Bernie Marsden headless jack plate screw, any advice on removal?

[Bordonbert]

Hi guys. Right from the start let me say, I'm a sweaty player like you would not believe! Within half an hour at a gig I'm dripping with sweat right down to my arms and hands and that makes for a slick and acid guitar which I have to clean very regularly. My PRS is a 2017 Bernie Marsden which is only about 5 months old, bought from new as an out of date stock item, so it's not long in the tooth.

I've just been doing a bit of maintenance on it and noticed the jack plate screws heads were very corroded, and I mean very. I was surprised for such a young guitar. The jack had been a little loose and was requiring a tighten too so I decided to gently remove the plate, tighten it up and replace the screws. The first came out easily looking very sorry for itself down its whole length. The second started easily then simply twisted off about 1/8" below the wood surface. This took absolutely no force at all and I was surprised at how corroded the whole shank of the other screw was too.

I would like to keep to the 2 screw oval plate though I would go to a black one by preference, and I will use stainless screws to refit. However to do that, first I need to remove that screw and it is going to open up the hole for a short depth and will need plugging I would guess, unless someone here has a magic method for doing it? (I even considered a couple of drops of WD40 in the hole though it shouldn't go anywhere near a guitar in normal circumstances.)

Can anyone confirm the dimensions for the BM jack plate which seem to be 38mm but on a curve as I would guess a black one would have to be aftermarket and not a PRS original part? Also if anyone can describe the screw size which I think is 1/2" No3 it would be useful. That may need to be lengthened of course.

Am I alone with this corrosion issue? Does anyone else already prefer to upgrade the screws to stainless to prevent it? It's a tiny issue I know but it would be a cheap bit of preventative maintenance.

 

[elvis]

I also have lots of corrosive sweat, but never had that level of corrosion. I have had a few boats, though, and do love the SS hardware for that. I would take the practical route and go SS. Seems like a great idea.

 

[grausch]

Not sure how I would get that screw out. Usually one would use a screw extractor, but those screws are quite small. Hopefully someone else can come along and offer some advice.

Regarding replacing all screws with SS, I never felt the need to on my guitars. However, If I need to replace screws for other projects I usually would do so, unless there may be a specific reason not to.

 

[Bordonbert]

Done it! The Dremel is your friend.

I first wondered if I could somehow put a slot across the end of the screw stump with an idea to screwing it out using a very small screwdriver. Belay that one, it was too hard and too rusted in. So it was on to the Dremel. I took the classic approach of drilling a ring of small holes around the screw stump using a 1.5mm drill. I then connected them with a very fine burr head from the Dremel toolkit so the screw was left standing alone with just a hint of wood holding it at its tip. Careful waggling with a pair of tweezers broke it free and it came out sweet as a nut.

I made sure to work from inside the original hole as much as possible angling the tool so its head was against the screw at all times and the hole edge wasn't enlarged. It hasn't been opened up too much as you can see and the void inside is a bigger diameter than the hole that has been left on the surface. No way any plug will fall out once it's set.

It's still very small as the Dremel let's you work pretty much in total control if you take your time and the screw is only a #3 or #4. It's still a lot less than the edge of the jack plate which means it won't be seen anyway. I'll pack it with wood filler and then drill it for the new screws. One little trick I learned is to find a nail varnish colour which blends with your guitar's natural colour and make any insignificant touch ups with that. You can get it to flow easily, it is high gloss and it builds up thickness very quickly. Just don't get it on anything other than the bare wood you want to colour.

All in all I'm pretty satisfied. A couple of tiny nicks around the hole but no disasters and an easy refit I think. I'll post a final pic once the new plate and screws come and are fitted.

 

[bodia]

Done it! The Dremel is your friend.

I first wondered if I could somehow put a slot across the end of the screw stump with an idea to screwing it out using a very small screwdriver. Belay that one, it was too hard and too rusted in. So it was on to the Dremel. I took the classic approach of drilling a ring of small holes around the screw stump using a 1.5mm drill. I then connected them with a very fine burr head from the Dremel toolkit so the screw was left standing alone with just a hint of wood holding it at its tip. Careful waggling with a pair of tweezers broke it free and it came out sweet as a nut.

I made sure to work from inside the original hole as much as possible angling the tool so its head was against the screw at all times and the hole edge wasn't enlarged. It hasn't been opened up too much as you can see and the void inside is a bigger diameter than the hole that has been left on the surface. No way any plug will fall out once it's set.

It's still very small as the Dremel let's you work pretty much in total control if you take your time and the screw is only a #3 or #4. It's still a lot less than the edge of the jack plate which means it won't be seen anyway. I'll pack it with wood filler and then drill it for the new screws. One little trick I learned is to find a nail varnish colour which blends with your guitar's natural colour and make any insignificant touch ups with that. You can get it to flow easily, it is high gloss and it builds up thickness very quickly. Just don't get it on anything other than the bare wood you want to colour.

All in all I'm pretty satisfied. A couple of tiny nicks around the hole but no disasters and an easy refit I think. I'll post a final pic once the new plate and screws come and are fitted.

Nicely done!

 

[Alnus Rubra]

Well done!

 

[Bordonbert]

And the final finish. It's not a terribly clear photo I'm afraid but it's been packed with wood filler and I am using longer screws to bite into clean wood beyond that. It's been touched up with a tad of black nail varnish just to make it look neat as it is completely covered by the jack plate anyway. My OCD may be showing. It looks great once it's been fitted. I had to stick with a silver nut for the moment as the Neutrik TRS socket I prefer to use so both the tip and sleeve have positive sprung contacts is a different size of thread to the one which came with the plate. I'll source a black nut later. (Sounds sort of odd that last sentence! )

 

[Boogie]

While it won’t rust, stainless steel is drastically more brittle and won’t take being over torqued. As long as you’re careful, it’s a good replacement.

 

[oldjock]

While it won’t rust, stainless steel is drastically more brittle and won’t take being over torqued. As long as you’re careful, it’s a good replacement.

Very true, when tightening any stainless fitting you should use an anti-seize compound. Saves a lot of aggravation.

 

[Bordonbert]

As I managed to find some plain steel black screws as well as the silver stainless ones at a few pence for a job lot I stuck to using them in the first instance for the moment. I'll wait to see how they respond to my sweaty playing and decide whether to change to stainless or just replace them from my store as we go. The stainless idea is better for corrosion and I think I can get away with them as they need no real tension, just a mild nip up at the end to stop the plate from being loose. The worst it will experience is when you manually pull the plug out and any screws should cope with that. I always use a right angle plug on edge mounted jacks so any tugs would be to the side and not give much twist to the mounting. Unless anyone knows of a way of 'blacking' stainless steel at home other than just painting them so a screwdriver can't get into the head?