Drilling Tuner Holes

[RGGR]

Okay, this may sound like stupid question.

But how do you guys make sure the tuner holes in the headstock are lined up evenly.

In AutoCad I have drawn-up a template. I have stuck this on test piece of test wood.....and somehow the drill bit when drilling causes the holes to not line up perfectly.

In local tool-yard I found this guiding piece that helps me guide the drill bit.......but even with this guide I see some difference in the line-up of the holes.

Right now I'm not confident enough to start drilling the holes in the headstock. In this stage of the game I don't want to screw up.

Maybe the route is to drill test pieces till they are perfect, and use them as a guide to drill the final holes in the headstock.

[rokeros]

It is best to use a pillar drill or a drill press because then you can push the headstock flat on the table making sure that the holes are 90degrees to the drill bit and table.

[RAI6]

And how about using a center-punch and brad point drill bits.....?

[GuitarGuy]

And how about using a center-punch and brad point drill bits.....?

I dont like brad points, cus if its off, the full diameter has started cutting and you're comitted.

Use an 1/8" pilot hole. make sure those are lined up. Once they are perfect, touch the full size bit to the work just enough to make a dimple. and see if it is centered on the hole. If not move it a bit and dimple again. You can keep moving the hole until you get to the outside edge of the bit and it actually starts cutting. Much more forgiving. And practice makes perfect. Just my way of doing things, whatever works for you.

It also helps if you draw a reference line at the full diameter of the hole so you know if you're out any.

[RGGR]

I dont like brad points, cus if its off, the full diameter has started cutting and you're comitted.

Use an 1/8" pilot hole. make sure those are lined up. Once they are perfect, touch the full size bit to the work just enough to make a dimple. and see if it is centered on the hole. If not move it a bit and dimple again. You can keep moving the hole until you get to the outside edge of the bit and it actually starts cutting. Much more forgiving. And practice makes perfect. Just my way of doing things, whatever works for you.

It also helps if you draw a reference line at the full diameter of the hole so you know if you're out any.

This concept looks interesting. I have to try this out. (Although you need drill press for this.) Again.....I will keep trying on test pieces of wood till I'm confident enough to move forward. I'm currently using brad pointed drill bits, but they don't rock my world yet.

[Mattia]

If you've got a good brad point bit (spend the 5 or 6 bucks a single good quality one costs. It's NOT that bad), save it, dedicate it to drilling headstock holes ONLY, and it should line up and drill the hole where you want it to go. Do a test hole in a bit of wood you've marked off, and yes, drill press (like, duh), but a centerpunch is more than good enough.

Alternately, you can drill a smaller pilot hole (say 3-5mm; 3mm bits can go wonky fast, especially if they're cheap) and ream them out with an accurate counterbore (Rockinger.com in Germany has one specifically for this purpose, your local hardware store may have what you want in stock as well). Self-centers (as should a good Brad-point bit, mind; unless I need odd sub-mm sizes, bradpoints are all I use in wood), clean job.

Alternately, if you need repeatability, you should be able to find drill bushings at industrial suppliers and the like (no EU addresses, sorry) and use those to make your own 'standard' jig. Since I haven't quite nailed down a standard design, and tend to make one-offs, I haven't bothered.

[Houdini]

To add on to what mattia said, you can easily make a jig out of a 2 inch block of wood. Take a block of wood (approx 2 inch thick and 6 inches long, or whatever the distance is between the two outmost tuners plus a little bit extra) and make sure that it is squared up on all sides. Then attach a fence to your drill press, if you dont have a fence, just clamp down a straight edge. Measure out how far apart your tuner holes will be and mark that on the wood. Then you just easily slide a squared side of the wood along the straight edge and drill holes at the appropriate spacing. This should line them up perfectly. To use the jig, clamp or tape it (with double sided tape) to your headstock, lining up the tuner holes where you want them to be. Then take a hand drill or a drill press and a good quality bit (preferebly a brad point since they make clean holes) and use the jig as a guide to guide the bit straight. You should end up with all of your tuner holes in line. To improve the quality of the jig, you can buy drill bushings like mattia was talking about.

[erikbojerik]

Forstner bit on a drill press, the full size in one shot. For a 6-in-line I will also draw lines through the center and the outside tangents on both sides.

[RGGR]

I think on test piece of wood I'm going to produce something like this:

http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Tools/Drill_bi...es.html#details

When happy with that I'm going to tranfer it to the real thing.

[sekler]

just thought I'd add something.

Maybe more expensive that the rest, but her's another jig you can buy at stewmac

http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Tools/Jigs/1/T..._Drill_Jig.html

[RAI6]

just thought I'd add something.

Maybe more expensive that the rest, but her's another jig you can buy at stewmac

http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Tools/Jigs/1/T..._Drill_Jig.html

Yeah, but unfortunately, that jig has nothing to do with drilling perfect holes for your tuners.

[crafty]

Well, before I knew any better, on my old Strat I was upgrading from the stock crappy tuners to a boss set of Schaller lockers about 7 years ago. The pegholes were of course, too small, so I found a drill press in my school's shop and went to it.

Anyway, I didn't know how to get the holes perfectly lined up other than to use the existing holes to do it. I found a bit that fit the existing holes perfectly and chucked it up. Then I moved the headstock into position. Without power, I lowered the bit into the existing hole and locked the press. Then I clamped the headstock to the table and unlocked and raised the press. Chucked a larger bit and drilled. Presto--perfectly centered hole. I did that for all six holes.

Now, the problem here is that large bits like to wander like crazy, especially if no pilot holes have been drilled. I would start with a really small bit, like a 2 mm, and move up progressively until you get to 10 mm or whatever diameter you need. Good luck.