Pickguard screws too close to body rout?

[Hollow]

I'm in the middle of my first build, a Tele Deluxe and I've just been marking out where my pickguard screws will go before drilling the pilot holes. A couple of them are very close to the body routing - around 1/16 (2mm) between the rout and the outside of where the screw will be. Another one is even closer (about 1.5mm). I'm a bit worried about splitting the wood. Is it normal for the holes to be that close? Is there anything I can try to do to avoid splitting the wood?

Thanks for any help!

 

[Verne Bunsen]

That’s pretty close! My first thought is that the pickguard alignment should be re-evaluated. I generally mark for those holes with pickups mounted and  neck and strings in place to ensure everything is properly located.

 

[rgand]

Assuming the pickguard is aligned correctly, could you glue a piece of wood on the inside of the rout to give the screw a safer amount to bite into?

 

[Hollow]

That’s pretty close! My first thought is that the pickguard alignment should be re-evaluated. I generally mark for those holes with pickups mounted and  neck and strings in place to ensure everything is properly located.

I'm pretty sure I got it right, there's barely any adjustment space for the pickguard on a tele deluxe as it runs from the neck pocket to the bridge.

 

[Rick]

On my warmoth tele deluxe I tried to use a a non-warmoth pick guard and it was a no go.  No biggie I just ordered one from Warmoth.  Do you have any pictures, they always help with diagnosis.

 

[Hollow]

On my warmoth tele deluxe I tried to use a a non-warmoth pick guard and it was a no go.  No biggie I just ordered one from Warmoth.  Do you have any pictures, they always help with diagnosis.

Thanks for the response, I'm out of town till tomorrow evening but will post some pics when I get back. I am using a Warmoth pickguard and body. I'd be really interested to compare mine to yours too.

 

[Hollow]

Here are some pics. The main one I was worried about was the screw in front of the switch rout which is very close even with the pickguard pushed as far forward as possible. I also did an overlay of one of the in stock tele deluxe bodies with the pickguard on and off and it seems like maybe this is just the way it's supposed to be!

 

[stratamania]

I think you will be fine. Pre thread the hole and wax and lube the screw and avoid over tightening.

 

[Logrinn]

I had a similar thing with my Mustang. One of the screws for the pickguard, close to the neckpocket is really close to the pickup cavity:

But everything worked out fine in the end.

 

[Rick]

Make sure you use a brand new sharp drill bit