Redrilling floyd rose mount holes query

Hullboy · May 2023

Hi there,

As per the image attached, the mounting holes on my guitar have been previously drilled incorrectly. They are out of alignment with one another and too far away from the nut. They need to be centred and drilled closer towards the bridge pickup to allow clearance for the floyd rose and ensure the correct distance between the nut and bridge.

I've read that the procedure is to drill out the holes larger, plug a dowel and then re drill new holes. The part i'm confused about is why i need to drill out a larger hole to fit the dowel. Can i not simply fit a 10mm dowel into the existing holes and then re drill a new hole in the correct position? I've got little clearance at the south side of the existing hole and I worry that if i drill a larger hole, say 12mm for example, i'll risk drilling out the edge of the cavity.

Funkfingers · May 2023

.

WezV · May 2023

You usually drill larger to ensure a good clean join with the new wood.

Since the holes look pretty clean you may get away with redrilling to 10mm and cutting a 10mm plug to match (buy a 10mm straight plug cutter, not tapered). If it is loose, a drop or two of water in the hole should swell any compressed wood

You want plugs, not dowels. They are different things. The grain goes the length of a dowel, across on a plug, which will match the body wood better and be easier to drill.

Hullboy · May 2023

WezV said:

You usually drill larger to ensure a good clean join with the new wood.

Since the holes look pretty clean you may get away with redrilling to 10mm and cutting a 10mm plug to match (buy a 10mm straight plug cutter, not tapered). If it is loose, a drop or two of water in the hole should swell any compressed wood

You want plugs, not dowels. They are different things. The grain goes the length of a dowel, across on a plug, which will match the body wood better and be easier to drill.

Thanks for the reply. Yes, you’re correct, the holes look pretty clean to me bar a few impressions inside caused previously by the grooves in the floyd rose posts.

The holes do measure 10mm as it stands, so when you say to re drill to 10mm, do you mean to ensure a smooth surface inside the hole, as in remove the impressions caused previously by the floyd rose posts as I just mentioned? I can’t help but think me redrilling the holes, even with a 10mm drill bit, may open up the holes slightly and therefore 10mm plugs may then be too small.

I’m tempted to make some 10mm plugs and just plug the existing holes since the inside of the holes look pretty smooth already.

Thoughts?

andy_k · June 2023

The notoriously weak point with FR posts, is the space between them and the pickup rout, I would be wary of moving any holes closer to the pickup.
If you go down the dowel and re-drill route, you should make sure that the dowels are very well fitted, and then that the new holes are drilled accurately.
I prefer to use the old style posts on a FR, ie, the woodscrew type, rather than the bushes, as if they are done during a fresh install there is less wood removed.
I have also used epoxy on the bushes of a Kramer 1984, rather than try to improve the original holes, it worked for me.
YMMV.

Howdy, Stranger!

Categories

In this Discussion

Become a Subscriber!

Redrilling floyd rose mount holes query

Comments