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Broken pickup screw - big problem... help!!

fourstringbliss

fourstringbliss

Supporting Member
Oct 5, 2003
12,443
6,017
56
Puyallup, WA
#1
It looks like I screwed in one of my pickup screws in too deep. I ended up stripping the head, was able to get a hold of it with vise grips, thought I was unscrewing it - and then the screw broke off at the bottom, leaving part of the screw still in hole, flush with the bottom of the pickup cavity. Is there anything I can do? I have soapbar pickups and this was on the two-screw end. I can still put one screw it, but I'm concerned about having just one screw in. Is there anything I can do to get the rest of the screw out? If not, is there anything I can do to have two screws on that end still?

Help!

And... I tried to drill into the remaining screw part and it looks like I put a small crater in it, but not straight in.

Anything I can do?
 
#2
The first thing I would try is to put a new screw right beside it. If the pup is held in by 4 screws, you may have to move the other three also, If you have enough room in the body cavity or pickguard opening. If that does not work, use a dremel tool with the smallest round burr you can buy. They are not much bigger than the head of a pin. Carefull cut around the broken screw, but be very careful not to go thru the bottom and ruin the finish on the back of the body. Once you have cut around it, it should come out easily. You can then drill a 1/4 hole and plug with a hardwood dowel (glued in). Again, use caution and measue depth carefully not to go through.
Rocky
 
#3
Rocky McD said:
The first thing I would try is to put a new screw right beside it. If the pup is held in by 4 screws, you may have to move the other three also, If you have enough room in the body cavity or pickguard opening. If that does not work, use a dremel tool with the smallest round burr you can buy. They are not much bigger than the head of a pin. Carefull cut around the broken screw, but be very careful not to go thru the bottom and ruin the finish on the back of the body. Once you have cut around it, it should come out easily. You can then drill a 1/4 hole and plug with a hardwood dowel (glued in). Again, use caution and measue depth carefully not to go through.
Rocky
Click to expand...

Thanks, Rocky! I ended up using a chisel to remove enough wood around the broken part to get a grip on it with my vise grips. I had to spray a small amount of WD-40 on it as well, to loosen it up. Thankfully, I still had about 6 mm of screw stuck below the wood surface. I can screw the pickup down to the highest level of adjustment I'd want to have it at and the screw still grips well. If there's a problem I'll eventually fill in the depression with wood filler.
 
#5
mikeyswood said:
They make screw extractor and plug kits for this.
Click to expand...

That would have been spectacular for this situation!

20794-01-500.jpg


If it turns out that I don't have enough wood left for my purposes I will definitly use the drill and dowel trick.
 
#7
Try to refrain from using wood filler to fill a screw hole and use it again. If at all possible, drill to the diameter of a dowel, insert and superglue it , and screw into it. I've had to do this with many of my store-bought basses, as I like my pickups closer to the strings than the screw length, combined with the depth of the pickup and route, permit.

Things should be just fine.:smug:
 
#8
T. Brookins said:
Try to refrain from using wood filler to fill a screw hole and use it again. If at all possible, drill to the diameter of a dowel, insert and superglue it , and screw into it. I've had to do this with many of my store-bought basses, as I like my pickups closer to the strings than the screw length, combined with the depth of the pickup and route, permit.

Things should be just fine.:smug:
Click to expand...

Totally. I think I might eventually do this, my only concern would be drilling too deep!
 
#11
Rocky McD said:
Drilling into a very thin area of the bass is very dangerous without a drill press that has a depth stop. Sometimes with a hand drill, it literally gets away from you and goes deeper than wanted.
Rocky
Click to expand...

I've got a metal collarwith a set screw that attaches to a drill bit so that you don't drill too deep. I've got a variety of sizes but I'm not sure (while I'm sitting here at work) if I've got a small enough size to drill out an appropriate hole and not rub against the side of the pickup cavity. I'll have to see.
 
#14
fourstringbliss said:
Thanks, Rocky! I ended up using a chisel to remove enough wood around the broken part to get a grip on it with my vise grips. I had to spray a small amount of WD-40 on it as well, to loosen it up. Thankfully, I still had about 6 mm of screw stuck below the wood surface. I can screw the pickup down to the highest level of adjustment I'd want to have it at and the screw still grips well. If there's a problem I'll eventually fill in the depression with wood filler.
Click to expand...

no need for wood filler. put toothpicks in the hole and snap them off level with the top of the hole. screw your screw in. all good.
 

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