Brass inserts for the lose.. need help

[Linas]

So i was installing some threaded inserts on a jazz neck today. I got brass, thats all i could find, but i thought it would be ok because ive seen someone here on the boards that did it. Should have trusted my gut... Its one of the "knife" inserts, and one side of where you would insert the screw driver broke off. Now im stuck with a broken insert in my neck. Any other way to get it out other than by drilling?


for reference.

[SamanthaCay]

can i see a pic? i'm a luthier and might have an idea but i need a pic

[yodedude2]

okay, here's a really bad idea i've done before that will function...break off the other side (half). if the insert is not driven all the way in, use some more inserts on a scrap bolt and use that as a tool to 'twist press' the insert below the flush surface. be careful not to strip the threads of the insert...this has worked for me in the past. hope this helps, later, ron

Originally Posted by Linas

So i was installing some threaded inserts on a jazz neck today. I got brass, thats all i could find, but i thought it would be ok because ive seen someone here on the boards that did it. Should have trusted my gut... Its one of the "knife" inserts, and one side of where you would insert the screw driver broke off. Now im stuck with a broken insert in my neck. Any other way to get it out other than by drilling?


for reference.

[T2W]

a straight line across with a dremel to 'deepen' the slots always helped me with stripped phillips screws. Maybe that could work too. hth, peace

[ewimsatt]

Originally Posted by T2W

a straight line across with a dremel to 'deepen' the slots always helped me with stripped phillips screws. Maybe that could work too. hth, peace

I tried that not too long ago and it didnt work. I tried cutting into a stripped screw to make a new slot for extraction. I got a perfect slot, but it just bent away and one side broke off when I tried to extract it. What I ended up having to do was bore out around the screw down just far enough to get a grip on the screw with a pair of pliers to slowly turn it out. Then i cut a dowl down and glued it in.

To get this point across properly, I want to reiterate that I didnt drill out the entire screw... just the wood around it down about an eighth of an inch so i could grip the sheered off screw with a pair of pliers. I did it with a hole drill bit that was bigger than the screw by 50%. Then i knocked out to the wood with a chisel. Once I got it out, i took a brad point but down so i had a flat bottom to glue the dowel to.

Hope some of this helps you on your way.

[SDB Guitars]

Originally Posted by yodedude2

okay, here's a really bad idea i've done before that will function...break off the other side (half). if the insert is not driven all the way in, use some more inserts on a scrap bolt and use that as a tool to 'twist press' the insert below the flush surface. be careful not to strip the threads of the insert...this has worked for me in the past. hope this helps, later, ron

+1 just use a bolt and one (or more) inserts to thread this down into the neck. That's how I *always* install this type... I never try to use the "slotted screwdriver" method anyjmore, as those things are just too soft and the maple of the necks is just too hard...