Maurice, could you provide a photo of a slightly more zoomed out and maybe 2 different angles so I understand the location a little better? I'm having a hard time understanding where this dang thing is. Is it in a plastic retainer ring? If so I'd sacrifice that and see if you can remove it giving you enough screw to put vice grips on it.

The slot-carving is my go-to usually as at that point you can get it off w/ a regular flathead screwdriver...but the thing to keep in mind is that that head didn't break off for no reason so It's likely that it's either cross-threaded or rusted. You might want to see if you can safely get penetrating oil in there (I use 50/50 mix of ATF and acetone for working on vehicles but wouldn't recommend it here because it stinks to high heaven)

All that said, since this is a free guitar I'm assuming it's not a 5-figure vintage Les Paul. Drill it out, plug it, cover it w/ a pick guard or pickup retainer ring if you have to. If you are really trying to retain some value to the instrument, take it to a pro and see if it's something they could take on.

Garth wrote: Tue Jan 09, 2024 11:33 am Maurice, could you provide a photo of a slightly more zoomed out and maybe 2 different angles so I understand the location a little better? I'm having a hard time understanding where this dang thing is. Is it in a plastic retainer ring? If so I'd sacrifice that and see if you can remove it giving you enough screw to put vice grips on it.

The slot-carving is my go-to usually as at that point you can get it off w/ a regular flathead screwdriver...but the thing to keep in mind is that that head didn't break off for no reason so It's likely that it's either cross-threaded or rusted. You might want to see if you can safely get penetrating oil in there (I use 50/50 mix of ATF and acetone for working on vehicles but wouldn't recommend it here because it stinks to high heaven)

All that said, since this is a free guitar I'm assuming it's not a 5-figure vintage Les Paul. Drill it out, plug it, cover it w/ a pick guard or pickup retainer ring if you have to. If you are really trying to retain some value to the instrument, take it to a pro and see if it's something they could take on.

Thank you, Garth! I'll get some additional photos up today. But the high-level overview is that this is a 10-string Chapman Stick, probably from the early 90s. For a few years in there they were making some of them entirely out of this polycarbonate. This one is pretty close to the serial number of the one I now have. The pickup is held on by two screws; the one that's the problem is the one closer to the bridge. I do have info on why it broke off: the previous owner had asked the manufacturer for a replacement screw, and while they sent one that matched in style, the one they sent was longer than this instrument needed. But my friend didn't know that, so he applied a bit too much force once the screw hit bottom...and off it went. So I think I have a fair shot at backing this out.

That said, I do see your point--this isn't one of the more desirable Sticks, though it's still got decent inherent value. Absolute worst case, if I did route out a plug and replaced it, that'd be covered up entirely by the pickup. But I've also not worked with this kind of plastic, so I'm not sure what would be involved in creating a secure plug, when 50% of the weight of the entire electronics of this thing is hanging off of each screw.

Jesus, yeah that changes things considerably.

A plug in wood is pretty straight forward: dowel rod & some wood glue. No idea what you'd use in this case or if it's even possible to plug in a way that will still hold structurally. Epoxy maybe? Good gravy.

If the slot method doesn't work, I'd be tempted to use Tony's suggestion to drill out a core around it, then install the proper size of E-Z LOK type threaded machine inserts.

Maurice wrote: Tue Jan 09, 2024 10:11 am

matttkkkk wrote: drill a small hole into it (use a metal bit and lubricate with oil if you can) then you can hammer a slightly larger Allen key into the hole

Ah, I may end up doing that if the slot doesn't work out!

At the risk of overstating things, I think drilling a center hole is less likely to damage the surrounds than trying to cut a deep enough slot to turn.

matttkkkk wrote: Tue Jan 09, 2024 3:30 pm

Maurice wrote: Tue Jan 09, 2024 10:11 am

matttkkkk wrote: drill a small hole into it (use a metal bit and lubricate with oil if you can) then you can hammer a slightly larger Allen key into the hole

Ah, I may end up doing that if the slot doesn't work out!

At the risk of overstating things, I think drilling a center hole is less likely to damage the surrounds than trying to cut a deep enough slot to turn.

It turns out that the real problem here is the shitty pot metal of the bolt. I attempted to drill a 1/16" pilot hole with a left-handed drill bit, proceeding very slowly, and...the upper part of the bolt just came out in chunks. That kind of explains why the bolt must have broken off so easily. There was a little border around the edge, but it wasn't quite enough to get a bolt remover in, so I went up to 3/32. The bolt remover tore up what remained of the border, so I started drilling down a bit more, stopping when the drill bit flexed and slipped into the wall. So...I could try just continuing to drill this out, I suppose, and if I do chew up the threads on the wall, I could just drill it all out and fill it with epoxy.

Well then, how would you fix a broken pickup ear? I have a telecaster neck pickup with the mounting ear broken off. I tried fixing it with Locktite and baking powder, but that didn't take
Now it's held together with duct tape, but that isn't very good, even as a short time solution.

heptagons wrote: Thu Feb 08, 2024 1:32 pm Well then, how would you fix a broken pickup ear? I have a telecaster neck pickup with the mounting ear broken off. I tried fixing it with Locktite and baking powder, but that didn't take
Now it's held together with duct tape, but that isn't very good, even as a short time solution.

The mounting ring? I'd take the pickup apart and replace the ring. (I think GuitarFetish has 'em for under $10.)

Maurice wrote: Thu Feb 08, 2024 2:13 pm

heptagons wrote: Thu Feb 08, 2024 1:32 pm Well then, how would you fix a broken pickup ear? I have a telecaster neck pickup with the mounting ear broken off. I tried fixing it with Locktite and baking powder, but that didn't take
Now it's held together with duct tape, but that isn't very good, even as a short time solution.

The mounting ring? I'd take the pickup apart and replace the ring. (I think GuitarFetish has 'em for under $10.)

I think the original poster means the base of the pickup that the height adjustment screw threads into.

One solution is to glue (epoxy?) a new fiber bottom plate to the existing one. You might have to file off part of the middle section so it doesn’t interfere with your wires.

https://www.wdmusic.com/wd-telecaster-s ... tails.html

Of course! Thank you, I just ordered a new fibre plate for it.