Best wood filler for a switch hole

plastic wood is my choice for filling holes, but in that case, assuming it's a Gibson, I'd get some mahogany and turn down some face grain dowels and glue them in with yellow glue.

 

I think guitarbuilder is spot on. The filler won’t look good unpainted. Face grain dowels will match the mahogany grain, especially with Gibson’ semi-translucent finishes.

 

Yep; +1 on using a dowel.

 

Wood filler is a BAD idea on finished wood, especially if you know that the finish is solvent based (as it is on a Gibson). Many wood fillers contain solvents that will melt lacquer right off.

You want mahogany plugs. Not dowels. Plugs. There is a difference, and it's important.

How big are these holes? You need to bore them out machine smooth, and get a plug cutter of the corresponding diameter.

For finishing, use nail polish. These guitars were not stained; they were painted with translucent laquer. A stained and clear coated plug will not look right. Mix various colors with clear, and get it right on test wood first.

 

Dowels all the way, and it’s really not so much harder to deal with than filler.

 

Make face grain dowels with a plug cutter. You can turn them down, it they are long enough, in a drill press or just a drill, or even by hand. You might not need to turn them if the hole is a standard size

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07FS9RNWP/?tag=tdpri-20

 

English is not my primary language, and I really do not know what the difference is. I see what I would use, but do not know if I should call it dowels or plugs!

 

Two words for two different things.

Dowels are cut along the grain. The ends are end grain.

Plugs are cut across the grain. The ends are face grain.

Dowels are usually longer, and largely structural.

Plugs are usually more "squat," and largely cosmetic.

Both have their places.

Dowels are good for structural strength, and for filling holes in end grain. They are not good for exposed wear surfaces. The end grains don't manage abrasion as well, and have the potential to absorb more moisture.

Plugs don't bear as much stress, but they are appropriate for filling face grain. They resist wear and moisture absorption better than the end grain of a dowel, and they cosmetically match face grain.

 

+1 on the plugs with the same grain direction. Pre made dowels will NOT be correct, you COULD use a plug cutter, like these:

https://www.harborfreight.com/plug-cutter-set-4-pc-60613.html

 

Dowels are end grain ( think of a handful of straws) and suck up the stain or dye. You want to find somebody that can make dowel sized plugs, as the above folks mentioned. This could require turning down some wood to do it. I do it once in a while on my little lathe.

 

Depending on the size of the holes to be filled, some hardware and lumber stores sell hardwood plugs in the furniture repair section.

 

Face Grain Plugs-3/8" | Rockler Woodworking and Hardware It would be best to have some mahogany ones though.

 

a plug it the right fix. done the right way they could be almost invisible. for instance, I have a box of veneers with half a dozen samples of different mahoganys. Ive done repairs where I find the right grain and fit a piece to the hole. the hole gets filled, leaving the plug slightly proud so any glue can be scraped or sanded off. then finish

two other thoughts are make a different pickguard to cover the holes.

glue diamonds in the holes for bling... ha ha. or brass studs

 

Thanks a lot for the clarification!
A plug was indeed what I was thinking of, since the wood is really thin around the cavity of an SG anyway.

 

let's see a photograph of the dastardly deed.. that way we can give ya a real cure, not some temporary "band-aid"

 

Imagine a board. The wide sides that face you when you lay it down are "face grain." The ends of the board are "end grain." Face grain and end grain behave differently--end grain doesn't take screws or glue as well as face grain, for example, and end rain takes stain and color very differently

The dowels you buy in a hardware store will show "end grain" at the top and bottom. They won't look right and they won't take stain or color right

If you have a woodcraft store near you, or really most any hardwood lumber yard, you can buy a mahogany board. Lay it down and use a plug cutter to cut a plug of the right size: now you have an plug that will show face grain