Drilling Without Chipping

[DSB1]

Use a spade bit to drill from the top of the body half way through the. Clean holes, voila.

 

[Basschair]

I'VE USED A RUBBER SANDING BELT CLEANER (BIG ERASER) TO SUPPORT THIS TYPE OF DRILLING . IT WILL FOLLOW THE CONTOUR IF YOU APPLY ENOUGH PRESSURE AND THE RUBBER IS THIN ENOUGH (1" OR SO). HOWEVER , I FIND THE BEST RESULT, IS TO PLAN AHEAD AND DRILL BEFORE YOU CARVE . I DO THE SAME FOR BODY ROUTS AND HEADSTOCK DRILLING .

Use a spade bit to drill from the top of the body half way through the. Clean holes, voila.

Hi guys,

First off, nybass6...please turn off the cap locks . Second, this thread was started a little over four years ago, so if he hasn't figured it out by now, I think he's out of luck.

Having said that, I'm one for drilling from the top to the bottom before routing the control cavity, and I let the drill bit do the work. Any chipping is minimal, and is gone after routing.

 

[beejomatic]

IMHO, Marking the centerpoint of the hole with an awl and drilling from the front with a NEW,SHARP brad-point bit should give a clean hole. Can you do this on a drill press, either angling the table or blocking the body so the hole is perpendicular to the face? Just a thought...

 

[Nelson Guitars]

This is too simple. If you are laying out from the cavity side and must start drilling from there then drill from there with the smallest bit you have. Use a backer block anyway, just in case. Then move the drill to the face of the instrument and using a brad point bit (a good one with spurs not those cheap things that are basically jobber bits re-ground) finish the hole from there. Zero chip out! You should also clamp a block on the cavity side to keep that from chipping even though it won't be seen.

Greg N

 

[waseok]

If the area where the shaft comes through is significantly curved, how do you intend to to put the top nut on and tighten it? Are you going to spotface it (and run into the same problem all over again)?

It's carved, not curved :/

 

[pilotjones]

It's both. Try reading the OP.

 

[waseok]

It's both. Try reading the OP.

Did that, and gues what

I am about to drill control cavity holes in my carved-top bass body. I've always drilled from the inside of the cavity out to the front of the bass before and that has worked fine.

The problem in this instance is that, because it is a carved top, it will not lie flat on a backing board and I'm affraid that when I drill, there will be a great deal of chipping of my AAA Flame Maple top.

Can anyone offer advice on how to properly drill in this situation?

Thanks in advance for your help.

???

 

[pilotjones]

It's carved, not curved :/

It's a carved-top, therefore it is curved. See the examples following.

I am about to drill control cavity holes in my carved-top bass body.
...
The problem in this instance is that, because it is a carved top, it will not lie flat on a backing board and I'm affraid that when I drill, there will be a great deal of chipping of my AAA Flame Maple top.

A carved top solidbody is curved on the exterior side (look up Gibson Les Paul for an example), and a carved top archtop hollowbody is curved on the interior and exterior sides (look up Gibson ES-335 for an example).
The problem is that if you drill through a board, it tends to chip when the drill exits the far side. A common way to prevent this is to use a backer board, that is, a piece of sacrificial scrap wood, held against the far side. This generally prevents chipping on exit. However, assuming even the simpler, first case, the far side is curved, so a normal backer board cannot be used.

Going further, and the reason for my question,

If the area where the shaft comes through is significantly curved, how do you intend to to put the top nut on and tighten it? Are you going to spotface it (and run into the same problem all over again)?

even if you do get a nice clean hole through a curved top for the potentiometer shaft, there is still an issue in that if the hole is through a curved region, then, when tightening down the pot retaining nut, the nut will be landing on a curved surface. Hence my question of whether the OP was going to spotface the area, which would again be a somewhat difficult task due to the curvature at that point of the body.

Comprendez-vous?

 

[eleonn]

If the carved area where the pots are going to be placed is not too thin I think that the pot could be recessed in the top. That way you could have a flat area where to tighten the nut and the knob would look nice . For that I guess (again... and this is a BIG guess) with a tinny bit drill through the top from the cavity (as suggested by Nelson). Then from the top using a smaller brad or forstner bit than the hole wanted take much of the bulk drilling perpendicular to the top. Then with the right bit drill vertical. Again not sure about this but been still a bit hangover dont take attention in this

 

[SDB Guitars]

If the carved area where the pots are going to be placed is not too thin I think that the pot could be recessed in the top. That way you could have a flat area where to tighten the nut and the knob would look nice . For that I guess (again... and this is a BIG guess) with a tinny bit drill through the top from the cavity (as suggested by Nelson). Then from the top using a smaller brad or forstner bit than the hole wanted take much of the bulk drilling perpendicular to the top. Then with the right bit drill vertical. Again not sure about this but been still a bit hangover dont take attention in this

Recessed knobs = a pretty slick look.

I've always liked that look... PRS does it on their guitars, although it is pretty shallow. My old Cort Curbow had the knobs recessed, and the bridge recessed *at an angle* to increase the break-over angle of the strings on the saddles. I always thought that was a slick idea.