first build, PB-30R short scale bass - neck drilling question

[shg]

Hey guys, long time lurker very first time poster. Just a quickie - what drillbit size should I use for drilling the body attachment holes on the neck of the PB-30R?

https://www.pitbullguitars.com/shop/...-kit-30-scale/

[Simon Barden]

Hi and welcome.

Holes in the neck should be drilled out to the diameter of the solid part of the screw thread, whilst the holes in the body should be drilled out to the full width of the screw thread (no bigger, but the screw should push through the hole and shouldn't need to be screwed through. As neck mounting screws can vary slightly in size, I don't want to give definite drill size, but you should be able to either measure using callipers (digital calipers aren't expensive and come in very useful when assembling a guitar), or just by holding the screw up against the bit.

Any screw joint where the screw is pulling two bits of wood together should be drilled in this way. It allows the screw to firmly pull the two bits of wood together. Using the same sized hole where the screw needs to be driven/turned through both bits will often result in the screw being fully screwed into the first bit of wood and unable to turn further before the end of the screw is fully driven into the second bit of wood, with the result that there is still a small gap between the two pieces.

Pay attention to the length of the screw, and when drilling the neck itself mark the maximum drill depth needed as you don't want to drill too deep and drill into the fingerboard!