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Wood Filler
- Thread starter mrblue
- Start date
I would suggest the bamboo, as it seems to be stringier and tougher than toothpicks. Glue them in with a good epoxy. Epoxy fills voids and sets up harder than ordinary wood glue.
Yep glue some wood in the holes. Picks, skewers, small dowels (picks 
).
Drill your pilots larger than the screw shanks. The tiny screws can jam and break off easily when going into a new hole in the hard maple. All you need is the threads to grab onto the wood. It Also is a good idea to rub some paraffin wax as lube on them before inserting. The screws are just there to hold the tuner in place and keep it from rotating. Only tighten them enough to pull the plate snug to the head.
).Drill your pilots larger than the screw shanks. The tiny screws can jam and break off easily when going into a new hole in the hard maple. All you need is the threads to grab onto the wood. It Also is a good idea to rub some paraffin wax as lube on them before inserting. The screws are just there to hold the tuner in place and keep it from rotating. Only tighten them enough to pull the plate snug to the head.
not so much if they are cut cleanly, and you fill them with real wood that looks like what your neck is made from. add fine saw dust of the same wood to the glue or epoxy mix. this will help with blending.
Wondering if the “old” holes would be covered by the new tuner but point taken. I’ve used the solid, not bamboo, skewers with a smidgen of wood glue.
Riis
This is why I “suggest” just putting your old screws in any exposed empty holes. Filling them with wood or gunk always look like a scar. Screws at least look like they have a purpose. And I like shiny things. Just a “suggestion”.
Wonder how closely we could match the finish with the putty shades at Lowe’s...the stuff for filling nail holes in molding? Face it, it’s purely cosmetic, sacrificial if need be, and doesn’t need to provide any level of structural strength in this application. Heck, my wife could even tint some Elmers school glue to match.
Riis
Certainly a very close match can be made. It will always be visible though, and once you put a finish on it, it can take on a different look than it did bare. Tradeoffs… and personal choice. It’s all good. Just sharing ideas.
Are you just worried about empty holes or are the new holes like half a screw width off?
For the latter, maybe something like this:
They used mahogany, but you would use maple to match most basses.
I'm under the impression the OP is going to be drilling very close to the filled holes, perhaps even overlapping them. If that is the case wood putty is the wrong remedy. Rather, sand down a matching piece of wood, usually maple, and fill the holes with the wood dust. pack it in pretty good. Next a drop or three of thin CA and let it set up for a couple minutes, or a day. You can then drill holes that overlap the fill.
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Yeah, I was thinking more of replacing std 4 screw Fender plates with single-anchor Ultralites where all 4 holes would be visible.
Riis
