Ever had a strap button fall out? Maybe stripped a pickguard hole and can’t get the screw to stay in the body? Here’s a tip that will help protect your guitar’s finish as well as the wood itself:

First, you’ll need several toothpicks and some white glue. Next, find the screw hole in the guitar that needs repairing. Apply a drop of glue to the tip of the toothpick and spread the glue thinly until it covers approximately ¼” of the tip.

Next, poke the glue-tipped toothpick into the hole as deep as it will go (don’t use too much force). Once it’s in there, carefully break the toothpick off so that the glued tip remains in the hole, but there is no excess toothpick sticking out of the hole.

Repeat this process (with another toothpick) until there is no more room to fit any more toothpicks in the hole. Finally, install your strap button or pickguard (or whatever else uses a screw) and then apply the screws. The toothpicks will act as fresh wood and will grip the screw easily.

This will keep you from having to drill new holes and save your guitar’s finish!