Drilling neck hole without a drill press

[FARCrow]

Hey folks, I've received my first Warmoth neck (vintage modern, roasted maple, Rosewood fretboard, 10-16 compound radius, SS6150 wide & tall frets) to replace the neck on my Fender American Pro 2 Strat. I love the profile & finish of the stock neck, but can't get along with the narrow tall frets on it and I've had the guitar for over a year and a half. It's my favorite one to play, but all my other guitars are medium jumbo which I prefer so I got this Warmoth neck to address my fret size preference (we don't have any local Luthiers here in Kuwait so refretting isn't an option for me). I also took the opportunity to try my hand at dyeing my Warmoth neck to darken it to better match my Dark Night themed Strat (I never liked the bright yellow of the stock neck) with mixed results but that's a post for another day

I took most people's advice and got HipShot locking tuners with the UMP plate to avoid drilling tuner screw holes, but due to the AM Pro 2 non-standard tapered heel I need to redrill one of the 4 holes for the offset one. I don't have a drill press and won't be doing enough drilling to warrant one. After researching different ways of drilling straight holes in the neck I found a possible solution that's seems to be a reasonable compromise between using a drill press or free hand drilling through the body (too risky with the possibility of damaging the body) and came across this drill guide which has a 1/8" guide hole for the neck screws:

Milescraft 1312 Drill Block - Handheld Drilling Guide
(can't post the link to Amazon probably cause I'm new?)

Anyone use this or something similar to drill straight neck holes accurately?e

Besides all the following:

• Measuring the screws (smaller inside radius)
• Measure the drill bits & taping off
• Marking the hole using one of the screws through the existing neck hole
• Then drilling using this drill block/guide, and
• Using wax with the screws while tightening them very slowly
  
  Is there anything else I should be aware of or consider for my first neck swap/upgrade? I'd really appreciate any advice or tips.

 

[Lbpesq]

I’ve used a similar product. For small holes where perfect verticality isn’t critical, like mounting tuners, it works fine. I wouldn’t use one for drilling holes to mount a bolt-on neck.

Bill, tgo

 

[FARCrow]

I’ve used a similar product. For small holes where perfect verticality isn’t critical, like mounting tuners, it works fine. I wouldn’t use one for drilling holes to mount a bolt-on neck.

Bill, tgo

Was it not stable enough or where the holes alignment not accurate? What else would you use in that case?

 

[Lbpesq]

Was it not stable enough or where the holes alignment not accurate? What else would you use in that case?

The little guide will never be as stable and accurate as a drill press. Getting neck mounting holes accurate is critical. I have a small desk-top drill press I got on Amazon for less than $100. In a pinch, if you have a Dremel, you can get a drill press attachment for under $50. Here’s a link to the one I use.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0058ECQX2?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_title_17

Bill, tgo

 

[FARCrow]

The little guide will never be as stable and accurate as a drill press. Getting neck mounting holes accurate is critical. I have a small desk-top drill press I got on Amazon for less than $100. In a pinch, if you have a Dremel, you can get a drill press attachment for under $50. Here’s a link to the one I use.
...
Bill, tgo

Thanks for the explanation and recommendations. Unfortunately I can't order those powered drill presses online (power compatibility and customs import issues) and can't find any locally, but when I searched for the Dremel attachment I found a manual drill press stand where you clamp on a regular drill and has a manual press that also comes with a vice. I'll give that a try and hopefully it'll be stable enough for this work.

 

[Hodgo]

I’m going to sound like a contrarian here but there’s no reason you couldn’t wing it, they don’t have to be perfectly straight to function. A drilling block would be fine. Put a little tape flag on the bit to mark your max depth and go for it.

 

[Lbpesq]

Thanks for the explanation and recommendations. Unfortunately I can't order those powered drill presses online (power compatibility and customs import issues) and can't find any locally, but when I searched for the Dremel attachment I found a manual drill press stand where you clamp on a regular drill and has a manual press that also comes with a vice. I'll give that a try and hopefully it'll be stable enough for this work.

That looks perfect! And the above suggestion to mark the intended depth with tape on the drill bit is great advice. The “wing it”, not so much. Ask how many people here would buy a guitar they knew had off-vertical or off-center neck mounting screws? I’ve never read instructions, or seen a youtube, that advises drilling neck mounting holes freehand or just with one of those little guides. A drill press, like the one you found, is the way to go. Good luck with your project.

Bill, tgo

 

[aarontunes]

I’m going to sound like a contrarian here but there’s no reason you couldn’t wing it, they don’t have to be perfectly straight to function. A drilling block would be fine. Put a little tape flag on the bit to mark your max depth and go for it.

I've drilled neck holes by hand, with a hand drill many times. Here's one example, with a Fender Am Pro II, no less! (Neck stuff starts about the 5:45 mark.)

 

[FARCrow]

A drilling block would be fine. Put a little tape flag on the bit to mark your max depth and go for it.

Thanks for that reminder & tip Hodgo

I've drilled neck holes by hand, with a hand drill many times. Here's one example, with a Fender Am Pro II, no less! (Neck stuff starts about the 5:45 mark.)

Thanks a lot for that video Aaron. Very appropriate that you're doing the opposite here (using the AM Pro 2 neck on a Warmoth body) but just as relevant. You make it look quite easy using the neck plate as a guide essentially. I don't trust myself hand drilling as you did, but it's good to know it's possible and results in a playable guitar. Maybe when I get a few Warmoth builds under my belt (I'm sure this won't be my last neck, I've already got my eyes on an all rosewood neck for the future)

 

[Hodgo]

Thanks for that reminder & tip Hodgo



Thanks a lot for that video Aaron. Very appropriate that you're doing the opposite here (using the AM Pro 2 neck on a Warmoth body) but just as relevant. You make it look quite easy using the neck plate as a guide essentially. I don't trust myself hand drilling as you did, but it's good to know it's possible and results in a playable guitar. Maybe when I get a few Warmoth builds under my belt (I'm sure this won't be my last neck, I've already got my eyes on an all rosewood neck for the future)

You should check out Milehouse guitars on YouTube if you want to see a luthier winging nearly every step of a scratch build. It’s fun to get nerdy about this stuff, but there are very few critical dimensions on a guitar and Warmoth takes care of all of em extremely well. Keep in mind that guitars with one, two, and three screw designs exist and function just fine - the Fender four screw standard is extreme overkill as far as clamping forces are concerned.

 

[FARCrow]

You should check out Milehouse guitars on YouTube if you want to see a luthier winging nearly every step of a scratch build. It’s fun to get nerdy about this stuff, but there are very few critical dimensions on a guitar and Warmoth takes care of all of em extremely well. Keep in mind that guitars with one, two, and three screw designs exist and function just fine - the Fender four screw standard is extreme overkill as far as clamping forces are concerned.

Thanks I'll check 'em out. No doubt these things can be done on the fly by experienced luthiers or tinkerers as Aaron demonstrated, but now you've got me curious about experimenting with bolting it on with just 3 screws until my drill press arrives. Might test it out this weekend and see if the neck sits flat or not. I did check the other 3 screws alignment the other day and they're spot on