Its the strap screw, so if you botch this up, your strap will fall off while playing some day and you risk dropping your guitar and doing a lot of damage.

Either fix it properly yourself or get a pro to do it. IMO you need to dril the hole out, insert dowell thats the size of the hole. glue the dowell in place and leave it to dry for a day or so and then rebore the hole. you will be sure of it being as secure as possible that way.

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Yes, tongue firmly planted in cheek




Okay then... Looks like I'm going' in!!!

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“All music is folk music, I ain't never heard no horse sing a song.” Louis Armstrong

Here is another way too.

Take the screw out - put a drop or two of thin super glue, sometimes called CA glue, (cyanoacrylate glue) in the hole, letting it run down the old threads. Wait a minute or so, then re-install the screw. If it still does not tighten properly - repeat the above. This should make the wood threads very hard and allow you to tighten the screw properly - and it should stay tight.

I have used this in fixing several wood screw holes around the house, not just guitars.

Also - if the hole is worn enough to need some filling - the toothpick idea, along with the super glue works great too.

Two CAUTIONS:
The stuff is thin and flows better than water. If allowed to get between your fingers, It WILL glue your fingers together strong enough that it is painful to separate the fingers again. Same with any other skin-to-skin contact.

The other is - some people are allergic to the fumes. And the fumes can be an irritant to the eyes and nose.

Good luck. I hope this helps.

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NOT, "nuff said"!

Unless the screw hole is the size of a cigarette or something where doweling is a last resort, those other remedies have been proven to work just as well and to be just as permanent. Further, under ordinary circumstances not like my above example, once the cut and glued in dowel is bored out, what are you left with? A circular sliver which could have just as well been been fabricated by lining the walls of the hole (or what's left of the threads) with an appropriate glue, immediately followed by the toothpicks. Or, in the case of shall we say, the more "eccentric" of guitar owners (How's that for PC?), slivers of a preferred wood species in lieu of the toothpicks will also work equally as well.

I've been in this business professionally for over 40 years now and I assure you, there are many effective techniques to achieve the same end where only the narrow minded reject all but the one which to their way of thinking is the only logical choice. YMMV.

See, I've taken it easy on you.

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You dig?

Go Martian

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"Life is like eating jalapenos. What you do today may burn your arse tomorrow"

I have to fully agree with martian there. Glue and sliver of wood / dowel and glue, both ways are adding wood and glue. Unless someone made a mess out of it like drilling out a broken screw or something, I personally would perfer the stock hole over a bigger hole with a plug in it and damage to surrounding finish.

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PROVE me wrong in any area and I shall stand corrected. Thank you.

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You dig?

Well if you don't want to use the tooth pick or a matchbook method try this. Get a piece of wood and saw through it a couple times and gather up the saw dust mix it with wood glue, pack it in the hole and let dry good then go from there. That button is going nowhere and you are less likely to crack or chip the finish from tapping for a plug.

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The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.

Thomas Jefferson

Well if you don't want to use the tooth pick or a matchbook method try this. Get a piece of wood and saw through it a couple times and gather up the saw dust mix it with wood glue, pack it in the hole and let dry good then go from there. That button is going nowhere and you are less likely to crack or chip the finish from tapping for a plug.

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The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.

Thomas Jefferson

I prefer the KISS rule (Keep It Simple Stupid)
(some say it's Keep It Stupid Simple - but anyway)

IMHO the glue and wood slivers/shavings/sawdust, whether it's toothpicks or whatever, works great - has the least chance of doing even more damage to the guitar - and doesn't over complicate a simple job.

I had this same issue with my Epiphone Les Paul. I bought strap locks with narrower screws and the stock screws would not fit them. I went with the toothpick / wood glue method and it has worked fine. It's been used on guitars way more valuable than mine and It's a proven method. I'm surprised at the amount of debate on this one, seems people want to over-think a simple fix.

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