drilling strap button holes correctly?

[greasykid]

Hi, i'll be getting a new Warmoth body soon that'll be finished from their shop. They apparantly dont drill for things such as pickguard screws and strap button screws, so those i will have to do myself. My concern is in how one correctly places these holes.

The pickguard screws I imagine won't be a problem to place because I have the pickguard itself as a guide. But the strap button holes I imagine require a more intensive strategy.

I'm assuming that some measurements have to be made, etc to line them both up correctly for drilling. What's the procedure for this?

thanks;

dave

[urbansmurf]

just pick a position you like, maybe get some ideas off other bodies and drill away

[Rogviler]

I don't know about anyone else, but I just drill them wherever they seem like they'd be the most comfortable. In fact I'd say that strap button placement is the least precise thing on a guitar. As long as you drill the hole in the center of the wood's thickness you should be fine putting them wherever you want. Obviously you also want to make sure there's enough wood around the holes to hold the weight of the guitar, but I think that's about it.

[skibum5545]

For mine, I put one on the centerline, and one on the tip of the top horn, where it was angled down toward the neck slightly. Both were in the center of the wood's thickness.

[frank falbo]

I always countersink them so they don't lift the wood away and crack the finish around there. And I drill past the depth of the screw, so that you don't have the end of the screw performing a splitting action when it reaches the end of it's travel. That's more important on the upper horn than the bottom. Otherwise it's the least of your worries.

[GuitarMaestro]

One thing that is VERY important: You have to place the pins so that the guitar balances well when it hangs on the strap....you don't want a neck heavy guitar as this is a pain to play....

[greasykid]

thanks for the replys so far

okay, so it seems that eyeballing it is standard. reasonable, i guess...

hey frank: do you mean to countersink after the hole has been drilled to depth? what sizes are good to use for the depth hole and the countersink?

also, correct me on this as well if need be, but as i remember the trick to drilling so the finish isn't cracked or chipped is to use masking tape on the spot and run the drill backwards at first?

[frank falbo]

That works to help stop chipping from the drill bit. But the threads themselves can lift the wood as you're first going into the hole. So I countersink the hole after I've drilled the pilot hole for the screw. The pilot hole size needs to be determined by the screw you're using. A good rule is to drill the hole the size of the core shaft of the screw, and let the threads bite in. On harder woods or with bigger screws you might have to go a little bigger.

[greasykid]

sounds good, thanks alot!