Filling Holes in The Top of a Guitar

Iamnobody

Has anyone got a good example where the top of a guitar has been been filled - ideally on a translucent finish nitro mahogany guitar. 

I’m thinking making good old stop tail holes extra switch holes etc. 

I’ve got a project in mind that’ll see me doing this after putting a trem on...

I don’t want a plate or a decorative button I’m interested to see what’s possible in terms of making a wooden plug and making good the area as best as possible.

Thanks in advance 

Iamnobody

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=yJZEXG0qjZ0

Found this. I guess the same principles would apply. Not a bad job. I’m not expecting perfection.

WezV

You can get close by cutting plugs from grain matched Mahogany,   but invisible is difficult. 

 To get perfect you need to match grain, wood colour, and the direction it reflects light... or that plug may look invisible from one direction, but a few shades different from the other.

The more finish work you do, the less perfect the plug needs to be.     How translucent are you thinking?

Philly_Q

I've just spoken to M D Phillips and he recommends these.

Iamnobody

WezV said:

You can get close by cutting plugs from grain matched Mahogany,   but invisible is difficult. 

 To get perfect you need to match grain, wood colour, and the direction it reflects light... or that plug may look invisible from one direction, but a few shades different from the other.

The more finish work you do, the less perfect the plug needs to be.     How translucent are you thinking?

Cheers @WezV it’s natural mahogany replacing a stoptail piece with a maestro vibrola. The bass side hole would be the most visible.

Very translucent though. I’m looking for a neat tidy job - no illusions about it being invisible.

Iamnobody

I’ve managed to get some small side grain Mahogany plugs that aren’t a million miles off. 

Two in the holes and 1 on the top to show the size.

Not quite an interference fit but I’ll build up the diameter with glue I guess but there will be a halo all round the plug/hole. I’m going for a modded/vintage aesthetic anyway...

Does anyone have any tips for what to fill the depth of the stud holes with to bring them to a depth where the plugs lay on top? 

Normal wood filler? Epoxy?

Recognising that an invisible repair isn’t really possible I’ve bought some of this to flash over the top once the plugs have been secured in place. I hope it doesn’t make them too dark...I’ll obviously  try it on some of the leftover plugs first.

https://www.northwestguitars.co.uk/touch-up-pot-50ml-tobacco-brown-nitrocellulose-chip-repair-guitar-paint/

Kittyfrisk

^ Do you have some mahogany dust that you can mix with the glue to reduce the wood/glue halo?

Iamnobody

Kittyfrisk said:

^ Do you have some mahogany dust that you can mix with the glue to reduce the wood/glue halo?

Absolutely - I’ve got about 20 plugs that I could sand down. After some googling around his afternoon I’m going to fill the rest of depth of the stud holes with epoxy putty then I’ll glue/dust the plugs in. Thanks 

Kittyfrisk

This might help too  https://www.stewmac.com/video-and-ideas/online-resources/hardware-installation/plugging-old-tuner-holes-on-the-back-of-the-peghead.html

Iamnobody

Thanks @Kittyfrisk I’d read that and that’s how I knew to get side grain plugs. 

I won’t be using hide glue though. 

I’m just going to go for it and see what happens. The worst outcome is I don’t like the result and if that’s the case I can always have another go! 

The vibrola will cover most of the bottom one so I’m doing that one first and refining my technique for the top one that will show.

I’ll also practise the colour/finish on some of the spare plugs.

WezV

i wouldn't just fill the hole with filler or glue... try to get as much solid wood with the right grain direction as possible.  the best solution would be longer plugs, but you can also stack the ones you have

Also consider where the hardware will sit, as it may be better to push that top plug to one side for the best aesthetic fix

obviously the best solution is to make some plugs that fit tightly

Iamnobody

WezV said:

i wouldn't just fill the hole with filler or glue... try to get as much solid wood with the right grain direction as possible.  the best solution would be longer plugs, but you can also stack the ones you have

Also consider where the hardware will sit, as it may be better to push that top plug to one side for the best aesthetic fix

obviously the best solution is to make some plugs that fit tightly

Good advice Wez re the placement for aesthetics. It’s not something I’d particularly considered but I will do now.  

I could stack the plugs - is that recommended over filler just so there’s more wood in the body? 

I don’t have any lumps of mahogany to pick from - I managed to get some 12mm plugs from ebay I guess 13/14mm would have been better.