Stripped neck screw

[EagleTree]

The neck inserts are pretty easy and a lifetime fix. The first time I installed them I used a drill press. The photos here were of a graphite neck I put on a Warmoth body. The second time I used inserts was on a Warmoth Pro 12 string neck. I didn't feel like walking to my shop and I just grabbed the household battery powered hand drill, taped the bit where I wanted to stop and very carefully kept it lined up. That worked fine and with wood, it seems safe enough.

Driving this type of insert in was a matter of locking a nut against the insert and using a phillips. On the Warmoth Pro neck, it took no more than a few minutes from start to finish. The inserts cost me $5.00 per set and the drill bit (which I've used for a few sets now) was about $8.00. Study the issue of strength and chemical interactions of metals if you have concern, there are many threads around with in-depth plausible information.

Forgive the size of the first photo, I wanted the screw locked to the insert to show up.

 

[whyachi]

I'll try to bum a drill off a neighbor or something and see if I can get my insertion on at home. I guess worse case scenerio, I get to go back to tech looking silly..

 

[Cagey]

I'll try to bum a drill off a neighbor or something and see if I can get my insertion on at home. I guess worse case scenerio, I get to go back to tech looking silly..

There's a little tool that chucks into a drill motor that makes the whole thing very easy.

It fits into the insert without harming the threads, and allows you to drive it in square to the hole.

You can get them from McMaster-Carr very reasonably.

Just be sure you have a variable speed drill motor, as you need to feed these things in slowly and carefully.

 

[Super Turbo Deluxe Custom]

IMO, if you were going to have one be loose, that would be the one you wanted.  The 2 closest to headstock shoulder most of the stress that comes from the string tension wanting the fold the headstock end of the neck back to bridge hingeing at the neck joint.  But, I certainly wouldn't leave it as is.  It's like if mounting a rackmount unit that requires 4 screws and you only have 2.  The 2 at the bottom will hold it and top fits flush against the rails because of gravity pulling down on the rackmount unit.

 

[wolf5150]

Cagey's set looks great.

I'm in the UK and those are simply not available and the USA suppliers won't export.

I REALLY wanna use threaded inserts on my soon to arrive Warmoth project but it's not looking good.  :icon_scratch:

 

[Cagey]

I just installed 8 of those inserts in a speaker cabinet for the speaker and grill using that tool. Worked like a champion. They all went in square, and it took no effort.

 

[Jeremiah]

There is a supplier of threaded neck inserts in the UK here:

http://www.manchesterguitartech.co.uk/hardware.html

But they're a lot more expensive than the ones in the USA. I thought about trying them on my current project but decided I couldn't afford them for now, and I'm not sure that I could drill the holes accurately enough without a drill press anyway.

 

[wolf5150]

I've looked at that supplier but the price is beyond ridiculous.
£50 for £10 worth of parts..... 

Plus, the inserts are not stainless steel, only the screws and I'm told that will risk the inserts cracking when tightened.

 

[Dan025]

I've looked at that supplier but the price is beyond ridiculous.
£50 for £10 worth of parts..... 

Plus, the inserts are not stainless steel, only the screws and I'm told that will risk the inserts cracking when tightened.

brass is acceptable but not zinc/pot metal/anything cast, most inserts for wood use are zinc. the stainless ones are idiot proof, unless you really try to force them then you may crack something but not the insert and then your really in trouble. remember =CB='s advise on pilot holes, the wood gets displaced not so much compressed so more clearance than you would think is needed. if done right you can even get the zinc ones into some hard woods but i wouldn't suggest it.

another tip, avoid using stainless screws in stainless inserts, although not always a problem there is a greater tendency to seize a bolt/screw that way.