tuner hole drilling

[grungeiceman]

well finally getting to drilling the holes bigger for the 10mm tuners, I went out and brought a tuner with me and eye ball the size brought the bit home and its not bigg enough I beleive it was 11/32nds I went and abrrowed another one from a friend, better but not big enough. And I cant seem to find a bit thats the right size what size should I be using?

 

[oldguy]

I seem to remember Bloozcat telling you the headstock can crack from drilling, especially if you don't know what you're doing.

Maybe you should consider having this done by a competent shop.

 

[deeaa]

Lemme suggest a safe way. Get a pencil or something, wrap with 60-80 grit sandpaper so it still just slides in the tuner hole. attach to a cordless drill or screwdriver, put on rather low and just carefully sand the suckers till they fit. safe and easy, will not take long either. done it twice that way.

 

[tunghaichuan]

well finally getting to drilling the holes bigger for the 10mm tuners, I went out and brought a tuner with me and eye ball the size brought the bit home and its not bigg enough I beleive it was 11/32nds I went and abrrowed another one from a friend, better but not big enough. And I cant seem to find a bit thats the right size what size should I be using?

The tool to use is called a tapered peg reamer. This tool is kind of pricey for one job, so maybe you can find one to borrow. Or have a luthier ream out the holes.

 

[Kazz]

The tool to use is called a tapered peg reamer. This tool is kind of pricey for one job, so maybe you can find one to borrow. Or have a luthier ream out the holes.

+100

 

[Bloozcat]

Why chance it? You may be fortunate and not crack the headstock, but with a taper reamer you won't.

BTW: 10MM is between 25/64" and 13/32", but is generally referred to as 13/32".

 

[tunghaichuan]

Here is a youtube video to show you how to enlarge the holes for the tuners:



In fact, that whole series is very good. I spent most of an afternoon watching all the segments.

 

[deeaa]

I can't believe how complicated you guys want to make that hole enlargement. Sure you don't want to get a consultant first and then maybe hire a contractor for the job? ;-) Why not just use some sanding paper. It's not like it needs lots of wood removed. Just takes maybe 2 minutes, ZERO chance of cracking anything and no tools required. You can even do it just by hand, in which case it will take maybe 5-10 minutes, but a slow battery drill etc. will help nicely. It's no big deal by any stretch, just grab some paper...

 

[oldguy]

I can't believe how complicated you guys want to make that hole enlargement. Sure you don't want to get a consultant first and then maybe hire a contractor for the job? ;-) Why not just use some sanding paper. It's not like it needs lots of wood removed. Just takes maybe 2 minutes, ZERO chance of cracking anything and no tools required. You can even do it just by hand, in which case it will take maybe 5-10 minutes, but a slow battery drill etc. will help nicely. It's no big deal by any stretch, just grab some paper...

I agree, but like slotting a nut, if a novice tries it w/ too much "enthusiasm", it's botched. Not that it can't be fixed, but it's a trade off...... do you want to learn from your mistakes, or just have it done right and get back to playing, if you see what I mean.

 

[grungeiceman]

Thank you everyone for the advice I drilled the holes out with a drill press with the bits I had then used Deea's advice with the sand paper and it worked like a charm im a very happy man now!

 

[Bloozcat]

Well, I am happy it worked out for you grunge!

The reason why there are methods for doing certain jobs is to establish a repeatable system for doing a job with positive results. One could "get away with" doing a job with less tried and true methods, and maybe even have success many times that way. But, it's that one time you use a shortcut and end up with disasterous results that justifies the method system...especially if the guitar you're working on belongs to someone else.

Now deeaa's system would work everytime without any danger of breaking a headstock. The reason that the peghead reamer is recommended by luthiers is because time is money to them. The peghead reamer allows a quick and safe method and is therefore the best solution for luthiers.