Strap Buttons - Another Newby Question

Ozopart

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Just installed strap buttons for the first time. The heel one seems fine, well centered. Given that my neck was already on, I didn't follow Aaron's instructions to do the horn one without the neck on. Drilling/Screwing went fine, but I messed up and it is noticeably off center. Any thoughts on whether this is a problem to worry about, or just chalk it up to something that will bother me a bit as I am into symmetry. If it isn't a problem as far as usage, I can live with it. Otherwise is it unwise to consider removing it, filling in the hole, and redrilling on center? I am attaching 2 pictures.
 

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OMG!!!!  That's bound to destroy Western civilization!!!!

Just kidding.  From a functional standpoint, it won't make any difference.  If it really bugs you, fill the hole and re-drill more carefully.  You are likely close enough that the re-aligned strap button will still cover where the filled hole is, so you won't have to worry about re-finishing anything. If it doesn't cover all of the old,filled hole, just add one of those felt washer thingies between the button and the guitar (I use them on all my guitars).

Bill, tgo
 
Looks fine to me. If it does bother you, it wouldn't be hard to plug, and move it over so that it would be covered by the button.

I did mine recently, my hand drill is pretty low profile and I was able to rest the back of the drill against the bottom side of the neck and hit the body centerline with barley any angle.

Tip, mark the spot you want to hit with anything sharp, a carving knife will work. That small divot can start the hole in the right spot.
 
Thanks everyone. I don't want to turn a small problem into a bigger one, but my struggle is I am cursed with an eye for symmetry. I know I should live with it, but ....
On that note, if I was to fill it and move it, would I just get some wood glue and fill the hole, or would I need to put something in the hole along with the wood glue. Also, any suggestions on what glue to use? Finally, since my body is black on the side I am guessing if I fill the hole I could just use a permanent black marker to cover the glued hole and wouldn't need to sand or refinish otherwise?
 
Just plain wood glue.  A marker would work, if you want something glossier then try nail polish.  Be very sparing in application and polish lightly over the spot with swirl remover. 

Also you can use the image upload feature which is at attachments or other options below the type box.
Shoot ... edit, I assumed s/he would put a dowel into the hole.
Also, look at the warmoth video where the Aaron made his double neck.
 
Maybe you should live with it or risk making it worse.

No you need something in the hole in addition to wood glue.

But if you want to move it you would fill the hole with a piece of appropriate wood such as a piece of dowel, glue it in with a PVA type of wood glue such as Tite Bond.

You then need to do what should have been done to begin with use masking tape and measure where you are going to mark for and drill the hole. I provided a link before to this build thread but here is the specific post.

Quilted Purple Strat Build Strap Locks

Then determine if after fitting the strap lock and perhaps a felt washer if the old hole shows up. If not just add a drop of superglue to seal the end of the exposed dowel. If you need to hide it perhaps try some black nail polish as suggested by Rick.

 
I have a question for Ozopart as I am curious why someone with an eye for symmetry has embarked on putting this guitar together and I don't intend or want this to be taken the wrong way but you seem to be lacking in various basic skills such as marking holes and drilling them so I wonder if so why choose to set out to do this without researching ahead of time.
 
stratamania said:
Maybe you should live with it or risk making it worse.

No you need something in the hole in addition to wood glue.

But if you want to move it you would fill the hole with a piece of appropriate wood such as a piece of dowel, glue it in with a PVA type of wood glue such as Tite Bond.

You then need to do what should have been done to begin with use masking tape and measure where you are going to mark for and drill the hole. I provided a link before to this build thread but here is the specific post.

Quilted Purple Strat Build Strap Locks

Then determine if after fitting the strap lock and perhaps a felt washer if the old hole shows up. If not just add a drop of superglue to seal the end of the exposed dowel. If you need to hide it perhaps try some black nail polish as suggested by Rick.
Good advice as always. I know I should likely leave well enough alone, but on the other hand, making mistakes is to be expected, and learning how to fix them seems like a useful skill. BTW, I actually did the tape and measure process and thought I had it right, but .... The end button is perfect to the eye but somehow I got the horn one wrong even after taping, measuring, marking with a black marker, then drilling.
I am a bit confused by your reply in that the hole I am looking to fill is only 1/8". I started with a 5/64th bit then slightly enlarged the hole with a 1/8" bit, then did a very light countersink. No issues with the quality of the hole and the button seems secure, but it just somehow ended up off center. For such a small hole, and one that I don't intend to reuse, do you still suggest adding some type of wood with the glue, or would just glue work?
I am going to just live with this for a bit while I decide if fixing it could make things worse. My only worry is if the new hole would be structurally compromised if it is close to the old, filled in hole. Not sure. Best I give this thought, I just hate that I messed it up. Of all the things I worried about prior to the build, drilling a hole like this in the wrong place wasn't on my mind. I was more worried about cracking.
 
Yes you need to glue in a piece of dowel or cocktail stick etc. Especially if drilling a new hole quite close to it.

No just glue is not good enough, which is why I wrote what I did above.
 
stratamania said:
I have a question for Ozopart as I am curious why someone with an eye for symmetry has embarked on putting this guitar together and I don't intend or want this to be taken the wrong way but you seem to be lacking in various basic skills such as marking holes and drilling them so I wonder if so why choose to set out to do this without researching ahead of time.
Your question does not offend me in the least. I appreciate what you are saying. I did research all of this for months and months prior to taking the leap and ordering. But research only takes you so far. Especially given that for every task there are multiple, often conflicting opinions and advice. Based on this research I so far have managed to eliminate or mitigate any of the issues with drilliing. I basically considered all of the options and went with taping, using an awl, drilling and then screwing.
As to lacking in basic skills, you are correct, I have never been handy. But a few things went into my embarking on this project. I will try to list them here, but will likely forget one or more of them.
(1) I looked for a built guitar on Fender and other places, including local guitar shops. Either they were not in stock (like at Fender where to this day the guitars I was interested in are "Notify me when Available", or they had some in stock but I didn't like the parts used and/or colors. I should add I didn't want a guitar from China or Asia in general.
(2) In this strange world where it is so hard to get things done, and in my case I have a hard time finding people to do the work as it is usually not enough to get their interest, I feel that even someone who isn't handy like me, needs to learn. I am not wealthy but I figured this would be a good project to try and learn, recognizing that I would make mistakes. Sure I obsess over the mistakes, but I am trying to be logical and less emotional and recognize that even with research, mistakes will happen and that the important thing is to learn. In the end I figured the worse case scenario is I would mess up the build and have to take the guitar to a tech to fix/complete. So far my mistakes (knock on wood here) haven't been that critical. I looked into the bridge setup work by a tech and couldn't find anyone who wanted to do it. Not sure why.
(3) I really wanted a guitar with better parts than most of the stocked models.
In general I just want to learn to be more handy and with the support of people like you I feel I am making some progress. It might not look like it. But at least I have a working guitar, albiet one that still needs tweaking. Even though painful and stressful, I guess the "joy" is in the journey and as long as I don't completely ruin it, I will live with it. And again, had I found what I was looking for in stock at Fender, I likely would have bought it.
I hope this helps. I do apologize for the questions. I think perhaps now I should just try to figure things out on my own and through the internet.
 
bro, i sincerely doubt being slightly off center will affect the way it functions. u just need to weigh your ocd for perfection against teh amount of work it would take to "fix". srsly, your time is better spent playing the guitar than fretting (get it?) about minutiae
 
BroccoliRob said:
bro, i sincerely doubt being slightly off center will affect the way it functions. u just need to weigh your ocd for perfection against teh amount of work it would take to "fix". srsly, your time is better spent playing the guitar than fretting (get it?) about minutiae
I completely agree. At this point I am going to live with it and decide sometime in the future if it is worth the risk/effort to fix. For now my focus is going to be on dialing in the final setup (saddle, intonation, etc.), and playing it. My bridge setup is much more stable now than a few days ago as it is staying in tune better, and the only remaining items on the build are installing the tremolo cover, and I am considering string trees. With my Hipshot locking tuners I shouldn't need them, but not sure if it would be good to have them anyway for added tuning stability and I also like the way they look.
Now it is onward to the journey of pedals, etc.
 
Thanks Ozopart I see where you are coming from. Feel free to ask questions.

String trees are usually something to avoid if you have a well cut nut and staggered locking tuners they should not be needed. In fact a string tree introduces a point of friction where it can reduce tuning stability.
 
Live and learn, eh.

Pedals that's a great topic:  My recommendation for your first seven are:
1) A tuner
2) Overdrive, get a TS clone.  People will suggest others but that is the safest bet, then move on from there.
3) Delay or reverb depending if your amp has either or neither.
4) Distortion or Fuzz, depending on what your speakers deliver
5) Volume Pedal (I use it for swells and to cut the sound)
6) Wah or Auto-Wah (I use an auto wah for solos and funkiness)
7) Tremolo ('cause I like the song rumble)

That should get you started.
 
rick2 said:
Live and learn, eh.

Pedals that's a great topic:  My recommendation for your first seven are:
1) A tuner
2) Overdrive, get a TS clone.  People will suggest others but that is the safest bet, then move on from there.
3) Delay or reverb depending if your amp has either or neither.
4) Distortion or Fuzz, depending on what your speakers deliver
5) Volume Pedal (I use it for swells and to cut the sound)
6) Wah or Auto-Wah (I use an auto wah for solos and funkiness)
7) Tremolo ('cause I like the song rumble)

That should get you started.
Good suggestions for sure. I guess my research in that area is leading me in the right direction. Not sure of the choices I made in terms of brand, but here is what I have so far:
(1) I have an old Thomas Organ (Original) Cry Baby Wah Pedal from when I played back in the 70's (yes, I am old!).
(2) I just purchased a chromatic tuner a Peterson StroboStomp HD.
(3) I just purchased an overdrive pedal - EarthQuaker Devices Plumes Small Signal Shredder Overdrive Effects Pedal. It looks good and the price was right. If I need a "better' OD pedal in the future this one wasn't a huge investmet.
That is it so far. I am looking into a pedal board and I like the Voodoo Lab pedal boards, and I like that they are made in the USA, but they are out of stock now. Not sure if that is the right choice, but for now I like them. Finally I probably need to replace my instrument cables as they are also vintage from my 70's playing days. They seem to be OK so I am not rushing that.
I noticed you left out modulation/chorus. I am thinking of a JHS Unicorn pedal for that as I really want to work on the type of tone that Robin Trower gets. Not copy him, but the idea of what he does is what I want to explore.
The rest is in the future.
 
I use a pedal train board and a voodoo labs power block.  I left out modulation and chorus etc  because (to me) they are not the essentials.  To play with a univibe, which I got, and sound like robin trower takes skills I don’t have.  I’ll use the univibe at the beginning of a song to get a heartbeat going.  Chorus to make the sound more expansive, more chimey.  You might also want to consider something like a ehx  pog, they’re fun. Phasers are cool too, Mayfly just invented a phaser / vibrato pedal and the phaser is sweet!
 
TBurst Std said:
For pedalboards, check out Temple boards. I have 2 and like them.
Thanks, these look really nice, and not made in China, an added bonus for me. Any suggestions on the best dealer to purchase from? I see Sweetwater and Musicians Friend for online, and I am not a huge fan of those companies. I don't mind buying "online" from local stores but it looks like they are all out of stock. I am thinking the Duo 24 would work best for me. Sweetwater says they have it but they often say that and then just take forever to ship. I guess I will just keep checking.
 
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