Drilling Neck Ferrule Holes on a guitar with finish - help!

[lilguitar]

I plan on drilling countersunk holes into my LP body that already has a finish on it and want to know how to go about doing it with out screwing the finish.  I bought the counterbore drill bit from StewMac for starters.  I've read that masking tape will help avoid chipping/cracking, but what speed should I drill at...fast or slow?  Is there an alternative method to doing this without the counterbore...just because I have it, doesn't mean that its the best/safest way to do this.

BTW, I definately think Warmoth could add this as an option.

 

[Shmoopie]

me to. anygay

tape and stick a tooth pick through the tape where the predrilled holes are and use those as a center point for the bore, and drill SLOW.

 

[-CB-]

I think if I was doing it....

First I'd plug the existing holes with hard dowel.... to a depth of abuot half the body thickness.

Then I'd use a forstner bit on it, instead of a step drill.  The forstner will have a good chance to cut nice and clean (the ones I've got from Home Depot do... and they weren't expsnsive).  If you have to make a hole just a wee bit larger than you need, due to drill sizing, dont sweat it, maybe do a spot refinish/touchup.... to make the very small gap not stand out.  They say use 5/8 forstner... thats your best bet as it cuts a flat bottom on the hole as well.

Then from the other side, I'd redrill the screw holes through the dowel.

But hey, what do I know.

 

[SkuttleFunk]

lilguitar -

you are planning to use a drill press (pillar drill) - right?!

this would be my first and foremost question. no drill press for this activity = take it to a shop and pay to have it done. it sure would be a shame to bugger up a $350+ body simply to save $25

all the best,

R

 

[lilguitar]

Great point Skuttle about the drill press.  Bummer though, I just placed the ferrules over the holes that Warmoth drilled to see what kind of clearance from the edges I would have after I countersink.  The ones closest to the headstock are the ones that concern me the most.  If I had the guitar straped on, the hole on the bottom closest to the headstock in particular is the one that I think has virtually no clearance.  In fact, the ferrule would breach the side of the body on that bottom edge and on the edge closest to the headstock there would only be about 1-1.5 mm of wood left.  My Wolfgang has atleast 3mm of wood between the ferrule and the edge of the guitar.

Has anybody countersunk the neck holes on a Warmoth LP?  How much of this problem is caused by the contoured edge?  Surely I'm not the first, in fact I thought I read that someone in the gallery had done it.  The diameter of the ferrules are standard 5/8", but there just doesn't seem to be enough wood to countersink them on my body.

I'm bummed cause I really liked the look of it, it seems cleaner than a big ol' ugly plate.

 

[lilguitar]

Found it in the gallery.  Ricco Pollan writes about his setup:

"Instead, I used the Peavey steel inserts into the body (for appearance and better independant screw stability), so you just see beautiful wood and 4 screws instead of a massive ugly plate"

Where can I get these?  I've searched ebay and google with no luck.  If he's talking about the Peavey Wolfgang ferrules...I think they too are 5/8" and will be too big.  Just curious how he got his in?

 

[DiMitriR33]

I think if I was doing it....

First I'd plug the existing holes with hard dowel.... to a depth of abuot half the body thickness.

Then I'd use a forstner bit on it, instead of a step drill.  The forstner will have a good chance to cut nice and clean (the ones I've got from Home Depot do... and they weren't expsnsive).  If you have to make a hole just a wee bit larger than you need, due to drill sizing, dont sweat it, maybe do a spot refinish/touchup.... to make the very small gap not stand out.  They say use 5/8 forstner... thats your best bet as it cuts a flat bottom on the hole as well.

Then from the other side, I'd redrill the screw holes through the dowel.

But hey, what do I know.

i agree with cb here. plug your holes. plug them in the neck also. then you can relocate them away from the edges and wont break through.
also do you know anyone with a lathe? any local machine shops? maybe have some made to a smaller size.

 

[lilguitar]

Yeah, the more and more I think about it I like the idea of plugging the holes and redrilling away from the edges.  I'll keep you up to date on my progress.