Lock nut Screw broken into headstock

Here i better indicate the screw's position :

Gracias, Have you tried this with success? i guess i'd have to remove some wood around the screw right in order to make room for the wire cutter? right? Also why a pair of wire cutters ? and not a single one? or maybe i haven't understood correctly.
In order to remove it I am thinking of smth like that : www.stewmac.com/shop/Tools/Routing_bits/Guitar_Screw_Rescue_Kit.html
Or just drill around the screw and then plug in a wood dowel/plug and glue it with strong bison wood glue.

About wax, many thanx, next time i drill and screw it will not be a 5 minutes job, i'll take my time to do it right (wax, etc..) and finally fix the guitar to play nice.

Best wishes man!!! all the best!!!
i know of your solution with the metal steel plate, but nut height is an issue, with the depth of wood as is now under the nut, in order to have an adequate action, i must use only a slight shim of lets say 0.3mm - 0.5 mm (max). How thick should the metal plate (which then i would have to drill-tap as you said) ??

just thinking if i could just repair everything (remove screw and glue plug back in) and just install a top mount nut. Here is the nut i am most probably gonna order : g-jax.com/510/tremolo-units/tremolo-locknuts/fgr-2.html

In the meantime here is one for the occasion, (the first part only, the last one is not so happy) :

Ahhh, one of the quirks of the English language.
Pliers are pairs, just like trousers. So, just one (pair of) pliers.

Actually, I suggested wire cutters, since they would cut into the top of the screw remains, allowing you to spin the screw out. Use them vertically, as opposed to parallel to the head. Just try to nip the top of the screw enough to get purchase to turn it out a little at a time.
Shouldn't do too much damage to the wood. Well, not as much as has already been done, anyway....

That's a neat tool, from Stewmac, looks like it would do the job nicely.

I work, mostly, as a builder/decorator and have had to use this technique many times in the past. Sometimes it's not so pretty afterwards, but the job gets prettied up afterwards.

Seems like cynical1 has some input, so, I'd wait to hear from him before you proceed, if you can, that is....

Hope you have a great day, cynical1, daughter's weddings are fun, expensive, but fun.

OK, I'm back. Long day...and I'm dog sitting...but that's another story.

Now, onto the matter at hand. If it were me, I would leave the sheared screw right where it is until the new nut arrives. Pulling it now is just fixing a problem you don't know if you have yet.

If the new nut arrives and the new holes miss the existing screw just leave it there. It's not hurting anything. Especially if it's sheared flat with the nut shelf routing.

If you have to remove the screw I'd use a screw extractor. If the screw is brass it'll drill easily and should come out with little drama with the proper sized screw extractor.

And using a bar of soap to scrape the threads against works good to remove some of the resistance screwing into hardwoods. Been doing it for decades and it works like a charm.

So, long and short of it, you don't have a problem now, so you don't need to do anything with the sheared screw. If the new nut mounting holes miss the screw, you don't have a problem there either. The odds are in your favor you won't have to do anything.

And thanks again for the good wishes. The wedding went well and they're off on their brief honeymoon...which explains why I'm watching dogs...

Happy Trails

Cynical One

Cyn1, glad it went well. Your daughter's husband is lucky to have you around (especially if he is into stringed instruments)
I will order the new nut today, i also hope it will end up just like you said, and i initially hoped. Schaller and Gotoh screws are massive compared to the tiny chinese cheapo ones. Lets see how it will turn out. Just a question : what will happen if there is marginal contact of the screws? Will it affect the efficiency of the grip?

Newey, thanx for the tip, seems wood extractors are a bit pricey, but will keep in mind. When i get the new nut i will open a new thread with full review.

Aha, I see Cyn1 returned a few minutes before I completed typing my post.



Yes, the new screw will need to sit completely clear of the old or you will have a problem.

I have ordered from Stew-Mac several times. Their customer service is very good, in my experience. And they have many things that you simply can't find anywhere else, like the copper shielding tape with the conductive adhesive. Often, though, for basic guitar hardware items like screws and other bits, they are very expensive compared to other online suppliers.

...and my mother said their was a Tooth Fairy...

There's a countersink for a flathead screw on the nut, right? Is it offset for a slanted hole? I'd bet money that it's not.

Find a drill press, use a fingerboard sanding block to center the neck and use some 3M blue tape to secure the neck to the sanding block. Secure the sanding block and neck to the table on the drill press, preferably with a drill press vice, and make sure the nut shelf is square and level by cross checking with a bubble level.

Next, drill the mounting holes straight.

Man, the crap you read on the Internet...

As far as removing the screw, wait until the new nut arrives. Cross that bridge when you come to it.

Happy Trails

Cynical One

OK, I feel your pain in regards to a lack of proper tools for the job. You have two options. You can find a friend with said tools, or try and wing it with what you've got. Keep in mind that your results will be a direct reflection of the tools used to perform the job.

Use the proper size bit for your screws. Any high speed steel drill bit will work as you're only drilling into maple. A metric drill chart would be handy, but I found this in a hurry:



Size the new screws and use the proper size bit according to the chart. I normally wrap some masking tape on the bit to mark the depth I want to hit. Drilling through sucks.

With all of the Asian import tools out there you could probably score a small drill press for cheap. Buying it used drops the price even more and may get you into a higher end tool for the same money.

I don't know if they have them over there, but we have a handy little cheater device that turns most hand drills into a drill press.



These can run between $50.00-$100.00US

I used to have a hand drill press I picked up at a flea market for $10.00. It was similar to this:



I used it primarily for drilling the small screw holes for tuners, but it would work for what you're doing. God only knows where you'd find one these days for under $100.00US...

A small vice is all you're looking for. These are always available at garage sales, flea markets or classified ads. I still have a heavy duty anvil vice that's about 80 years old that I scored for $15.00US at a garage sale. This thing will survive the Apocalypse and the it's still tight as a new one...you can even flip the jaw plates from smooth to serrated. This may be overkill for you, as the thing weighs close to 100 pounds (45kg)


Correct


Correct

Correct, but the tip lunaalta mentioned on using wax is equally as valid.


Very important.

Any more questions?

Happy Trails

Cynical One

well, from what I see it attaches like most drill vices.

This is from their website:



You are correct in that if they gave you the wrong bolts it will be a challenge to make it work.

HTC1

Cyn thanx.
SG, that's exactly what i am gonna do. I am going to a store, that i know for sure they dont sell mobile drill press stands and vice, and tell them, that i had no option buying from them. I think they will help me.

Just a note drill press stand cost about 37 EUR, and vice 17 EUR.

I also got the new Gotoh nut from Japan today . I will keep you posted. Maybe there will be no need to remove the broken screw. But in the mean time, i had bought from USA this #1 Screw Extractor by Irwin 53701