Bottom guitar strap chipped ?

[Raf702]

Hey all, so during the process of installing the input jack of my pickup the drill bit snagged on the wood and took a small piece out. It's a Yamaha FG830, it's my daily, so I'm not too concerned.

I would like to fix it, if there are some DIY options. Like drop fill with super glue/ca glue/epoxy or something. It doesn't need to be perfect, and I prefer not to go to a luthier yet who might charge me $100+ for this.

Any ideas/tips I can do myself. Here is a picture for reference.



Thanks for the help!

[Ned Milburn]

Drip some shellac in there. Nice things about shellac are: easy to use, safe to use (don't use methyl hydrate), easy to clean, easy to reverse, it is alcohol based so it wicks in well.

It can often seal separated finish, rendering the whiteness clear again.

[Raf702]

Originally Posted by Ned Milburn

Drip some shellac in there. Nice things about shellac are: easy to use, safe to use (don't use methyl hydrate), easy to clean, easy to reverse, it is alcohol based so it wicks in well.

It can often seal separated finish, rendering the whiteness clear again.

Nice! I will look into that! Thanks

[Raf702]

I looked up the super glue and baking soda method. Seems like a much easier option and easy to get anywhere.

[charles Tauber]

Originally Posted by Raf702

I looked up the super glue and baking soda method. Seems like a much easier option and easy to get anywhere.

That is inappropriate for this repair. That is used on nut repairs and will be white in colour.

If the repair is not going to look better after the repair than before, you are best to leave it be. I'd advise you leave it be. I don't wish to be unkind, but drilling the hole was the easy part and should, if done well, leave a clean hole. Repairing high-gloss finishes well isn't something often accomplished well by do-it-yourselfers.


If you feel compelled to do something, I suggest get a felt-tip marker of a matching colour to touch up the dark brown colour, then leave it alone.

[M Hayden]

Ned’s right.

Shellac is easy to use. If you don’t want to mix your own, get some of the dewaxed Zinsser sanding sealer - it’s pretty clear, about a 2 lb cut, and with patience will easily drop-fill the ding. And if you don’t like it, alcohol will remove it.

Superglue can dry white when it’s used as a drop-fill if it dries too fast or (sometimes) when accelerator is involved. Be very careful and VERY patient when using superglue (e.g., give it time to dry) or you’ll leave it worse-looking that when it started. And acetone (superglue solvent) has different effects on different material, some of which may not be salutary on your Yamaha’s finish.

[phavriluk]

One person's opinions:

No one's mentioned this yet, and speaking from my own self-inflicted miseries, I suggest that the metal pin be removed and the area masked off so that no runaway shellac goes where it need not go and the area being addressed is as small as possible. I also can't see a good result coming from leaving the metal fitting in place and running shellac up to it. I think the shellac will tend to fillet and not look neatly done. I think a whole lot of good will come from a combination of a touch from a marker to darken the damages and a bit of shellac.

This problem OP found himself in is one of those things that I think masking the area and drilling through the masking tape will help limit the sorts of problems encountered.

[Raf702]

Yeah I’ll probably go the felt-tip marker method. I actually had the job done at a GC yesterday, and if I took it back who knows if they could fix it or make it worse. So I rather not deal with the hassle.

I should of taken it to a luthier, but I needed the pick-up installed the same day. What’s done is done, so I just have to deal with it now.

Obviously I’d rather not make it any worse.

[phavriluk]

What a disappointment. Yuck. OP mentions that GC staff did the lousy installation. Perhaps a discussion with GC management would get the repair done by a luthier, or at least remedied by an employee who is not so dangerous around sharp objects. At no cost to OP, by the way. He paid for a professional job, ought to get one.

[mirwa]

If you paid someone to do that, irrespective if they are a luthier or not, the obligation is on them to fix it.

We don’t fit endpin jacks with drill bits we use reamers, for the exact reason as shown in your picture.

This indicates the person who fitted the system was not qualified enough to do said process, therefore the obligation falls back on management of said business for using an inexperienced unqualified person to undertake the paid task.

Steve

[charles Tauber]

Originally Posted by mirwa

If you paid someone to do that, irrespective if they are a luthier or not, the obligation is on them to fix it.

We don’t fit endpin jacks with drill bits we use reamers, for the exact reason as shown in your picture.

This indicates the person who fitted the system was not qualified enough to do said process, therefore the obligation falls back on management of said business for using an inexperienced unqualified person to undertake the paid task.

Steve

Exactly.

I had incorrectly assumed the OP drilled the hole. My apologies. The onus is absolutely on the establishment that performed that work to fix it at no cost to the OP.

[Raf702]

I agree with you all, but what’s done is done. So moving forward now I will make sure to go with the original tech I’m familiar with, or a local luthier.

For now I will leave it alone, unless I feel curious to take it to a local luthier to see how much the repair would cost.

[murrmac123]

A 12mm Forstner bit does the job, as long as you center it properly ...