Neck Bowing at Joint?

[Darg1911]

Re: Neck Bowing at Joint?

I use toothpicks all the time. But for small things like stripped cover plate or pickup ring screw holes.

[Darg1911]

Re: Neck Bowing at Joint?

I'm having trouble understanding how the toothpick fix works in my head. If you glue the toothpicks into the the holes drilled for the screws, aren't you sort of glueing the neck to the body?

You're just using the toothpicks in place of the dowel rod. Fill the stripped holes with the glued in toothpicks. But personally, I would probably wait for the glue to dry. 2 reasons. First, in case it seeps out and bonds the neck to neck pocket. And, also so it doesn't bond the screw in the hole (although I don't think it bonds well to metal). That aliphatic resin based glue bonds wood crazy good once dry.

[RorySquier]

Re: Neck Bowing at Joint?

I use the toothpick method also. I would wait for the glue to dry before drilling any holes.



;>)/

[Obsessive Compulsive]

Re: Neck Bowing at Joint?

I'm having trouble understanding how the toothpick fix works in my head. If you glue the toothpicks into the the holes drilled for the screws, aren't you sort of glueing the neck to the body?

The toothpicks are intended to fill the hole so it would resemble a new one that has never been drilled...doh...

I agree with GuitarDoc, as always. Using a dowel means too much pain, shaping the wood, losing a knuckle in the process, etc., etc.

[Chistopher]

Re: Neck Bowing at Joint?

Another trick I've always used is getting one of those sticks they put in scented oil, I forget what they are called (EDIT: they are made from sandalwood), and cut them down to the depth of the hole. Cut it into thirds and screw the neck back on as you normally would. This will force the softer wood to compress between the wood of the body and the screw. You can leave it like this if you want too, but I can't guarantee the reliability of the screws hold. You can also unscrew the neck again and do what SabbathFan recommended. That'll absorb into the wood and make it stronger.

[ICTGoober]

Re: Neck Bowing at Joint?

Just FYI - toothpicks and most dowels are white birch....

[AlexR]

Re: Neck Bowing at Joint?

The toothpick fix is mostly used because people have them already. Its great for things like strap holes where there is less constant pressure on the thread. For mine I would want a dowel.....as a fix you end up with a very large amount of wood and a very small amount of glue. The toothpick fix is almost 30% glue if you think carefully on the way circles fit together.
And especially given that you have had it happen once already, I'd be looking for the most reliable method of fixing it.

You can file then sand the dowel flush once finished. If you cut them close before starting then this is not too time consuming. There are maple dowels about, so try and track some of them down. Craft shops are good sources as well as hardware stores.

[Darg1911]

Re: Neck Bowing at Joint?

Just FYI - toothpicks and most dowels are white birch....

Which makes them fine for light duty stuff like stripped cavity cover holes.

I agree with you and Alex, I would use hardwood dowels. I'm not a luth. but it just seems to make sense and it's not a lot of work to do it better the first time.

[GuitarDoc]

Re: Neck Bowing at Joint?

I guarantee that I could fix ANY screw hole, ANY size, in any guitar using toothpicks and wood glue (Titebond, Elmers, etc) and it would be as strong or stronger than any hole you could fix using any method you choose, dowels included.

So this is NOT a strength issue, but a convenience and/or aesthetic issue...dowels being the most aesthetic (when done correctly) and toothpicks being the most convenient (BY FAR!!!). But, since the repair is not visible with either technique, then aesthetics really doesn't play a part.

If you've got a few bucks and couple hours to spare that you have no clue how you are going to spend and nothing better to do, and you don't mind the risk of causing minor or even major damage to your guitar, then by all means go ahead and try the "drill and dowel" technique (I agree that this is the most elegant technique). But if you want to fix the problem right now (well, 1-5 minutes at most) for essentially NO cost and NO risk of damage to your guitar, and end up with the same strength and function, then try toothpicks and glue.

I have been using the toothpick method in home construction, fine furniture building, and guitar repair for 60 years with no problems or failures...no, NOT ONE! That's a pretty good "reliable" reputation in a lot of different applications.

[GilmourD]

Re: Neck Bowing at Joint?

At this point I'd go with this:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/8-Guitar-Neck-Threaded-STEEL-Inserts-DIY-KIT-SS-Oval-screws-HSS-DRILL-Allen-key-/271944816429?_trksid=p2385738.m2548.l4275

[GuitarDoc]

Re: Neck Bowing at Joint?

The toothpick fix is almost 30% glue

Not when you hammer the toothpicks in tight and put the screw in right away. The excess glue is squeezed out of the hole. There is probably LESS glue remaining than using a dowel.

[AlexR]

Re: Neck Bowing at Joint?

^ Sorry, you're rambling now.

[GuitarDoc]

Re: Neck Bowing at Joint?

8-32 screws?!! These are tiny.

OMG, no way. Tighten the screw too tight (which is sooo easy to do on a neck joint) and easily break off the screw inside the insert, then you'll need a screw extractor kit to remove the broken screw. And you'll still be stuck with the 8-32 insert requiring you to continue to use the same size, easily broken screw.

[Darg1911]

Re: Neck Bowing at Joint?

Pretty sure the fender neck mounting screws are #8.