Horizontal Drilling

[rockthe40]

my friend wants me to install some LEDs on his pbass. im confident that i can do it all (first time) except for drilling holes sideways. he wants one LED under each string near the bridge but i dont know how i would make a hole from the central cavity out to each little hole that i would drill to install the LEDs. is there some kind of special tool or bit, or do i just have to angle a normal drill and bit to where i can get the wires to where the battery would be? hope this makes sense

[Devon Headen]

I think you should tell your friend you don't feel comfortable doing it. Read some more and practice on one of your own necks until you KNOW you can do it, then do it for him. You'll save a friendship

[thedoctor]

No, Devon, he wants them at the BRIDGE. That is just an excercise in geometry. If you drill the LED holes as deep as you dare, figure the angle required to hit those holes from the cavity with a long bit. You can make a decent wood bit out of 5/32" welding rod flattened with a hammer and sharpened on a grinder. Go slow cause it will want to wobble. Back out of the hole often to clear the sawdust. Have a lot of time set aside for fishing the wires through cause it is a boog!

[rockthe40]

thanks devon and thedoctor. i wouldnt think of attempting to put LEDs in any guitar neck or fretboard lol (well, until i finish this first project anyway). i wasnt sure if they make special bits that bend like those giant ones they use in house wiring. so freehand-ing it it is! ive got plenty of every kind of bit (my father was an electrician 30 some odd years ago), but thanks for that tip, doc