My Neck Doesnt Line Up... How Do I Drill New Holes W/O Making a Mess?

[::::BASSIST::::]

Okay here's the deal. I'm putting a P project together. I'm trying to mate a squire P body with a geddy neck. Trouble is the holes in the body are not correctly aligned with the holes in the neck. The body is only worth $50 so I'd much rather screw it up than my precsious geddy neck.

I'm guessing the first thing to do is put some shims (right word?) and wood glue into the holes in the neck pocket of the body. Then once the glue is dried and everything looks good and cleaned up, I have to re-drill the holes so they match up with the holes in the neck.

This is where I need guidance. Do I just use a ruler and pencil and try to make as precise measurements as possible? Or is there some easier or more reliable method? It seems to me the holes from both the body and the neck have to line up exactly right or the neck will go on cock-eyed.

Suggestions?

[Ray Holt]

How is the neck attached to the body? Are they just wood screws through the body into the neck, or are there threaded inserts in the neck where the screws go?

Just FWIW, shims wouldn't really be the right word. There's nothing really technical, they're just plugs. Shims ain't right though.

[jeffhigh]

get some nailsthat just fit into the existing screw holes in the neck. Cut off the head of the nail so that when the cut end is inserted in the hole in the neck, about 1/4 inch of the pointed end protudes.Do not cut too short or you will have nothing to grab to rmove the nail do this 4 times so you have a nail in each hole. Assemble neck and body and gently press together to mark the inside of the neck pocket. Drill holes with a drill press

[Dave]

Originally Posted by jeffhigh

get some nailsthat just fit into the existing screw holes in the neck. Cut off the head of the nail so that when the cut end is inserted in the hole in the neck, about 1/4 inch of the pointed end protudes.Do not cut too short or you will have nothing to grab to rmove the nail do this 4 times so you have a nail in each hole. Assemble neck and body and gently press together to mark the inside of the neck pocket. Drill holes with a drill press

+1

Thats pretty much exactly what I was gonna say.

[Bryan316]

+1 on Jeffhigh's method.

If the existing body holes are too off, you can either plug the body holes to get solid wood to redrill, or if the holes are only slightly off, drill the body holes larger, and use a metal neck plate. But the plugged holes will be far stronger and more reliable. Just make sure you don't use cheap pine or poplar for the actual plugs. Get oak or maple dowels for the plugs.

[::::BASSIST::::]

Thanks for the great ideas guys.

The holes are only slightly off, but of course that makes a big difference. I may just redrill the holes to make them bigger as it sounds like the easiest solution. I realize the other method will be stronger, but if I just re-drill the holes larger is it going to be strong enough? Am I going to have problems, later on, with this method?

[Ray Holt]

Once again, how is the neck attached? Are they just wood screws, or are they threaded inserts in the neck?

[bkim]

If you enlarge the holes or just "hog out" the side of the holes that needs lengthening, drill a small hole or 2 in the neck plate and screw the plate to the body to keep the plate from moving due to the enlarged holes. This way you won't really lose any strength in the joint and it will be much more stable. They dont need to be big screws, but countersink the heads.

[::::BASSIST::::]

Originally Posted by Ray Holt

Once again, how is the neck attached? Are they just wood screws, or are they threaded inserts in the neck?

Just regular wood screws.

[Foamy]

A couple suggestions.....
I would use a Forstner bit of about 3/8" to 1/2" to drill out the existing holes. You can buy that bit for just a couple bucks at HD or Lowe's. At the same time, you can get a plug cutter and cut some plugs from some scrap maple or mahogany.
Cut the plugs from side grain, not into the end of the scrap. That way, you'll have nice grain to screw into - not end grain (which would be if you plugged the holes with dowels).
As for marking the holes, the above method is fine - use nails or whatever to make the marks.
Do the screws go through a neckplate of some sort? Or metal grommets?

[Ray Holt]

I mean this would be the down and dirty way of doing it, but if you just want to play the damn thing couldn't you just put the neck where it needs to be, clamp it, and drive the screws into the back of the neck? Who cares about the screw holes that were in the neck?

Like I said, not the professional way, but if it's just for you why not? Not like you'll ever see it.

[throbgod13]

you need to plug the existing holes, first.. if there is a hole that is "close" to the new hole, it will be a mess after drilling the new hole..

plug them, then redrill..

[ProfGumby]

Originally Posted by Enchanter_Tim

A couple suggestions.....
I would use a Forstner bit of about 3/8" to 1/2" to drill out the existing holes. You can buy that bit for just a couple bucks at HD or Lowe's. At the same time, you can get a plug cutter and cut some plugs from some scrap maple or mahogany.
Cut the plugs from side grain, not into the end of the scrap. That way, you'll have nice grain to screw into - not end grain (which would be if you plugged the holes with dowels).
As for marking the holes, the above method is fine - use nails or whatever to make the marks.
Do the screws go through a neckplate of some sort? Or metal grommets?

That makes the most sense to me. that way he will be drilling into new wood in the bass body. No chance for bit drift, splintering or misalignment. It will also be much sronger that way too. Also, one could use the same wood that the body is made from, it need not be a harder of different wood. Then use the nails trick with the Geddy Neck to show where to drill in the plugs of the body.

[::::BASSIST::::]

Thanks for the suggestions. When I get the time, I'm going to plug and redrill.