HELP! Drilling Schaller Tuner Hole (The Little Ones)

[partialdoctor]

Hey guys,
Installing Schaller locking tuners on my Warmoth Pro neck. Its drilled for the posts fine, but I didn't anticipate the little screws that hold them down on the back side of the headstock.

1) Do I need to drill pilot holes? What bit should I use?
2) Any tips on lining up the posts perfectly?

THANKS!

 

[rockskate4x]

Yes, you should drill pilot holes. I can't tell you what size drill bit you should use but if you have a set of drill bits it is easy to figure out. Use the one that is slightly smaller than the shaft of one of the  screws you are using. I drilled my schaller's pilot holes after installing them without the ruler and lining them up with a straight edge (it was a strat neck so the tuners had to be in line). Then I penciled through the tuners on the spots where I was going to be tuning. After this, I removed the tuners and double checked my marks with the straight edge. When I was satisfied with the locations, I pierced the wood with an awl so that my drill wouldn't slip, marked my drill bit with tape to make sure my hole was not deeper than the untapered length of the screw, and went for it. I ended up with six clean, straight holes, so I continued by putting vaseline on the screws. They slid in nicely and are still holding a year later. The tuners are straight as an arrow.

 

[AutoBat]

^^Excellent. That's almost exactly what I did

The little screws are mostly there to keep the tuner from rotating, NOT to keep it in the headstock. your pilot holes should be just a bit smaller than the screw diameter.
You're not holding the world in place with them. If you're having trouble screwing them in after drilling, back up and see if the next size larger drill bit would work better.

 

[OzziePete]

Take real care not to burr the screw slot on tip of the screws......find an exact fitting screwdriver - the cheap jewellers screw drivers that you find at places like Radio Shack etc. do the job very well. I use a magnifying visor so I can magnify the screw and see the screwdriver fitting into the screw slot. Makes a lot of difference.

 

[jay4321]

http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Tuners/Tuner_installation_tools/Tuner_Pin_Drill_Jig.html

Works great with Schallers.