Drilling for through body stringing

[BenWA]

Is there any way to do this neatly and accurately when you dont have access to a drill press?

Any tips?

[wokkaboy]

hey Ben, take the body to a machining sales shop and ask for a test demo on a drill press hahah
I've got away without a drill press. Drill a small pilot hole and I had a spotter directing the drill to upright by eye in one direction and I watch the other direction.
It's not recommended but once the small pilot hole is through you should be able to massage the holes at the back to make them equi-distant apart with a slightly larger drill bit. Don't go anywhere near the ferrule diameter yet

[WeirdBits]

Before I had access to a large drill press I made some guide templates/blocks to help drill the string-through. It wasn't perfect, but it was as neat as I could get it and certainly better than trying to do it free-hand.

One thing that will really help is to get a long drill 2-2.5mm drill bit for the holes, as a standard length bit is really too short to use with a decently thick guide block.

But, if you really want to do a precise and neat looking string-thru I highly recommend trying to find someone with a large drill press. Local high or tech schools, community man sheds, or workshops for hire etc, look around and you may find something in your area.

[wokkaboy]

good idea Weirdy,
if you get a long 2 or 2.5mm drill bit drill a hole in a scrap piece of wood say about 30-40mm thick and check if the protuding bit is square with the wood and if it is use the scrap wood as the guide.
When you drill the pilot holes try get them as close to the centre of the holes in the bridge as you can.

[BenWA]

hmm thats a good idea. ill give it a go tomorrow with a guide block. so long as i can get the e strings straight hopefully the rest shouldnt be as bad. ive managed to drill the holes for the bridge and the neck pretty straight so far going slow and steady, just dont wanna mess this up cos itll be pretty obvious if i do!

[wokkaboy]

Ben another method as you have said drill through both E string holes with the guide block, turn it over and place the bridge over the 2 holes to see how they line up. This should give you an idea how straight the guide is.
You could possibly drill about half the width of the body in depth from both sides of the other 4 strings and hope the holes line up. They can be reamed with up to about a 5mm drill to make sure the hole goes through. Be careful to only drill from each side about half depth, if that makes sense.
Check the ferrule diameter think they are about 6 or 7mm hole.
Also do a test drill of the ferrule seating hole and depth before you drill the ferrule holes.
I use a bit of electrical tape around the drill bit as a depth gauge

[BenWA]

yep, was planning to go halfway from each side, and likewise, ive been using tape on the bit to check depth. kind of glad that you suggested those things though haha, gives me a bit more confidence that im not totally bodging it!

[BenWA]

ok so i went for it with a handheld drill, after measuring out (what i thought was pretty badly) the hole locations on the front and back for the E strings....and i managed to pull it off! 2mm of daylight on the other side, so pleased.

Now ive gotta do the other 4 holes but with the outer ones sorted i can breath a lot easier

[wokkaboy]

good one Ben,
I'd get some 40mm thick scrap pine and do a trial run before the real thing - if it's not too late !

[BenWA]

all done, it actually turned out fine. very surprised. would have been a lot easier with a drill press mind (and a lot less buttock clenching!)