got a cv tele, but pickguards giving me trouble

Hey,
So I bought my first electric guitar(I'm an acoustic guy), used, a Classic Vibe Telecaster for $250 from craigslist

It looked good when I bought it, but when I took it home I realized that the pickguard was warped pretty badly(i can see to the other side) and a screw was missing.

So I took a screwdriver and tried to tighten the screws, but it seems that they keep turning, and wont lock.

Now I'm worried that the guy might have replaced the pickups(I wanted stock =\), but thats another issue(unless you have a way for me to tell, I have no idea how).

Any ideas on fixing the warping and the screws not being able to tighten?(and where to get a new one to replace the missing screw?)

Or any help in general would be good, I'm realllly new to electrics, I just kinda dived in.

Just fill the hole with tooth pick and a drop of white glue.
For the screw, you'll find thousand of them on ebay.
Enjoy your new Tele !

Hey,
So I bought my first electric guitar(I'm an acoustic guy), used, a Classic Vibe Telecaster for $250 from craigslist

It looked good when I bought it, but when I took it home I realized that the pickguard was warped pretty badly(i can see to the other side) and a screw was missing.

So I took a screwdriver and tried to tighten the screws, but it seems that they keep turning, and wont lock.

Now I'm worried that the guy might have replaced the pickups(I wanted stock =\), but thats another issue(unless you have a way for me to tell, I have no idea how).

Any ideas on fixing the warping and the screws not being able to tighten?(and where to get a new one to replace the missing screw?)

Or any help in general would be good, I'm realllly new to electrics, I just kinda dived in.

the pickguard might be a single ply, which had a tendency to warp. My '58 NOS hard tail strat has a single ply white pick guard, and it does not lay flat. Neither did the originals, which is why they went to a w/b/w multi ply and 11 screws instead of just 8.

as far as the screws turning and not stopping, the holes are stripped. tooth picks and wood glue can fix that. Then don't tighten them so much, they're not going to pull that pickguard down flat.

Thanks, i would have never had known about the toothpick

You don't even have to use the glue btw. I just fill the hole with a couple pieces of toothpick level with the body. Up to you.

One of the screws on mine had no thread. Just fell out. The local guitar shop was out of chrome pickguard screws so I got some oval head #4 x 1/2" stainless "sheet metal" screws, and they're better than the originals IMO. Slightly smaller head (fit in the countersink better), and a hair longer. Also a better Phillips cut because they aren't plated pot metal like the stock ones.