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Coffee stirrer trick

darius8

darius8

Jan 12, 2009
1,192
26
S.F. Bay Area, California
#1
I came across this when the control plate of my jazz bass was loose because of stripped screw holes. I didn't want to use any glue so I was looking for something less permanent. I know theres probably several solutions out there but I thought I'd just give you guys another option thats less destructive.

I found that coffee stirrers, those little thin plastic straws, fit perfectly in the screw holes. After finding the depth of the holes I simply cut the straw, insert it back in, positioned the control plate and then tightened the screws down.

Hope this is useful info for you.
 
#3
why not use glue?

why deliberately not fix the stripped holes? some wood slivers in the holes (like from starbucks coffee stirrers, or toothpicks) smeared with wood glue, wipe off the excess then crank the plate right back on while still wet, and the holes will be actually fixed, and you won't need to worry about them anymore.

(and yes, the screws will still come right out later, wood glue doesn't stick to metal.)
 
#6
walterw said:
why not use glue?

why deliberately not fix the stripped holes? some wood slivers in the holes (like from starbucks coffee stirrers, or toothpicks) smeared with wood glue, wipe off the excess then crank the plate right back on while still wet, and the holes will be actually fixed, and you won't need to worry about them anymore.

(and yes, the screws will still come right out later, wood glue doesn't stick to metal.)
Click to expand...

+1

That's how you do it.

I use toothpicks or wooden matches. Stick a little glue on it, and jam it in the hole. The screw the screw in. Now it's no longer stripped and you will still be able to remove the screw as always.
 
#8
I use kebab skewers, made of bamboo or some other exotic-ish wood I think. They stay permanent even without glue due to their sharp-splintering nature but can be fished out if needed. Been using this for any kind of wood furniture repair. Just be careful not to overfill the hole. That would add too much pressure and potentially split your wood when you insert your screw back in. Although I don't see that being much of a concern in this case.
 
#13
darius8 said:
I came across this when the control plate of my jazz bass was loose because of stripped screw holes. I didn't want to use any glue so I was looking for something less permanent. I know theres probably several solutions out there but I thought I'd just give you guys another option thats less destructive.

I found that coffee stirrers, those little thin plastic straws, fit perfectly in the screw holes. After finding the depth of the holes I simply cut the straw, insert it back in, positioned the control plate and then tightened the screws down.

Hope this is useful info for you.
Click to expand...

This makes senesce to me. kinda like those plastic expansion anchors for drywall.
 
#14
darius8 said:
Like I said. I didn't want to use any glue, something non irreversible and that's less destructive.
Click to expand...
in what way is actually fixing a stripped hole "destructive", and why would you ever want to "reverse" the fix? for that matter, how? would you try to deliberately strip it out again?

sorry, but this literally makes no sense.
 
#20
Spectrum said:
What's the best toothpick for metal?
Click to expand...

Titanium Toothpick

7.jpg
 

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