Bolt-on neck mounting hole diameter?

[Antag]

Just bought a seriously nice body & neck from the Warmoth showcase to fit some BKPs into (or is it the other way round? :lol:)

Anyway, in my haste I failed to notice that the mounting screw holes were not drilled into the neck, so I guess I'll have to do them myself.

Warmoth's site states that they drill 1/8" holes.  That's just over 3mm right? (25.4/8=3.175)

So I plan to push the neck into the pocket, make sure it's lined up, thread my 3mm wood drill bit through the holes to mark where the holes need to be drilled, then estimate (by holding the screws next to it) how deep the holes need to be, then take the neck out & drill the holes.

Unless anyone has a better idea how to do it?

[Philly Q]

If you can, I'd try lining the neck up with the two E strings in place (just loosely, enough tension to give a straight line) when you mark the holes.  If you drill it first then find the neck's out of alignment, it'll be a pig to fix.  There's usually a bit of room to yank the neck and shift it slightly in the pocket, but not much.

And have you got a drill press to help drill the holes truly perpendicular to the neck heel?  It's tough to judge by hand, and again a small mistake can be a real problem.  Good luck!

[Antag]

Good idea with the E-strings - I was planning to use a ruler along each edge of the fingerboard & make sure both edges lined up relative to the bridge pins.

OK, that changes my action plan to something like:

align tuners, drill guideholes, install tuners
install locking nut
install trem claw
place neck in neck pocket
attach the BKPs that arrived this morning :D to mounting rings, place in body, tape down
insert trem posts, put trem on (with body protection), install trem springs
put on top & bottom E, verify neck lines up, mark position of neck screw holes
take strings off, remove neck, drill mounting holes
attach neck, check alignment, bolt on
put rest of strings on, tune to B, check action, alignment, adjust trussrod
align pickups, tape down in place, drill holes, screw down
attach pots & switch
thread ground, output ground & output through holes, wire it all up, test output
align jackplate, drill holes, screw down
align control cavity cover, drill holes, screw down
align trem cover, drill holes, screw down
install strap buttons
leave overnight, adjust truss rod again if necessary, tune to Eb
leave overnight, adjust truss rod again if necessary, complete setup (intonation, action height etc)
align truss rod cover, drill holes, screw down
clean/polish body
enjoy  

I'll think about it a bit more & maybe start work tomorrow.

Although I've been playing >20 years, until last year I'd never done anything more technical to my guitars than adjust intonation, action & pickup height.  Building the two Warmoths (this one will be my third) has been a big learning curve, but very interesting.  The most important thing I learned from the first one was to plan carefully, have EVERYTHING you might possibly need readily to hand, & think before you leap :lol:

In fact, it was Warmoth that brought me to BKP in the first place: If I hadn't built that first strat, I'd never have realised how easy it is to wire pickups (damn, if only I'd known years ago!) & probably never bought any BKPs...

[Philly Q]

Although I've been playing >20 years, until last year I'd never done anything more technical to my guitars than adjust intonation, action & pickup height.

I did almost the opposite - started tinkering with my guitars 20+ years ago, but I've always known much more about guitars than actually playing them.  I built 3 or 4 "parts" guitars years ago, but then I got more into Gibsons so now I mostly do minor changes like swapping pickups, shielding and upgrading the hardware.  I still get my trusty router out occasionally though!

The trouble with guitar building/customising is that the fine details - especially fret and nut work - cost you a lot of money for tools.  And fun stuff like refinishing is incredibly messy.

Don't forget to show us pics of the guitar when it's done!  :D

[Antag]

OK, I might need professional help (no, I don't mean a psychiatrist, though I probably need one of those too :lol:)

I'd just started drilling the first mounting hole, when the damn drill bit snapped.  WTH?!?

Having examined it closely, I don't think it's a total disaster - there's no damage that will be visible when the neck's attached & the hole itself is less than 1/2 drilled, so there will still be enough of a decent hole for that screw to grip.

Two things are certain though:
1: I won't be finishing the guitar tomorrow  :(
2: Philly Q's right, this job needs a drill press.

Damn

[Philly Q]

Bugger! :(  I assume the broken piece of drill bit isn't stuck in the hole?

I had a similar moment a few weeks ago when I peeled some masking tape off the back of my LP and it took a strip of finish with it....  

[Antag]

Bugger! :(  I assume the broken piece of drill bit isn't stuck in the hole?

No, thank god.

I think it's given me more of a fright than done any damage.

[JJretroTONEGOD]

me personally, I'd never touch anything like that! if you make a mistake then it becomes a very serious mistake.

[JJretroTONEGOD]

me personally, I'd never touch anything like that! if you make a mistake then it becomes a very serious mistake.