MIMF

Hey Guys,I have a 1987 seagull 6 that has never been played.
Has been sat in the corner in houses and garages.The bridge was lifting
so I glued it down but it still needs a neck reset to be playable.
I've been learning some hard lessons with this one.I am not a professional repair person by any means but have done a few neck re-frets and setups.I like to tinker and after reading about these guitars felt pretty sure I could do this myself.Anyways the seagulls of this year had two bolts and two allen screws holding on the neck and the fingerboard was glued where it joined the body.When I removed the neck I noticed the brass inserts where the bolts went into the neck are stripped.So thought I would go up a size in the bolt and insert and problem would be solved(never that easy tho' is it)The inserts seemed to fit fine and I started to put the neck back on and thats when I discovered that the inserts have to be installed dead straight in order for the neck to line up properly.the slightest change in angle was not letting me re-attach the neck.Also since I went up in size with the bolts they were a tight fit going through the body holes so no room for play there at all.The neck wood is silver leaf maple and I am wondering if there is a way to fill the insert holes and just put a regular wood screw in without the insert to hold the neck on.I have read that many people use glue and matchsticks or toothpicks to fill holes and was wondering if that was my best option...that's what I'm looking at right now.appreciate any input,thanks men,Cheers.

I don't know anything about Seagulls (don't even know what guitars these are) so take this cum grano salis, but if you had brass inserts that were stripped, I wonder why you didn't simply replace them with the same size inserts instead of going up in size. Perhaps it's possible to remove the larger inserts and refit the proper inserts? When inserting inserts it's essential to drive them in straight! This can be done with a drill press, if you have access to one. I think that may be the better option, rather than making more changes to what was the original setup.

Don't try and use wood screws because the grain direction in that part of the neck will not hold the threads.
You can drill out the holes in the body without fear, all the bolts need to do is hold the neck firmly to the body, and they will do that even if the angle is off by a little bit. However, if it's really off then you may need to remove the insert and get it in there more evenly. Glue them in with epoxy.

In other words, make the bolt holes in the body larger to give some adjustment room for the bolts to find their proper alignment. A little slop there is not a problem. Add washers if the bolt head is in danger of pulling through the larger hole.

You may also be able align the inserts with the neck off the guitar by inserting a screw part-way and using side pressure on the screw to correct the alignment. Once it all lines up and the neck will go on straight you might want to soak the wood around the inserts with thin CA glue to lock the fibers in place. If you ever need to get the inserts out of the wood you'll need to heat them up with a soldering iron to break down the CA glue and "let the smoke out".

Hey guys,thanks for the reply's.I will take your advice and make the hole in the body bigger.They were not out of line a lot so maybe as David says I can fix the alignment,just didn't want to force anything as the guitar is 30 years old and seems to be be pretty dry.Making the holes in the body bigger sounds like the way to go.Glad I posted here before I made another boo-boo.Thanks again,Cheers.