How deep to drill and not hit your tremolo springs HSH no pickup rings

[Archie Macfarlane]

Hey, i was wondering how deep i should drill (or screw) my pickups into, got a soloist body with hsh trem. I could just wong it but it's a bit nerve racking so any advice is much appreciated
Thanks

 

[Cagey]

If you measure the depth of the pickup cavity and the depth of the vibrato spring cavity and add those together, then subtract that number from the overall body thickness (1.75"), you'll know the thickness of the wood between the two and how deep you can drill before breaking through.

 

[Archie Macfarlane]

Thanks cagey i got about 6mm and now i have to figure out how to mount them because the screws are flat on the end / not designed to go into wood

 

[rgand]

If the screws are like self-tapping sheet metal screws but flat on the end (PK screws), Normally I'd say to cut the threads into the wood with a sheet metal screw of the same size then replace it with the flat ended ones. This may still work but with only 6mm of wood, you may end up going all the way through. Is seeing the flat end of the screw in the spring chamber something you could live with?

 

[Archie Macfarlane]

They are the screws Seymour Duncan humbuckers come with, i'm thinking get a bushing of some sort so the screws don't progressively wear the wood, the body is 3.1 pounds swamp ash

 

[Archie Macfarlane]

Also i should add it's getting a tremol-no device

 

[TonyFlyingSquirrel]

Also i should add it's getting a tremol-no device

Shouldn't matter, I have one on all my trem equipped guitars, used the existing claw screws just fine for over a decade now.

 

[stratamania]

Also i should add it's getting a tremol-no device

Shouldn't matter, I have one on all my trem equipped guitars, used the existing claw screws just fine for over a decade now.

I don't think he was asking about claw screws. But in any case, the tremol-no should make no difference to the original question in the thread.