Best way to fill in holes on neck then re-drill?

[devilfish]

Hi,

i got a new mexican fenderneck for my strat project but the holes on the heel of the neck are a little out of place, whats the best way to fill them in and re-drill?

Ive got some wood filler but im tihkning there might be a better way, to make it a bit more secure when drilling as the holes will only be maybe 1 mm away frm the original ones

also, is it wise to drill the holes through the body when the neck is clamped in place, i know its better to clamp the neck in placwe then screw it on but if i drill through the body holes into the neck its deifintely in the right place...am i right in thinkign that?

thanks

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: Best way to fill in holes on neck then re-drill?

You want to fill the four holes for the four mounting bolts in a maple neck and then redrill them? I'd fill them with small 1/8" or less birch dowels glued in. You might have to enlarge the four holes to about 1/8" to fit the 1/8" dowels. Lew

 

[devilfish]

Re: Best way to fill in holes on neck then re-drill?

Hi,

i had thought abotu that but the hole are definitely too small for any dowel ive ever seen, so i was thinking it might be better not to open the existing holes much more if any...

are there any other tricks and tips other than jsut wood filler or glue?
thanks

 

[idsnowdog]

Re: Best way to fill in holes on neck then re-drill?

I usually use wood glue and oak dowel to fill the holes, then re-drill.

 

[devilfish]

Re: Best way to fill in holes on neck then re-drill?

Hi,

i wouldnt have thought oak dowel would be easy to drill?

i was thinking because the neck is maple that drilling through oakd wood would cause some splitting or something.

 

[MikeS]

Re: Best way to fill in holes on neck then re-drill?

Why would it split?

Plug with dowels. You'll never get a filler to hold a screw, plus it takes forever for fillers to cure when they are used (improperly) in that way.

 

[Mr 9finger]

Re: Best way to fill in holes on neck then re-drill?

I've always used chopsticks and never had any issues......

 

[devilfish]

Re: Best way to fill in holes on neck then re-drill?

Hi,

yeah i cannot find any dowel the right size her and if its anywhere near its really expesnive.

i may look into just glueing some other wood object down it, maybe like some matchsticks or part of a chopstick as suggested above.

will glue be better than filler when used in conjunction with a wood object?

thanks

 

[MikeS]

Re: Best way to fill in holes on neck then re-drill?

1/8" dowels can't be hard to find, and if you had to go a little larger than 1/8" that wouldn't be the end of the world (3/16" and 1/4" would be fine, and 1/4" is even easier to find than 1/8"). I don't have any faith at a wood filler working for this application, as the stuff offers no ability to hold a screw in a structural capacity. Wood glue can be brittle (especially when used to fill a void) and doesn't hold a screw well on its own.

The absolute best way to plug and accurately redrill the neck screw holes is to drill out the existing holes, glue in plugs, cut & sand flush, then mark the new centers with a punch.

 

[devilfish]

Re: Best way to fill in holes on neck then re-drill?

Hi,

i have filled the holes with wood glue and 3 tooth picks crammed in, this may sound stupid but i have gently hammered in a third so they are very tight and glue in secure with the wood glue. this should be no different than a bit of dowel but if the drilling isnt successful i will just drill out the hole bigger and use a piece of dowel.

thanks

 

[devilfish]

Re: Best way to fill in holes on neck then re-drill?

for future reference...is white oak suitable for fillin holes then re-drilling?

 

[phred]

Re: Best way to fill in holes on neck then re-drill?

I know that Lowes, Menards, Hobby Lobby all sell hardwood dowels. Find a dowel larger than the hole drill it glue it in and your done.

P

 

[devilfish]

Re: Best way to fill in holes on neck then re-drill?

Hi,

I'm trying to fit 1/4 dowel into a 1/4 hole but its slightly too tight, m not convinced the dowel is getting to the bottom of the whole.

Also, there seems to be glue left in the very bottom from a failed attempt. I'm not going too drill any further to avoid going to close to the fretboard on the neck on the otherside.

What would you reccomend?

 

[WhoFan]

Re: Best way to fill in holes on neck then re-drill?

yup that toothpick idea i'm sure didn't work... 1/4 inch dowels... wow that is large dowel for the job... i lightly tap it in with a hammer but if you use too much glue it will block the dowel from going in the hole.. using slightly larger dowel is not always a bad thing as sometimes if the new hole is close to the dowel plug the drill bit will want to follow that dowel...

i assume in the UK you can't buy dowel rods at hardware or lumber stores that you can cut to length? Here in North America they sell 4 foot rods in about 15 different thickness's in every hardware lumber store...

when drilling for dowel rods on a neck i use masking tape on the drill bit so i know how far to drill so i don't go thru the top of the board kind of thing... i normally go about a 1/2 inch into the wood to about 5/8's deep... Sometimes/most times the dowel rod piece has to be slightly shorter then the drill hole as the glue inside the hole gets pushed up inside and stops the rod from going all the way in..

wait at least 24 hours after glueing the rod plugs in before trying to redrill the holes for the new neck screw postions...

and yes-clamp the neck in place where you feel it should be and then drill the holes thru the screw holes in the body into the neck... and keep the clamp on when putting the screws in as well as that will stop the neck from pushing out of teh pocket when you put the screw into the neck... to do so you will need to clamp the metal neck plate ready to go as well...

just like drilling for the dowel use masking tape as a depth guide so you don't drill too deep or go right thru the neck... just make the tape mark as long as the screws are and when you drill thru the body holes into the neck you will know where to stop for the right length of the screws... going slightly deeper then the screws does not hurt... but never too far

and make sure you have the right sized bit for drilling the new holes... it can't be too large and it can't be too small

 

[pzaxtl]

Re: Best way to fill in holes on neck then re-drill?

Hi,

i got a new mexican fenderneck for my strat project but the holes on the heel of the neck are a little out of place, whats the best way to fill them in and re-drill?

Ive got some wood filler but im tihkning there might be a better way, to make it a bit more secure when drilling as the holes will only be maybe 1 mm away frm the original ones

also, is it wise to drill the holes through the body when the neck is clamped in place, i know its better to clamp the neck in placwe then screw it on but if i drill through the body holes into the neck its deifintely in the right place...am i right in thinkign that?

thanks

Personally, I wouldn't use dowels. In this application a dowel will give you very weak screw holding ability since you will be drilling and driving screws into end grain. A better choice is a high strength epoxy. You can mix it, drip it into the holes (make sure you clean any excess with a rag dampened with acetone) and allow it to cure for 24-48 hours. Redrill your holes and you're all set.

i assume in the UK you can't buy dowel rods at hardware or lumber stores that you can cut to length? Here in North America they sell 4 foot rods in about 15 different thickness's in every hardware lumber store...

Most dowels that you can buy are rarely an accurate size. A better option is to make your own using a dowel plate or a lathe.

 

[WhoFan]

Re: Best way to fill in holes on neck then re-drill?

i like that epoxy idea but i don't think i'd ever use it myself... as far as making dowel on a lathe or by hand it sounds like a huge waist of time or over engineering... if i was going to make a plug by hand i'd make one that had the grain running the same way i guess... But i've never had an issue with buying dowel rods at Home Depot in my part of the world for plugging necks... and i've plugged and redrilled many necks that way with no issues

 

[jerryjg]

Re: Best way to fill in holes on neck then re-drill?

Whats wrong with matchsticks again? Thats what I use, and I get most of the void filled and then get it good and soaked with wood glue.After it dries, sometimes iit neeeds a drill to make a new papth for the screw, so you know its got to be good and tight for the screw to hold in there.Im just an amateur builder. Im certain the dowel would be best, but matchsticks definitly suffice for me.

 

[WhoFan]

Re: Best way to fill in holes on neck then re-drill?

Whats wrong with matchsticks again? Thats what I use, and I get most of the void filled and then get it good and soaked with wood glue.After it dries, sometimes iit neeeds a drill to make a new papth for the screw, so you know its got to be good and tight for the screw to hold in there.Im just an amateur builder. Im certain the dowel would be best, but matchsticks definitly suffice for me.

match sticks work well when you need to tighten up a bad screw hole... but when you really need to shift a neck a fair bit plugging the old holes and re-drilling is the way to go...

 

[Rich_S]

Re: Best way to fill in holes on neck then re-drill?

There was just an 2-part article on this in Vintage Guitar magazine. Dowels won't work; as pzaxtl said, you'll be screwing into end grain and they will strip out. You need to glue in wood plugs, which are cut so the grain runs across the circular end, rather than up and down. The guy who wrote the article used plugs that were about 3/8" or 1/2" that he cut from a maple board using a plug cutter. He then drilled (nearly) flat-bottomed holes using a special drill bit - either a forstner or a brad point, I don't remember which.

Sadly, do do this properly, you need a plug cutter, the special drill bit, and a drill press. I'll see if I still have the article around if you want to read the whole thing.

 

[Smilemon]

Re: Best way to fill in holes on neck then re-drill?

I used minwax wood putty or something like that for my neck and it worked OK.... I would try the dowel method, it seems more stable. My neck ended up shifting a little bit because of an air pocket in the putty, ill probably take it off and re set it soon.