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What to do with worn out neck screw holes?

C

Colonel_Claypoo

Steve Harris nut
Oct 24, 2007
582
6
Germany
#1
hey folks,

it seems like one of the neck screws of my ibanez is worn out to the point at which i can't tighten the screw enough. it just spins and spins.
i'm now worried that my bass has lost some tone or whatever you want to call it and i need some tips what can be done in this case.
how do people with heel adjusted truss rods do it? if i'm not mistaken, they will have to untie the neck each time they make an adjustment. i, on the other hand, have only untied the neck like three times or so and already is the screw hole worn out?:scowl:

so, what can be done here?

thanks for your help.
 
#6
Yeah, i sorta had this problem where the buttons for the strap go on my first bass. i filled the hole with cocktail sticks cut to length, and then just screwed through it that way. the cocktail sticks just pushed out like normal wood and filled the hole. worked well, but i couldn't be certain that it was a permanent fix. It's not my main bass, so it doesn't get as much abuse, but since i did it about 12 months ago, it's held well!
 
#12
kraigo said:
Nothing new to add except that McMaster-Carr (http://www.mcmaster.com/) is a good site for threaded inserts. Overkill perhaps - I've never used them. I've read that putting a nut on the appropriate bolt and screwing in the insert via the nut is preferable to trying to use a screw driver on the insert.

Good luck.

KO
Click to expand...

I use my drill press to orient threaded inserts vertically while I thread them into the wood using a wrench; works great.
 
#13
Hardwood dowels are the standard fix for this and they will be as strong as the original neck holes, if done properly.

On my basses that have had any issues with stripped holes, I just went ahead and installed threaded inserts. They are available at any hardware store for pretty cheap but ordering them online as a package is easier even if you have to pay shipping.

They can be a little tricky for the novice woodworker to install so you may want to have someone with experience help you the first time.

P.S. The bolts I bought from the hardware store had allen heads instead of the usual screwdriver head to avoid the possibility of boogering up the head. I recessed the bolt heads and the result is pretty smooth.
 
#14
This was discussed and tested extensively over on TGP. Believe it or not, the strongest repair aside from threaded inserts is to simply put toothpicks and wood glue into the hole and tighten the screw while the glue is still wet. Don't worry, it won't glue the screw in place since wood glue wont adhere to metal but it does allow the pieces of toothpick to pack tightly into the threads and be glued in place.

Read and enjoy:

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#16
Zooberwerx said:
I was leaning towards a plug or brass inserts. IIRC, there is a grain-orientation concern which prohibits the use of commonly available hardwood plugs or dowel.

Riis
Click to expand...

Which is why I cut my own plugs. I've also done inserts for myself on a couple of necks and for those who wanted them but mostly I just use my own plugs since I usually only have to repair just one hole.
 

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