The Dreaded Stripped out Neck Heel Screw Hole!

[arealken]

Okay, first off, I got the neck aligned with the body- not 100%, but I'm a rank amateur. No small feat cause for some gosh darn reason, the neck heel was tighter than a , well, it was super tight, and it wasnt the finish eweither. I eneded up putting a stress fracture in the paint, even after I sanded the neck pocket, but I digress..
All was well, until one of the neck screws stripped. I don't wanna remove the neck . I don't wanna dowel! Arrrrgh. I already know what you all are gonna say- remove the neck and dowel...ARRRRGHHH!!
Is there any stop gap measure..at all??

Sending out an SOS Sending out an SOS..

 

[stratamania]

I can't think of a stop gap worth doing... But  Perhaps try to put some thin paper or thread around the screw to give it some extra girth, probably won't take much. A dab of two or superglue to keep it in place. Let it dry and then see if you can screw it in.

Or drop a piece of matchstick into the hole and see if it helps the screw to gain some purchase.

Or a thicker screw.

Note: I have not tried the above and so it's purely a suggestion at your own risk etc.

Longer term perhaps at the next string change you need to dowel or even better see threaded inserts as sggested by Cagey below.

$ 25 is a good deal.

 

[Cagey]

The ultimate solution is threaded inserts.

I know a guy who knows a guy who does that sort of thing all the time, and understand he only charges like $25 and includes the screws/inserts...

 

[mayfly]

I agree with Cagey - threaded inserts are what i'd do.

`course I do that as a matter of course...

 

[TBurst Std]

Send the neck to Cagey for inserts. Get a fret job there as well.

 

[fdesalvo]

Toothpics + Titebond will get you up and running.  Cagey did a neck from me with the inserts and it's def worth it and will prevent this from happening again.

 

[arealken]

The only issue I got with inserts is that I would want both neck and body mated, because most f the builds I do are  'Hienz 57 ' assemblies , and that I need to be able to adjust the neck in the pocket for the proper string angle.
BTW, I used a long toofpick, and it's tight, but no real way to tell if it anchored the screw to the neck heel or the body. I've done this before and removed the neck to find it was just tight into the neck heel.
MY one saving grace might be this is the tightest fitting neck I ever assembled. had to sand some, and even then I put a finish crack in it.

 

[Cagey]

The vast majority of the necks I do don't come with bodies at all. I often have no idea what they're going to be attached to. The insert pattern is the same when I'm done as the hole pattern was to begin with. So, if you could move the neck around before the inserts were installed, you'll still be able to afterward.

The only caveat I would offer is that unlike wood screws where the only thing stopping them from going in is lack of driver torque, machine screws need to thread straight. So, if the body's bolt pattern is off, there may need to be some adjustment. In the rare instance that happens, it's usually only off by a small amount and simply redrilling the holes in the body a couple thousandths oversize will give you the slop you need to mate things up.

 

[Super Turbo Deluxe Custom]

I'm a threaded insert convert.  Everything I own with a bolt on neck has em, and I've done a few for others as well.  It just makes working on them easy and neck/body swaps if you're into that.  Every other year, or as needed, I'll give a neck a naptha scrubbing, fretboard lemon oiling, and the tape up and steel wool fret polishing treatment.  Popping the neck off and no risk of over removal stripping the neck is a breeze.

 

[Strat Avenger]

My last Warmoth build got threaded inserts, and that is the only way I'll go from now on. I also intend to convert my older guitars to threaded inserts.