I bought the Silvertone hundred dollar bass along with a 61 key Yamaha keyboard for $80 from the pawn shop down the street. I was wondering to put Schaller tuners on this cheaply bass. Well I ended up drilling a hole too big. Any other day I was looking around Amazon and I seen 1 lb of gorilla Wood filler AKA gorilla Wood butter. I’ve been filling up each tuning hole. Then let it dry & sand it smooth. Would anybody know if this is going to last or am I just wasting my time?
i doubt this will last - as just wood filler, yes. but not for holding in tuning machines which will have tension and stress on them.
an alternative would be to:
- drill out each hole to a known dimension (for example, 1/2” but obviously whatever size makes sense).
- glue in a hardwood plug the same dimension (a slice of a 1/2” maple dowel, for example).
- let it fully dry, trim it flush, sand it smooth.
- then drill out the right size hole for the tuning machines you will be using.
- install the tuning machines.
for drilling out the holes you can get a kind of drill bit called a “forstner bit” which are very accurate and will drill larger holes smoothly.
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Guess you’ll find out 
I’ve used Durhams water putty, it dries very hard and can take drilling.
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I bought some Elmer’s wood putty or wood filler and a little tube. Along with some plastic wood putty or wood filler. If I let it dry long enough it’ll hold up but I’m still that entire hole with just a gorilla wood filler high performance on heavy duty wood repairs what it says. I use I think the biggest step drill I have and ended up going to deep with it. When I seen this 1 lb tub of high performance wood filler from Amazon. I looked at it like doing body work on a car. You know fill it up till it dries and shrinks. Sand it smooth then apply more. Keep repeating until the tuning holes are completely full. I’ve been wanting to grab me a couple forstner bits. I got a three different sizes of the flat style. From a half inch all the way down to 3/8”. Okay when I was saying the flat style drill bits. I was referring to the boring bits. I also bought a multi tuner drill bit jig. Except the Schaller m4s tuners. Are not covered with his drill bit jig. I wasn’t going to spend $95 to get the same thing from Stew Mac. So I spent 45 and got the same thing basically. Also would you happen to know what silver tone used to finish this bass sslb-11
I’m not going to disagree with you or say that no I looked this up and blah blah blah. Because I asked the question if last so thank you for your input I truly appreciate it but I truly believe that if I let it dry long enough. And should be strong as an ox!
I guess I will learn the hard way. I’ve been filling these holes since the day before yesterday. I originally put blue painters tape over the holes in the front. And fill it up 2 hours pretty much satisfied and it was stiff enough. Then I pulled the tape off the front and filled it up there and squeezed the tuning holes. Which seem to be rock hard. Unlike that plastic wood filler I bought from Amazon. I literally have to leave that s*** sit for like 6 months. To let it fully cure and dry.
I think I’m going to leave it sit like this. To let that wood filler dry really good and completely set up.
I truly appreciate your advice and love the way you try to give me a sarcastic answer!
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This is interesting. I’m interested to find out how well it holds up too because it’s going to end up being kinda thin after you drill for the tuners.
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What @mgoldst described is the “right” way to fix this. Personally I would not trust wood filler to stand up to the kind of tension you are going to be putting on it with bass strings tuned to pitch. Sounds like you’ve already made up your mind to try it though, so let us know how it goes!
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So am I I believe the longer it sits and drives the harder and more set up it will be and I think my Schaller m4s tuners. Well complement it perfectly
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I know the way he’s describing it is the correct way to do it. But, when you all have the money or the time to take care of it right. You got to do what you got to do. Basically rob Peter to pay Paul or rob Paul to pay Peter. I’m going to let it sit there and dry for a few days and then I’m going to come back probably put a little bit more in cuz I can see little indentations starting to pop up. I’m treating it like it’s the body of any type car.
I’m doing body work the same as I would if I was repairing rust or repaying any car. Only differences I’m dealing with wood and wood filler. Instead of metal and body filler AKA fiberglass filler.
If you were fixing a gouge in the bass body, sure! You wouldn’t fix a tie rod with bondo or JB Weld though.
I’m with @mgoldst I would plug the holes with dowling glued in. Would be way more secure. That stuff is like cement; small amounts of it work well but large amounts need some kind of scaffold. Tight fitting dowling cut to length and glued in would be much stronger.
Fiberglass filler on your car is very similar; it’s very brittle if used alone without the glass matting to give it a scaffold, which is fine for filling a little dent but not so good filling a hole.
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If I had a couple of dowels that would fit the tuning holes. I would have went that way. Stop being disabled and stuck in your own apartment with no ride and barely any cash. It’s time to figure something else out. I bought a Glarry acoustic/electric bass from Temu about two years ago. I didn’t like the original tuning machines. I ended up doing the exact same thing. Then I had a dowel that worked perfect. I ended up getting the E&A string tuning machines backwards. I totally agree with you and everybody else with all the advice and helpful tips.
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I just mentioned the fiberglass only has an example that’s all
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What’s up Mr Highland Bass? I truly believe that just gorilla butter the 1 lb tub of gorilla butter AKA wood filler is actually going to do the job as long as I give it enough time to dry there’s the back side, and there’s the front side. I’ll let it sit for a couple hours while I went to the doctor for this CT scan. You should try to rock hard I just need to put a little bit more in the fill in the invitations and clean it up better! Again I appreciate everybody’s input everybody’s advice and I would have definitely done it the right way. If I would have had some dowels. That would have fit perfectly in a holes. Anyway I just topped it off both sides I taped the front side up did the back and pull the tape off and front and put more butter and in the holes and now I’m going to let it sit overnight and see what it’s like in the morning but yeah it’s basically hard as a rock dude this is hard as the is the headstock. I grew up in a cheap broke ass upper lower class family we had cash but we didn’t have cash and the liquor store got the cash a lot of time but your own so I learned how to make things work. Who’s the body and the original neck I just bought this pickard from eBay but it came from a place up in Canada call greasy groove. Plus if you had noticed I have three strap buttons instead of two. That way whether you left-handed or right-handed you can still play my basses. Without having to readjust the strap or anything like that. As long as you don’t mind that when you play left-handed all your bowstring are going to be at the bottom like Jimi Hendrix. There’s an Evil Genius Creations so try to keep it hush hush 
! I wish I knew how to get the three strap button on bases and guitars patented
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The only issue you’d have is how it’d performed under compression. As pictured, it would add to the integrity of the headstock but once you drill the holes well, that’s what I’d want to know 
The wood putty I’ve used so far seems to crumble under stress but good as surface filler.
The good news is the Dowel is just a few bucks and replacing it is pretty easy.
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I know that dowels are only a few bucks. The only problem I have with that. Is I live off of less than $1,000 a month, and I have absolutely no way to get to the store! I’mma keep nursing along throughout tonight check it in the morning leave it sit for a few days you better get good and set up and nice and dry and then I’m see what happens when I go to drill the holes to install the tuners. That is where I will find out if gorilla butter will work to refill tuner holes or if it won’t. The back side, and the front side. You see how it caved in right there in the front. Do the light standing with my settings funds at 150 grit. Put a little bit more in there. Then let it sit and dry for a couple days cuz I got to go to the hospital anyway tomorrow. And then when I go to drill it out to get the tuner to fít. That will let me know whether gorilla butter will work to fill in major holes like that. Or whether I won’t work. When I go to drill it out as long as the s*** don’t flake apart like a stale ass cake it’s going to work but I don’t know I’m not exactly sure now.
Thank you for bursting my bubble man! Nah but you’re right though and like I said I don’t have cash nor I do I have a ride. Plus I got to let it dry really good and for a few days before I even attempt to drill in there if I tried drilling a hole out now it’s just going to crumble out like a stale cake, and be completely useless. I figure maybe another week 2 weeks it should be ready to try out especially if you find a way to make this apartment hotter than the sun.
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So what I did for my Bass VI conversion project:
I wanted to put in dowels but couldn’t get exactly the right size nor could i get Forstner bits easily or affordably.
I have spade bits the right size but trying to use them to expand the existing hole is a recipe for disaster.
I ended up filling the holes with builders bog and letting it set.
It is of course too soft so I used that as a base to drill out the holes with 16mm spade bit and slot in the dowel- I cut the dowels oversize slightly and will sand them back to flush.
I glued them in with Gorilla wood glue mixed with some fine sawdust (to make fake wood).
Later, in week or so, I will sand it and stain etc, then I will drill for my six tuners.
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You’re already committed to this route. Like I said, let us know how it turns out.
That said, that 1lb of wood putty is what, around $10?
If you decide to try anything different in the future, consider this:
1" x 12" dowel rod: $6.69
1" Forstner bit: $5.85
Titebond Wood Glue: $3.92
Grand total of $16.46 and they will deliver, and that’s assuming you don’t already have a drill bit that would work.
Good luck in this endeavor, I hope it works out for you.
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I completely understand that. But, look at it from my perspective. Would you be able to drive to St Louis Missouri, and take me to the store. Then pay for the 12” dowel rod for me.
Brother, those are Amazon links and they deliver to your door. I’m not suggesting you do anything other than tell us how it works out, and I genuinely wish you well. If it turns out that it doesn’t, then those links have been provided for you to consider, should you find you need a different approach.
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