Drilling bridge pin holes

[Brian Farrell]

Hello all,

Do I want to use a specific type of bit to drill these holes to minimize chipping, of should I drill them prior to finishing the contour of the top of the bridge? Its a replacement, so the holes are already in the top of the guitar. I have the old bridge to use as a guide to marking the holes on the new bridge.

Thx,
B

[Ronnie Nichols]

A 3/16 standard drill bit will do the job. Since the holes must be reamed, a little tearout should not be a problem. Running the drill backward while starting the hole will help minimize the tearout, too. On a lot of guitars the top side of these holes are enlarged with a countersink after reaming. I think you will be safe to wait until the bridge is contoured to perform this operation although it is really pretty simple to drill through the old holes into a blank before it is contoured. A piece of double sided carpet tape will hold the 2 pieces together while you do this.
Ronnie Nichols

[Charlie Hoffman]

Ronnie is basically right. Using a good brad point drill bit will also help.

[FRANK]

IF WORRIED ABOUT BLOW OUT HOLD A PIECE OF WOOD BEHIND IT FIRMLY THIS WILL DECREASE BLOW OUT AND NO YOU SHOULD NOT USE THE OLD BRIDGE FOR ALIENING HOLES UP USE YOUR 6 INCH RULER 16TH 32EDS AND YES A BRAD POINT DRILL BIT JUST MAKE SURE YOU HAVE A WOOD BLOCK UP UNDERNEATH IT FIRMLY UNDERNEATH IT FRANK FORD ALUMNI RV

[Nick Anthony]

these guys are right but the most helpful thing is to use a good quality drill press not a hand held the mass of the drill press prevents the drill bit from warbling around (chatter) you should be fine