Plug screw holes left when I removed pick guard from 575?

[Flat]

So I decided to remove the pick guard from my Heritage 575. Of course, that left three little screw holes empty and abandoned.

Can I plug these holes with something innocuous? Wax? A dab of wood putty?

I might like to put the guard back someday. (I probably won't, but I want to preserve the option.)

I just realized...I suppose I could re-insert the screws in the holes...but that seems odd too.

Anyone have any advice for me regarding this very, very serious problem?

Besides "get over it."

[phazyme]

Tooth picks. One of the oldest tricks around. Cut them flush . When u want to replace the pg screws right back in. You can probably dab the tooth pick ends with dye to hide them. Ask a luthier.

[phazyme]

Fixing stripped screw holes

Remove the screw. Get a wooden toothpick. Very gently push in don't force. Snip flush gently with wire cutters . Re screw the stripped piece gently into the hole/tooth pick. Screw in till flush but don't force. Tooth pick will expand and voila--good as new.

[vintagelove]

I put the screws back in.

[Jabberwocky]

Get over it or rather, them.

[citizenk74]

If it was my guitar, I think I would reinsert the screws, to avoid the (for me, probably inevitable) loss of the little things. YMMV. BTW Nice guitar!

[Klatu]

If I were a screw, I'd want to be all up in that guitar.

[Matt Cushman]

A dab of water based putty that matches the color of the surrounding area is a good reversible fix.

[Longways to Go]

I live with the holes. You won't even remember they're there in a couple of days

[TedBPhx]

My Washburn J600 came from the factory with extra holes where they had tried and missed setting the pick guard. The "floating" junk pickup it came with was screwed to a column of wood and rubber that was screwed to the top. Putting the Benedetto S6 on the pick guard required me to drill one more hole in the side to get the angles and heights right for me. Ran the wires through one of the holes left from the original pup column.

Lots of holes, not a luthier. Not an expensive worth preserving guitar. Ideal for me to get a glimmer into pickup and pick guard mounting geometry. Fun to play. No one notices all the holes but me.

[goldenwave77]

I would see if you can find some wooden golf tees. Lots of them are made of maple (same as the 575).

You can whittle them down to size and raw wood, and probably tap them in without even using any glue, then just find a little stain to match them...actually, try the stain (or paint first), on the raw wood, before the whittling process.


PS: After reading the other posts, maybe you'd be just as smart to leave well enough alone. It will have no effect on the instrument. (I have an acoustic Benedetto-type with extra holes in it, due to replacing the cello type tailpiece with a sturdier type. I'll never sell this gtr. so I've never bothered to plug them.) And putting back the pickguard would be easier than re-drilling holes, etc.

[vinlander]

..

[vinlander]

On a cheap Epi, for fixing such holes left by a pickguard or former Tailpiece, I use round toothpicks and finish with a bit of wax pen to match the color and a small nail polish drop to seal it somehow. On a American quality guitar like a Gibson or Heritage I would simply put the screws back so there are no holes and leave the pickguard in the case should you want to sell the guitar later.

[Matt Cushman]

If you want to reuse these holes again I do not think it is a good idea to put any type of glue in the screw holes. The best way to hide these is to have the repair be reversible. Whenever you have multiple ways to do a repair always choose the option that is the easiest to reverse. The next owner may want a pick guard. I have had to reuse screw holes before and redrilling plugged screw holes is a pain. It is easy to clear out W B putty. Matching the finish is also better with a well matched color in the putty. Plugging the holes keeps grime from fouling the holes. Even if you lose the screws you can get more.

[skykomishone]

I'm not sure why you think it's such a serious problem. I'd leave them alone, if it were mine, because someday, someone might want a pickguard reinstalled, being a normal part of the guitar. If it's something you are unable to endure, then a wooden matchstick, carved and tinted to match would do the trick. They're typically softer wood than a toothpick, making them easier to remove at a later time if desired. If at all possible, avoid the glue. If not possible, use watered down carpenter's glue. I'm not a professional luthier, but have plugged a few screw holes. Of course, as suggested above by Matt, leaving the screws in is an option too.

[Flat]

Sorry, skykomishone. I was just being facetious. It's not a serious issue at all. More the opposite. But I was still wondering what people did.

Thanks to everybody for a broad range of advice. I'll ponder it all and figure something out.

The main thing is that my dog thinks it looks hip without the guard. And that's what counts.

[citizenk74]

That looks like an exceptionally well-behaved dog. I think both your carpets and guitars are safe in his paws.
Also: nice​ guitar!

[Klatu]

What is that Carr in the background? I've read that the Ramblers are pretty sweet.

[Flat]

Thanks, citizenk74! My audience always achieves that calm, glassy-eyed look, but never applauds.

Klatu - That's a Carr Mercury. The Rambler is a step up in power. I never played through a Rambler. The Mercury has an attenuation feature that lets me cut the power down to 1/10 watt. My neighbors in the building think that's a fantastic feature.

I like the amp a lot, but I will say it is not the perfect clone of a Fender blackface that I thought it would be. (My bad, not Carr's. Carr never claimed that.)

The Mercury has got it's own thing. And it's beautiful, clean or driven. But it doesn't really have that super high-end glassy sparkle of a great old blackface. And I kinda wish it did, but that's a different amp. This one is pretty much perfect for my home situation though.