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Wednesday, January 21, 2015

Drilling for tuners

The two resos are doing some progress. Frets are levelled but not re-crowned and polished, but that's something I'd rather do another day. So this morning I made the holes for the spring loaded pegs I'm using. 

First pic shows the layout. No fancy jigs, just a square and some eyeballing to get it right. 


The bushing is 8 mm in diameter, and needs a 6 mm hole to sit in. The headstock is around 10.5 mm thick. With a bradpoint drill and a depth stop very securely fastened, I drill with a cordless drill, some care to get it straight, and a clear plastic sheet to prevent the depth stop marring the face. 

I start by going in reverse to cut the fibers, thus ensuring a clean edge and no tear out. Then I drill down to the [very securely fastened] depth stop. 


The shaft of the tuner is 5 mm. Lacking a stepped drill, I start with a 3 mm in the center from the brad point. With that as a pilot hole the 5 mm drill bit doesn't wander. 


Job done. Bushing sits perfectly. 

(But why making the holes now?)


Well this is why - first coat of shellac drying as I type this. I used the brush in the pic, making a thick coat in several passes. This coat will serve as a base for levelling, maybe pore filling if that's needed, and it also shows any flaws that I might have missed until now. 

The mahogany to the right looks more purple than it is...





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