Humbucker Pickup Mounting Ring Install - Any Tips/Tricks?

[Thomas-Hawk]

Working on my Soloist project, has two humbuckers with pickup ring mounts.  Any tips for making sure the rings are in the perfect spot before drilling the four pilot holes in the body for the screws?  Only thing I can think of is to eyeball it, and maybe measure the distance from one ring on each end to the other pickup cavity edge to make sure it's square?  What have you guys done in the past?  Have you tried to use a template of any sort?  Just looking for any ideas better than what I've come up with. 

 

[bagman67]

IT is kind of a matter of eyeballing things, but there are two things you can do to make it work better.  The first is to install strings so you have an easier reference for where to position the rings so that the pole pieces wind up centered under the strings.  The other thing is - once you have one ring installed - to lay down a strip of tape along the edge of the one you installed up alongside where the second pickup ring will lie, so the two rings are actually lined up.  You could do it with a straight-edge, too. 


Third, never mind that I said two things:  Once you have the ring situated where you want it, tape it down firmly so you don't screw up locating the pilot holes for the mounting screws.

 

[stratamania]

Another thing you can use is masking tape between the neck cavity and the bridge. You can then mark a centre line on it from which you can measure or mark angles.

Masking tape otherwise called painters tape. You need low tack.

 

[Cagey]

Bagman's right - put on the high and low E strings as alignment indicators. Don't have to tense 'em up much, just so they're straight.

For each pickup, eyeball it and drill ONE screw hole. Put in a screw. That'll keep them from moving up/down or back/forth from location while you find the other three holes.

For the other holes, tape works to square things up, as has been mentioned. I use a tiny rule. In any event, place the opposite corner screw and install it, then the last two holes can be guided by the ring itself.

These little 6" pocket rules are really handy to have around. You can measure small things conveniently in SAE or metric, use it as a straightedge for pickup ring and tuner alignment, etc. They're cheap and easy.

That's just one source - you can get 'em all over the place for between $2 and $5.

 

[Thomas-Hawk]

Excellent tips guys, thank you!

 

[TonyFlyingSquirrel]

I've used a center punch that's been sharpened a bit more fine, but ONLY on an unfinished body.
It's mainly to get a perfect downward angle before drilling.  Just enough to get the whole started.

 

[Super Turbo Deluxe Custom]

You may not want to spend extra money or time, but the acrylic routing jigs, like from StewMac, work great.  Line up the routed portions, and mark the holes.