The Acoustic Guitar Forum

Go Back   The Acoustic Guitar Forum > General Acoustic Guitar and Amplification Discussion > Build and Repair

Reply
 
Thread Tools
  #16  
Old 02-20-2009, 08:52 AM
brockgl brockgl is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jan 2009
Posts: 36
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Bruce E View Post
A local luthier uses a Unibit.

This is exactly what we have, only it starts at 1/8" and ends at 1/2"... And yes there is already a strap-pin hole in this guitar that I think is 1/4".
Reply With Quote
  #17  
Old 02-20-2009, 09:04 AM
random works random works is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Georgia
Posts: 2,739
Default more help

use a razor blade or very sharp small knife to score the wood on the mark you make for the size you want. Then put masking tape over the area, then pilot drill, the drill. Score the wood as deep as you fell comfortable working. This slices through the wood fibers and keeps the top layer from pulling and tearing.

I have used the score first method on some nice wood, but have never tried it on a guitar.

Good luck!
Reply With Quote
  #18  
Old 02-20-2009, 09:09 AM
rgregg48 rgregg48 is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky
Posts: 3,773
Default

If you are not experienced at the procedure,, why not just pop for a
repairman or Luthier to do the job....
If you screw it up,, you have no recourse,, but if it is messed up
at the shop,, they will fix it.
better than spending for a "use it only once" tool..

Rick
Reply With Quote
  #19  
Old 02-20-2009, 09:13 AM
brockgl brockgl is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jan 2009
Posts: 36
Default

The thing that amazes me is how many different responses there have been with so many right and wrong ways. This seems to be a very debated subject, and it's only drilling a hole in a piece of wood (or in my case making an existing hole bigger).
Reply With Quote
  #20  
Old 02-20-2009, 09:17 AM
brockgl brockgl is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jan 2009
Posts: 36
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by rgregg48 View Post
If you are not experienced at the procedure,, why not just pop for a
repairman or Luthier to do the job....
If you screw it up,, you have no recourse,, but if it is messed up
at the shop,, they will fix it.
better than spending for a "use it only once" tool..

Rick
I totally understand what you're sayin'.

And if this were a Martin or Taylor or my grandma's heirloom Gibson, you better believe it would be going to a pro. But I like to do things myself, and this guitar is just a player that I expect to get dinged and nicked up over the years, so I figured it would be a good one to learn on.
Reply With Quote
  #21  
Old 02-20-2009, 12:30 PM
Howard Klepper Howard Klepper is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Earthly Paradise of Northern California
Posts: 6,627
Default

Not that it's the only way, but the 1/8 to 1/2" Unibit is safe and reliable.

I would stay away from spade bits.
__________________
"Still a man hears what he wants to hear, and disregards the rest."
--Paul Simon
Reply With Quote
  #22  
Old 02-20-2009, 12:36 PM
Sombras Sombras is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Idaho
Posts: 1,394
Default

I so needed this thread. I'm about to install a K&K PWM and have been fretting over this--even though I have some minor woodworking experience. Thanks!
Reply With Quote
  #23  
Old 02-20-2009, 01:48 PM
PWoolson PWoolson is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Wisconsin
Posts: 2,706
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Howard Klepper View Post
Not that it's the only way, but the 1/8 to 1/2" Unibit is safe and reliable.

I would stay away from spade bits.
Interesting. I've never had any sort of problem with a spade. I just slow way down on the pressure when I'm getting close to punching through. Never had a bit of blow out at all.
Different strokes I guess but I certainly wouldn't say this method is WRONG as jackstrat implied.
__________________
Paul Woolson
Reply With Quote
  #24  
Old 02-20-2009, 02:02 PM
jackstrat jackstrat is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Posts: 838
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by PWoolson View Post
Interesting. I've never had any sort of problem with a spade. I just slow way down on the pressure when I'm getting close to punching through. Never had a bit of blow out at all.
Different strokes I guess but I certainly wouldn't say this method is WRONG as jackstrat implied.
Spade bits are notorious for blow out if the backside of the workpiece is not supported. So unless you can clamp a piece of wood to the end block, pre-drilling with a smaller brad point and enlarging with a conventional bit are far less risky.

But to each his own.

Jack
http://www.thewoodshop.20m.com
Reply With Quote
  #25  
Old 02-20-2009, 04:58 PM
Fred Fred is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Oct 2000
Posts: 1,840
Default

I installed my own K&K on "nice" guitar. I went the spade-bit route...covered the site with masking tape and had no tear-out on the exterior. However, the bit DID jump just a tiny bit at the outset, so I didn't get the hole exactly where I wanted it. But it's covered by the guitar strap, so nobody, inlcuding me, notices. I SHOULD have done a started hole with a smaller bit, then switched to the spade. Something to think about....
Reply With Quote
  #26  
Old 02-20-2009, 07:04 PM
Howard Klepper Howard Klepper is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Earthly Paradise of Northern California
Posts: 6,627
Default

I don't question that Paul has had good results. But my concerns about a spade bit are: whether the center point is wide enough to contact the existing hole at the entry point; whether if it does make that contact, it won't still want to walk around a little until the outside spurs dig in (the unibit is single flute, so it self-centers, and stays centered); that there is some tendency to blow out chips on exiting with a spade bit; and that spade bits cut a hole with a relatively rough finish to its walls (not a functional concern here).

Paul has the skill to make a tool that may be suboptimal work. The unibit is more expensive, but much harder to mess up with.
__________________
"Still a man hears what he wants to hear, and disregards the rest."
--Paul Simon

Last edited by Howard Klepper; 02-21-2009 at 11:15 AM. Reason: typos
Reply With Quote
  #27  
Old 02-20-2009, 07:46 PM
Herringbone Herringbone is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Mar 2008
Posts: 418
Default I must be lucky

I used regular old drill bits with 2 layers of masking tape in a cross pattern. (don't know if that made the diff or not). I had no chipping whatsoever.

It does take some guts to drill a hole in your favorite guitar though.

Good luck

Tim
__________________
More Guitars Than Talent
Reply With Quote
  #28  
Old 02-21-2009, 06:13 PM
brockgl brockgl is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jan 2009
Posts: 36
Default

I did it with the unibit with perfect results. Thanks everyone for their input. Here is the picture of the drilled hole.

Reply With Quote
  #29  
Old 02-21-2009, 07:14 PM
Broadus Broadus is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Clinton, SC
Posts: 3,374
Default

Looks great. Come do mine!

Bill
Reply With Quote
  #30  
Old 02-21-2009, 07:31 PM
rlouie rlouie is offline
 
Join Date: Mar 2006
Posts: 13,255
Default

nice job!!!!!! very clean...................
Reply With Quote
Reply

  The Acoustic Guitar Forum > General Acoustic Guitar and Amplification Discussion > Build and Repair

Thread Tools





All times are GMT -6. The time now is 12:36 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.
Copyright ©2000 - 2022, The Acoustic Guitar Forum
vB Ad Management by =RedTyger=