problem with my tuning head

[devildog0811]

i have a washburn and one of the screws that hold the tuning head on the back has broke. they are small and look like they are easy to fix. any ideas on the best was to do this? it looks like the hole for it is a little worn. like the owner before me had tightened it to much. i just bought this today it was a good deal and figured it would be fairly cheap and easy to fix.

[SLaPiNFuNK]

stick a wooden tooth pick in there, that will fill up the gap and allow for a new screw to be used.

That should do the trick

[grendle]

Yep the toothpick trick works like a charm.

[XylemBassGuitar]

Don't forget to put some glue in with the toothpick. The wood glue will further help fill gaps and strengthen the threads in the wood. Let it dry for 8 hours or so then put the screw back in.

[96tbird]

Is the screw still in there? If so can you get it out? If not, carefully drill beside it with a 1/8" bit and carefully dig it out. OR another method is.to use some brass tube that the screw just fits inside. Dremel or file some teeth on one end, put it in your drill and drill around the screw. Tap the resulting plug out, fill and drill. You can buy some hardwood dowel same diameter as the tube to fill the hole. Makes a very clean repair if that matters to you.

Round toothpicks and glue to repair small holes is the trick as these other guys have said.

[XylemBassGuitar]

Originally Posted by 96tbird

Is the screw still in there? If so can you get it out?

I'm sorry devildog, I completely missed in your original post that you might have meant the screw was still in there.

The following suggestion may not work because the screw is so small, but you could go to your local hardware store and ask them for the smallest "easy-out" they have. You'll also want a really small drill bit. Once you have these, you can try drilling into what's left of the screw, then putting the easy-out into the newly-drilled hole in the screws itself. Then you can turn the easy-out and pull out the screw. As I mentioned though, tuner head screws may be a little too small for most easy-outs, and you might not even be able to find a drill bit small enough to drill into the screw.

You could also get a metal-drilling bit that's the same diameter as the tuner head screw and try just drilling it out. Be careful though, the bit might skip around a little.

[96tbird]

^ those screws are way too small for that, he'll likely make a mess and get mad. Read this:Broken string tree screw? - Telecaster Guitar Forum

Brass tube at a good hobby shop, same inside diameter as the screw to be removed, bring one with you to get a good fit. Get hardwood dowel the same outside diameter as the tube. old screw will guide the cutter straight in. Plug and redrill. Easy peasy!

[cracked_machine]

But don't just use one toothpick. Use several or split them into slivers and insert as much as you can. Then when you think no more pieces will fit, get a hammer and (gently!) tap more slivers in. You will be surprised how much will fit in. You can then re-screw without the need for glue.

[96tbird]

Tuner screws are around 1/8" shank diameter. Round toothpicks are around 3/16 and are a tight fit that need to be tapped in. Glue makes for a good re-drill. The sliver method is great if you don't want to re-drill and you are not too, oh no, I'm gonna say it....picky!

[Pilgrim]

No to the toothpick, no to the small drill bits. You cannot drill out a tiny screw without great luck and a drill press. Can't be done handheld with any reliability.

First, do you NEED the screw? If you still have one holding the tuner in place, chance are you're OK.

The correct fix is mentioned above - use a brass tube to drill out a plug around the screw, remove the plug with broken screw, re-plug the hole, pre-drill, insert new screw. It's not trivial.

[SurferJoe46]