Moving the jack?

Hey dudes, so I have an RD-4 bass kit. The input jack is front mounted and I want to drill out the side to have the jack over there because front mounts are uggo. Any advice on what type of bit to use and pointers on how to do it so I’m not blowing out the body? It’s a very thin body.


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You need to have a pretty big hole. Usually the whole jack has to fit in the hole, and there has to be space so the prongs aren’t touching the sides. Start with a small pilot hole. I’ll often start with a hand drill and drill in reverse to start with so the bit wears the wood down rather than biting into it.

Recessed jack cup sockets are the way to go, like this one that can be found at Real Parts.... https://www.realparts.com.au/hardwar...ack-black.html

Attachment 27772

A forstner bit would be my choice. A small pilot hole to guide the tip of the forstner bit. Gentle pressure on the drill and let the bit do the work. You'll want the pilot hole to go in nice and straight, so that it comes out in the middle of the side of the control cavity, rather than at an angle and so appears at the top or bottom. Ideally you'd use a pillar drill to help keep things square, but if you only have a hand drill, then you'll just have to be careful.

I'd select a general area for the jack position, and draw a centre line halfway between the top and bottom of the body. Drill a pilot hole, but if that doesn't come out reasonably central, I'd move the drill along a couple of mm and try again. As long as the holes lie within an area that is as big as the largest hole you plan to drill, then you can make several attempts if necessary, and choose the one that's straightest. You don't want to use a very angled hole that allows a large diameter bit to end up cutting through the top or bottom of the body.

I assume you'll be using an externally mounting jackplate? You've got a choice of the square (4-screw) or oval (two screw) plates. There are also the Electrosocket jack mounts (originally designed for replacing Tele cup sockets) which recess the jack a bit and can look quite neat.

The Electrosocket will require a bigger hole than the jackplate types, as the whole socket is recessed, so needs to be wider than the holes for jackplates which just need to accommodate the width of the jack socket itself. The Electrosocket is best fitted on straight or nearly-straight edges, whilst the jackplate types can be bent to fit the curvature of the body as required.

Looking at a picture of the back of the bass, there's a decent amount of wood to drill through to get to the control cavity. No point in drilling a full-sized hole all the way through, only just longer than the depth of the socket with a jack inserted, and the rest of the hole can be smaller but big enough to get the output wires through.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Simon Barden

A forstner bit would be my choice. A small pilot hole to guide the tip of the forstner bit. Gentle pressure on the drill and let the bit do the work. You'll want the pilot hole to go in nice and straight, so that it comes out in the middle of the side of the control cavity, rather than at an angle and so appears at the top or bottom. Ideally you'd use a pillar drill to help keep things square, but if you only have a hand drill, then you'll just have to be careful.

I'd select a general area for the jack position, and draw a centre line halfway between the top and bottom of the body. Drill a pilot hole, but if that doesn't come out reasonably central, I'd move the drill along a couple of mm and try again. As long as the holes lie within an area that is as big as the largest hole you plan to drill, then you can make several attempts if necessary, and choose the one that's straightest. You don't want to use a very angled hole that allows a large diameter bit to end up cutting through the top or bottom of the body.

I assume you'll be using an externally mounting jackplate? You've got a choice of the square (4-screw) or oval (two screw) plates. There are also the Electrosocket jack mounts (originally designed for replacing Tele cup sockets) which recess the jack a bit and can look quite neat.

The Electrosocket will require a bigger hole than the jackplate types, as the whole socket is recessed, so needs to be wider than the holes for jackplates which just need to accommodate the width of the jack socket itself. The Electrosocket is best fitted on straight or nearly-straight edges, whilst the jackplate types can be bent to fit the curvature of the body as required.

Looking at a picture of the back of the bass, there's a decent amount of wood to drill through to get to the control cavity. No point in drilling a full-sized hole all the way through, only just longer than the depth of the socket with a jack inserted, and the rest of the hole can be smaller but big enough to get the output wires through.

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Yeah that was my general feeling. Now I have an excuse to buy forstner bits! I agree about the hole depth. I was only gonna go maybe 1”-1 1/2” at most and just a small hole for the wires. That method will also A. Keep weight in a vital area to prevent neck dive and B. Allow more coverage for the shielding I so meticulously installed.

Thanks bud!


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So I used a 1/4 to drill the hole into the cavity and as a guide then a 11/16 Forstner bit about 1” in and it’s nice and snug! Slightly crooked on the jack plate but what are ya gonna do? Thanks for the help boys!


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Lotta thread showing and suggest placing some plastic or nylon washers on the inner side to help it sit more flush.

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by wazkelly

Lotta thread showing and suggest placing some plastic or nylon washers on the inner side to help it sit more flush.

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Yeah it pokes out a bit. To-do list.


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Sorry I did not see this earlier, but maybe for posterity....


I did mine as in this post....

https://www.bassesbyleo.com/forum/vi....php?f=9&t=242

Much easier with a step bit than a forstner when you are using a hand drill.



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