Magic pinholes

[Mike Sayre]

I had a strat body blank stored in the basement for about 2 years, now notice 8 pinholes, all in the upper horn quadrant, not clustered together, about 1/2mm in diameter anywhere from 1/8" to 3/8" deep. I am sure these weren't there when I got the blank. Garage has two car doors, not airtight seals. What do I need to know about wood-boring basement pests?

[David King]

Wood boring pests like wet wood. Is the body ash or alder? If it's ash, more likely that the pests were already inside it when you got it. It might have been some kind of wasp looking to lay eggs?

[Clay Schaeffer]

Powder post beetles make similar holes. If the blank was unfinished they could have laid their eggs on the surface and the tiny larva then bore into the wood eating it from the inside out. When they have grown into beetles they emerge and leave the hole you see. They then reinfest the wood by laying eggs on the surface.
Heating the body blank for a couple of hours at 200 degrees should kill the larva that are in the wood. Scrubbing or sanding the surface to remove eggs, and painting or varnishing the blank should keep it from being reinfested.
But it could be some other insect - termites, ants, etc.

[Brad Heinzen]

Arggh! Those little buggers got into a stack of Claro walnut backs and sides in my garage a while back. Those sets went from standard classical sets to a mix of 0's, Panormos, and even a couple of ukes. I cut right through a bunch of those larvae when I resized. I suspect the wood was buggy when I bought it.