I have a new pickguard and I want to put it on my strat. Both are 11 holes but don’t allign up correctly, I’m aware that I have to drill new holes, but what about the old ones? They’re very close to the new holes that must be drilled, so should I fill them with toothpicks and wood glue, then drill the new holes?
New Pickguard Replacement
- Thread starter A_Cold_1
- Start date
beaubrummels
Well-known member
Re: New Pickguard Replacement
I would just leave the screws off that don't match, in case you want to revert it later.
I would just leave the screws off that don't match, in case you want to revert it later.
ItsaBass
New member
Re: New Pickguard Replacement
How close are the two holes?
Unless they are really right next to each other, I'd try installing it by drilling a new hole, and seeing what happens. If it works, leave the old hole alone. If it doesn't, then fill the old hole with any number of things. I prefer to drill and dowel, myself. You can get poplar dowel rods for dirt cheap at any hardware store. Use a small miter box and a small hand saw to cut the length of dowel you need (should be around 3/8").
Make sure that the drill bit you use to make the new screw hole is the width of the core diameter of the pickguard screw. A common mistake is to use a drill bit that is about as wide as the thread diameter. That creates an unnecesarily large hole, and gives the threads very little wood to bite.
How close are the two holes?
Unless they are really right next to each other, I'd try installing it by drilling a new hole, and seeing what happens. If it works, leave the old hole alone. If it doesn't, then fill the old hole with any number of things. I prefer to drill and dowel, myself. You can get poplar dowel rods for dirt cheap at any hardware store. Use a small miter box and a small hand saw to cut the length of dowel you need (should be around 3/8").
Make sure that the drill bit you use to make the new screw hole is the width of the core diameter of the pickguard screw. A common mistake is to use a drill bit that is about as wide as the thread diameter. That creates an unnecesarily large hole, and gives the threads very little wood to bite.
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