Hey, guys. I'm thinking of adding a side jack to a MIM Jazz I have. I am just a player, not a professional wood-working kind of guy.

That said, I'm very meticulous and pretty handy with most tools. I'm very tempted to just do this myself. I've been looking at where the jack is placed on comparable basses, how it is drilled into the side, and then another hole is seemingly drilled from under the plate for the wiring. It seems simple enough, and that some margin of error is allowable since the side jack plate covers up a bit of imperfection around the hole.

I don't have a drill press that is big enough to do this, so it's either do it with a hand drill, or find someone who has one big enough that the body could fit under.

It is just an old MIM bass, so nothing I'm worried excessively about being perfect, but I don't want to destroy it either! :D

Am I crazy to even think about doing this myself?

Thanks!

No way, it's pretty easy. if your bass has flat sides you can do a Les Paul type jack where you drill the hole the entire size of the jack and use a mounting plate. That way if you drill the hole all the way to the control cavity you will not need a back plate.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v104/Fenderbird/ripper%20project/Ridgehawk_1.jpg

Hey, guys. I'm thinking of adding a side jack to a MIM Jazz I have. I am just a player, not a professional wood-working kind of guy.

That said, I'm very meticulous and pretty handy with most tools. I'm very tempted to just do this myself. I've been looking at where the jack is placed on comparable basses, how it is drilled into the side, and then another hole is seemingly drilled from under the plate for the wiring. It seems simple enough, and that some margin of error is allowable since the side jack plate covers up a bit of imperfection around the hole.

I don't have a drill press that is big enough to do this, so it's either do it with a hand drill, or find someone who has one big enough that the body could fit under.

It is just an old MIM bass, so nothing I'm worried excessively about being perfect, but I don't want to destroy it either! :D

Am I crazy to even think about doing this myself?

Thanks!

Just drill straight into the control cavity from the side. Use some care picking the spot you drill. The factory MIM Deluxe has a side jack and they put it right on the crest of the radius. That way when you put it down or on a stand it interferes with it sitting level. Support it sideways and use a hand drill. On my builds I put the jack on the side at all times.

Obviously start out with a small bit, then use a couple of bits to et to the final size.

Its also nice if you have a nice if you have a nice table mounted vice/clamp to hold the body. be sure to hold it in place with scraps of wood so the claps do not damage the body.

Go slow