strummer2k Posted June 10, 2004 Report Share Posted June 10, 2004 Man, I am trying to drill the holes for the strings on a tele body and my drill press (10 inch) will only reach the outside holes. I don't feel comfortable drilling by hand and having the holes not lining up on the back of the guitar. I may be crazy, but I thought I saw a rig somewhere that converts a hand drill to a cheap drill press. I have looked at Home Depot, Lowes and the Woodcraft catalog and cannot find the thing. Anyone have any ideas??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tsl602000 Posted June 10, 2004 Report Share Posted June 10, 2004 practise with your handdrill......you can get perfectly alligned holes by hand... been there.. done that... really Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted June 10, 2004 Report Share Posted June 10, 2004 i find those battery powered small hand drills easier to use Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted June 10, 2004 Report Share Posted June 10, 2004 http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/product.do?...pid=00911412000 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southpa Posted June 10, 2004 Report Share Posted June 10, 2004 I have a Craftsman 14.4 V cordless that has a bubble level installed just above the handle. It still takes some practice to hold it steady, but it does the job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted June 10, 2004 Report Share Posted June 10, 2004 I've had those old stand alone gimmicks and while they do work you still have to practice with them. You can make your own by taking a 2x4 and drilling through it using your drill press then use the 2x4 to get the hole started buy lining it up with the drill bit already all of the way through it, then slide it down to make sure your straight up and down to the wood. The pain then of course is your still faced with doing it by hand to go all the way through the body. The block trick will only get you started. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strummer2k Posted June 10, 2004 Author Report Share Posted June 10, 2004 I finally found what I was looking for, good 'ole Woodcraft. It is called a Precision Drill Guide in case anyone is interested and can be found here Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soapbarstrat Posted June 10, 2004 Report Share Posted June 10, 2004 Those drill guides are better suited for carpentry work. They are quite "top heavy". I would do Brian's idea. Use your drill press to drill the 6 holes in a flat scrap of hardwood that's big enough to clamp to the tele body. Make sure your drill-press is set-up square as can be to make your "drill guide" as perfect as possible I once had that exact "drill guide" pictured in your link. I had a hell of a time trying to keep the whole thing from wandering or walking, so I took it back. Then bought a drill press with a 14" swing. By the way, this is the best way I've found so far to square up your drill press : http://www.shopnotes.com/main/article-dial...cator-fig4.html Also, with anything I want to be drilled right on the mark, I put a Dremel dental bit in the chuck, I'll then move the item to be drilled until the dental bit tip lines up right on the punch mark, then I clamp the object to be drilled firmly to the table, take out the dental bit , and replace with the drill bit I want. Then I double check to see if the tip of the drill bit still lines up with the punch mark, but it's hard to tell, which is why I use the pointed dental bit to really check it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jehle Posted June 10, 2004 Report Share Posted June 10, 2004 Dude. I did the string through trick on my guitar with a hand held drill for the same reason. The drill press isn't big enough. I removed the how to from my site from the lawsuit and all that... but here's what I did. *Drill one hole all the way through and the other 5 about 90% of the way through. *Flip the body over, and use double sided tape to stick the bridge on the back of the guitar. Line up the one hole that's drilled all the way through, and make sure that the bridge is square. *Use the bridge now as a drill guide. Drill through the bridge for the other 5 holes. You don't have to drill down that far since they will meet up with the holes you made from the other side. The holes will be perfectly spaced. Hope that helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strummer2k Posted June 11, 2004 Author Report Share Posted June 11, 2004 Jehle, awesome idea. I am just sitting here wondering why I didn't think of it! I am using the Stewmac tele bridge pup template which has the strings holes drilled in it already. So, since I can reach the outside holes with my drill press, I will have two holes to line it up with on the other side. It seems so obvious now that you have pointed it out. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
82DeanZ Posted June 11, 2004 Report Share Posted June 11, 2004 Jehle Wrote: I removed the how to from my site from the lawsuit and all that... but here's what I did Lawsuit? Did someone try to sue you for posting this technique on your website? Thats odd. Great idea by the way. Best Regards, Mike. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hy_dro66 Posted June 11, 2004 Report Share Posted June 11, 2004 Yeah, that's clever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jehle Posted June 11, 2004 Report Share Posted June 11, 2004 Jehle Wrote: I removed the how to from my site from the lawsuit and all that... but here's what I did Lawsuit? Did someone try to sue you for posting this technique on your website? Thats odd. Great idea by the way. Best Regards, Mike. *takes deep breath* Actually, it was the other way around. They copied my site and sold it on eBay. There's a HUUUUUGE thread on this topic. Here's a link to the drilling lots of little holes technique. Drilling holes for string through bridge by hand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
82DeanZ Posted June 11, 2004 Report Share Posted June 11, 2004 Ouch....that sucks. I read through enough of the thread to get the general idea. If any of the other new members here want to read about these idiots here's the link to the thread: http://projectguitar.ibforums.com/index.ph...topic=3072&st=0 Thanks for the link to your tutorial Jehle. Best Regards, Mike. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Santa Claws Posted June 14, 2004 Report Share Posted June 14, 2004 use a router, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted June 14, 2004 Report Share Posted June 14, 2004 use a router, actually,don't Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soapbarstrat Posted June 14, 2004 Report Share Posted June 14, 2004 use a router, actually,don't I agree. It's not half as safe as using a chainsaw while wearing roller-blades on an oily slanted floor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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