Hole layout for pickguards and trems.

[brianr10]

Does anyone make a fixture to precisely locate holes for trems and pickguards in a body that is not predrilled?  I'm thinking of a piece of plastic with a piece attached to fit into the neck pocket or the trem slot to fix the locations of the holes.

 

[Mor Paul]

Many pickguards don't have the holes line up perfectly 

 

[dbw]

Put the neck on first, that'll keep the pickguard out of the neck pocket.  Then use the bridge rout to align the pickguard.

 

[TonyFlyingSquirrel]

Most folks will mount the neck, put a low e & a high e on, align the neck for equal reveal on outer sides of both e strings so that the neck is well centered, then complete the mount by tightening the neck mounting screws.

Then, what most folks do is then lay the loaded pickguard on the body, with the same string setup, and align the pole pieces appropriately under the strings, tape off the pickguard, then commence with the pre-drilling of the holes, and mounting.

 

[dbw]

Well said, TFS.  My post was really confusing (I meant the bridge rout or cutout in the PICKGUARD, not the body).

 

[TonyFlyingSquirrel]

Consider what I had said above, with the bridge already mounted.  Rarely, some folks might need to sand one side or the other of the inner cut of the bridge, but again, that is verrry raaaaiirrrly.