I have had no problems with fitting strap buttons onto the "triangular bit" on any of my guitars, none of the same value as an HD 28VS, but some probably rarer (thinking of the 3 Hagstrom J-45s and the matched pair, a 6 string and a 12-string Mugen).

I aim to put the hole slightly body-wards of the middle of the "triangle". I prefer not to use a compressible washer, but rather not to clamp the screw down, leaving it so that the strap button can rotate. In use the strap pulls the button away from the heel, "up" the screw so wear is not a problem.

I use three drill sizes. The pilot hole should be very very small - 1/16th inch is too big. It should be as deep as the tip of the screw is going to go. The next size up should be a fraction but only a fraction smaller than the root diameter of the screw, so that the thread of the screw will be biting into wood but there wil be virtually no splitting force. This should go not quite as deep as the tip of the screw, so that the depth that the drill goes in will be less than the length to which the pilot hole will go by twice the pitch of the screwthread. If there will be any shank (the unthreaded bit) of the screw going into the heel, then the third drill should be exactly the size of the of the shank, and you will want this size hole in the little micarta bit to stop it splitting.

I find it easier to work accurately and delicately with a very small power drill rather than a hand drill.


I don't like the strap button in the "Taylor" position. It gets in the way.