diary, right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny 6 String Posted May 19, 2020 Share Posted May 19, 2020 Hey Pinch; What I do for these situations like mentioned and analyzed in this thread is use a toothpick. I use round ones, the diameter is near perfect, the points can be kinda long to ensure a tight fit to the bottom so I snap the point off. Drop of good old wood glue on the broken end and insert. Leave the rest sticking out until the glue dries (be sure to wipe up any smeared glue on the head stock face right away). Once dry snap off the excess, trim if required. You're all done.  Hope the helps. Johnny  Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pinch Posted January 8, 2021 Author Share Posted January 8, 2021 I put toothpick shavings in with a tiny , tiny drop of wood glue. We shall see in an hour or two. Talk about Mr. Procrastinator. This post is the least interesting one you'll read all day today, by the way. You're welcome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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