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Old 12-29-2010, 03:30 AM
rodmeister rodmeister is offline
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Default Tuning pegs mounting screws stripped

Hi, I'm new to the forum.

I dug out my Yamaha Red Label FG150 out of the closet after 30 years, after deciding to get back into accompanying my singing on guitar. A circa 1970 guitar, my first, appeared to be in good shape and the bass has actually improved slightly with age. I'm surprised to discover the FG150 has developed a cultish following despite it's tinny, reedy tone.

I just noticed two of the tuners slightly pulled out of the headstock by string tension. When I tightening the mounting screws, the mounting screws on all six tuners turned without resistance. I removed one of the tuners and found the area around the screw holes were "soft" as if the area around the holes experienced some kind of rot or invasion of moisture. The screw heads were also corroded. The "toothpick" trick probably won't work: I'll need to drill out 12 sizable holes and pound a wooden plug into each hole, and where do I get new screws?

Is my Yamaha worth fixing or should I let my Yamaha die a peaceful death? Should I use this to justify buying a nice new guitar like a Martin D28? Thanks.

Last edited by rodmeister; 12-29-2010 at 04:10 AM.
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Old 12-29-2010, 07:23 AM
bobdcat bobdcat is offline
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Try making a paste with some yellow Titebond and a little sawdust and carefully fill the holes with that. Stewart McDonald
http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Hardware...st=3&xsr=24154
has replacement screws, but if you're a frequent customer at your local music store, they might give you a few.
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Old 12-29-2010, 07:50 AM
SMan SMan is offline
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I have "unstripped" many with a toothpick and some wood glue.

Good luck.
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Old 12-29-2010, 08:07 AM
Opa John Opa John is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SMan View Post
I have "unstripped" many with a toothpick and some wood glue.

Good luck.
Yep! Same here. And you can buy replacement screws at just about any home center type store. (Lowe's, Home Depot, etc.) They'll be in the "small parts" drawers. Take an old one with you and match it up. They're cheap.
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Old 12-29-2010, 08:37 AM
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bnjp bnjp is offline
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Yep. Toothpick and wood glue! You'll want to predrill the holes when your putting it back together though. Those little screws are famous for breaking off. I use a 1/16" bit and a manual drill (made by Fiskers with a crank operation) to be safe. I never use a power drill unless I have to.
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Old 12-29-2010, 04:14 PM
Thumbs-R-Me Thumbs-R-Me is offline
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While I've never done this type of repair to a guitar, I think I would drill out the holes and then epoxy in a short piece of hardwood (such as oak or maple) dowel. The dowels are readily available at Lowe's, Home Depot, etc. Epoxy is available there also. All you need then is a drill and a drill bit and a few minutes of your time.

Once you've got the dowel epoxyed in place, simply drill a starter hole for your new screw and you're in business. This is a MUCH better fix than the old "toothpick" trick, IMHO of course.
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Old 12-29-2010, 07:53 PM
Guitar Hack Guitar Hack is offline
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There is a product you can get at Menards which is a wood putty replacement that contains epoxy. You pull off a chunk and knead it until it is properly mixed then put it in the hole and leave it for about an hour. It will harden then you can put the screws back in.

The product is called Kwik Wood.
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Old 12-29-2010, 08:40 PM
Infi-del Infi-del is offline
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Could you not just use a slightly larger diameter screw. If that didn't work you could still use the toothpick or dowel idea.
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Old 12-30-2010, 12:32 PM
Thumbs-R-Me Thumbs-R-Me is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Infi-del View Post
Could you not just use a slightly larger diameter screw. If that didn't work you could still use the toothpick or dowel idea.
You MIGHT be able to just use larger screws, but that could present a couple of other problems. First, with larger screws, you'll likely have to drill out the holes in the metal brackets that fasten the tuners to the headstock in order for the larger screws to go through the holes in the bracket.

Second, it would mean obtaining larger screws which may not match the original color and look of the original bracket. I still think that the best way to do the job right and have the problem fixed permanently so that it looks just as good as new is do the epoxy/dowel job. It's not much more effort than doing it half-way and it will look 100% better, IMHO.
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Old 12-30-2010, 02:42 PM
rodmeister rodmeister is offline
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Thanks for all the suggestions. The wood around the screw holes is soft. I think high humidity in my closet may have penetrated or started some kind of rot. The suggestion of drilling out the holes and plugging them with hardwood has the best chance of success.
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Old 12-30-2010, 04:04 PM
gray gray is offline
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You might try posting your question on the DIY board at this site. There seem to be a lot of folks there who have experience with that sort of problem.

I've never attempted the kind of repair that you are describing, but wonder if there would be any problem with the dowel idea. If you were to make a plug with a dowel, you'd probably be drilling into the end grain (of the dowel) rather than across the grain. Would that be a problem? I don't know.
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Old 12-31-2010, 09:13 AM
Thumbs-R-Me Thumbs-R-Me is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by gray View Post
You might try posting your question on the DIY board at this site. There seem to be a lot of folks there who have experience with that sort of problem.

I've never attempted the kind of repair that you are describing, but wonder if there would be any problem with the dowel idea. If you were to make a plug with a dowel, you'd probably be drilling into the end grain (of the dowel) rather than across the grain. Would that be a problem? I don't know.
That's no problem whatsoever. I've used the dowel/epoxy method twice in just the past few months. Once was for a recoil pad on my shotgun stock where the existing hole had been stripped because I overtightened the screw when I put the pad back on.

The second time was when I had to move the striker plate on my door jam on the door leading from the utility room to the garage. Since I was moving the plate only about 1/8" to 3/16" I needed to fill the two existing holes completely so that I could drill two new holes for the new screws to fasten securely into.

In both of the above instances, drilling out the old hole and epoxying in a short piece of dowel rod worked perfectly. If anyone has doubts about how well the epoxy will hold, erase those doubts. I have (and still use) some golf clubs that I assembled with epoxy nearly 15 years ago. The clubs still work great......... provided I do my part right.
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Old 12-29-2015, 03:35 AM
jacm81 jacm81 is offline
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If I use the toothpick method, how do I go about drilling a pilot hole after filling? Do I need a jig, or a drill press? I was going to get a small, hand powered drill to minimize my chances of doing any damage, but how do I make sure that I drill it straight?

Last edited by jacm81; 12-29-2015 at 03:41 AM.
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Old 12-29-2015, 06:18 AM
jeffnles1 jeffnles1 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jacm81 View Post
If I use the toothpick method, how do I go about drilling a pilot hole after filling? Do I need a jig, or a drill press? I was going to get a small, hand powered drill to minimize my chances of doing any damage, but how do I make sure that I drill it straight?
Toothpicks are pretty soft. Get replacement screws and a screwdriver that fits the screw properly. With new screws and a properly fitting screwdriver, I've never needed to pre-drill a toothpick filled hole. Just go slow and keep positive downward pressure on the screw. One other tip, be sure the guitar is secure. You don't want to be doing this while trying to steady the guitar between your knees and worrying about the guitar wiggling around all at the same time.

Jeff
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Old 12-29-2015, 07:11 AM
cattzap cattzap is offline
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Don't over think it. Just a little glue and a toothpick. Clean the hole a little with a very small drill bit using it by hand. Snip the small tip off the toothpick then coat the toothpick with glue and press it in there. Give it overnight to dry, then pre drill a tiny hole by hand again and install screw. You can even add a drop of glue onto the screw.
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