short shaft on rear rout tele HELP

[nofenderetele]

i have a rear routed tele and i want to use concentric pots...but they only come in short shaft.  when i put them in they kind threaded into the wood and are holding strong.  is this ok or will there be problems when i put the knobs on the threads are not comming above the wood as of now i only have one lower knob as they were out of stock. ahould i attempt to thin the wood and then reenforce it with pic-guard material from behind (any one done this???) 
i am experianced with wood working tools i am a wood shop counselor at a summer camp
i would prefer to use a dremel or hand drill but i have acces to a drill press if that is the only soultion ( no access till january and would like to finnish this on winter break as i have the time)

you guys have been extremely helpful and i hope once this is done ill have made enough mistakes to be able to contribute more than others benefiting from my mistakes  :icon_smile:

 

[dbw]

I wouldn't leave it like that, after one good bump the pot will come loose and rattle around.  You can just thin the wood out with a forstner bit... It will still be plenty strong, no need to reinforce it.

 

[nofenderetele]

ok thanks ill contact my drill press resource unless u think i could do it with a hand drill and steady hands

 

[dbw]

You could do it with a hand drill, but if you have access to a drill press use it.  What's the top wood you'll be drilling into? 

 

[nofenderetele]

the top wood is flame maple on a swamp ash back
the problem with the drill press is that the school that its at is currently on winter break to it would have to wait till january i would like to do as much as possible over break cuz i only have the time now and also i am very excited to do this  :blob7:

 

[dbw]

Maple is ideal for doing this.  Just GO SLOW, you will be a very unhappy camper if you go through and have a 1" hole in your flame maple top! 

 

[Graffiti62]

Maple is ideal for doing this.  Just GO SLOW, you will be a very unhappy camper if you go through and have a 1" hole in your flame maple top! 

Agreed--only go in maybe 1/8" depth increments--I goofed up BIG TIME when I installed Grovers on my Fender acoustic. My dad is in furniture repair and was able to repair the damage, but he wasn't happy about it.

 

[nofenderetele]

thanks

this is one of the best guitar forums out there i posted a question on both this and another site
got a reply in less than an hour here.... still havent heard from the other guys

 

[dbw]

Whoa there cowboy, 1/8" is a lot... you don't want to go any deeper than 1/8".  A Tele top is only 1/4".  I'd feel leery about having a pot supported by less than an eighth of an inch of wood... a hard knock could crack it.

 

[nofenderetele]

my plan is to do as small as possible at a time checking untill the pot just barely fits
does this sound good???

 

[blue313]

:icon_thumright:

 

[guitlouie]

Whoa there cowboy, 1/8" is a lot... you don't want to go any deeper than 1/8".

 

???

 

[Graffiti62]

Whoa there cowboy, 1/8" is a lot... you don't want to go any deeper than 1/8".  A Tele top is only 1/4".  I'd feel leery about having a pot supported by less than an eighth of an inch of wood... a hard knock could crack it.

Yeah--you're right--with a newborn at home, my mind isn't as crisp as it normally is. The best thing to do is very slowly bring the press down and just shave a little off of it. If you think that you hardly took anything off, you're doing it right.

 

[nofenderetele]

hey i just drilled down to the same thickness at the thinner part of the control cavity i have enough thread to attach a washer and nut and i felt confident enough to drill the hole for the les paul style switch pics will be up as soon as its done.