Ear Plugs -- The Multi-use Tool

Rating: ***** (out of five stars possible)

I am sure everyone knows how important hearing is to pickers and guitar techs. It is just so easy to damage hearing with repeated exposure to very loud power tools, especially the table saw and router. So, ear plugs to the rescue.

By far the most effective tool for preventing hearing loss is the orange 3M Disposable Earplugs.

Prepare the plugs for insertion into your ears by rolling them between thumb and finger.

You can tell when these are worn out. If a plug will not stay rolled small for a few seconds, it is worn out and should be discarded.

But, wait! There is an excellent use for worn out ear plugs. When you need to refinish a neck, or the guitar body, use old ear plugs to plug tuner mounting holes, or the end pin hole in the lower bout. Ear plugs are handy anywhere you need to plug a hole.

The image below shows some used plugs. Several have black on one end. Recently I had to refinish an entire neck. The plugs were cut into half or one third original length, then rolled and forced into a tuner hole. The plugs expand and fill the hole perfectly. (I always cover the peg head face with flexible cutting board cut small and using green tape.) They even resist finish stripping chemicals. You sure don’t want stripper leaking through a tuner hole onto the nicely finished peg head face. An uncut plug shows on the left.