Hi folks
Technical question here.
I am going to build a strat I already got the neck I am shopping for the body
My question is.
I am buying a body with the neck screw holes already drilled,but the neck I bought does not have the holes. How do I line it up and secure it and drill,and blah blah blah. You guys get the picture. I of course want to make sure to maintain the scale(25.5) and what size bit should I use? Do I step drill? You know start with a small bit then next up size and so on so as not to crack the neck.what depth do I drill?. I really want to have something different so I want to do this. I just got laid off from work so its something to do to keep from crying,LOL.
Thanks

When it comes to drilling the holes in the neck, you want to make sure that your neck is properly aligned in the pocket. The best way to do this is to make sure that your neck and body fit snuggly but not to tight. Personally I do it by feeling out the position and sighting down the neck, Then you want to clamp the neck to the body with a c-clamp with rubber pads on the surface so you don't scratch it.

After the neck is straight and clamped you need to get a transfer punch or a taper punch available at any hardware store, make sure it fits snugly in the larger hole then tap with a hammer to leave your starting dimple. Then you need to check what neck screws your using, and find the root diameter of the screw (the smaller solid shaft diameter) should be smaller then the screw diameter. The remove the neck from the body, place it somewhere that it won't get damaged and drill slowly and carefully into the neck stopping and checking the fit as you go.

Sorry about the jobloss budy!! and be very carefull when drilling the holes... if you can get a piece of wood and practice there before working on the neck ..... it has to be aligned almost to perfection!!! good luck!!

I actually got a little lucky when building my strat, The mounting holes in the body had been butchered by someone else and were double the size they needed to be so when i fit the neck, i used a transfer punch to get the proper centers drilled my holes and then when i placed the neck I filled the excess of the body holes with some RTV sealant, which gave me the ability to adjust the neck with the guitar together while the sealnt dried.

Deffinately not the best way to do it, but i did what i had to do. And by lucky i mean that with my first build, i didn't have to stress about EXACT alignment, but in your situation I'd go for the closest fit possible

i think you should get help from a local music store person

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Squire Strat
Jasmine Takamine
Cherry Red American Standard Strat

heres what I got so far. I will be starting on it soon

mahagony neck


all rosewood pickguard

alder body

instead I am going to use this body an save other for different project this mahogany body was made by a guy in Las Vegas NV its perty huh?


from ebay of course

'

Well, that will be a unique looking partsocaster!

I can't wait to see it all finished.

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Member #26797
My other guitar is a Strat.

Yea I can't wait either. I thought the neck would be an interesting touch. Its going to be my "Shamrocaster",you know "eyerish" "shamrocaster",ok so its cornball but I'm having fun with it.

heres what I got so far. I will be starting on it soon

mahagony neck


all rosewood pickguard

alder body

instead I am going to use this body an save other for different project this mahogany body was made by a guy(Brian) in Las Vegas NV its perty huh?


from ebay of course

I'm not specifically debating the wisdom of what's already been posted here...there's some very good advice on how to drill a neck the right way. That said, when I had to re-drill the neck on the project Strat I just finished a couple weeks back, I just secured the neck into the body (it was a -very- good fit) and used a hand drill. For the bit size, I just matched a bit against the screws I was using (neck screws can vary in size) and then I -VERY CAREFULLY- went thru the body and into the neck basically using the existing screw holes in the body as a jig. I'm sure that a few folks here just cringed while reading that and certainly it's not the most precise way of doing things but it did work and worked well for me.

Please note; I'm not recommending this method over what's already been suggested, I'm just saying that this is the way I did it and again it worked for me.

Good Luck!
Jim

I didn't cringe: that's exactly how I do it.

Well actually, I get the holes started that way, and then finish them off on a stand drill. I also use the correct full size drill bit for most of the hole but the next size smaller one for the last two or three mil. And I under drill the hole depth by about a millimetre, so's the point of the screw makes it's own hole for around one mil. For maximum firmness.

But no more: we don't want that wood splitting!

For clamping I just use a regular G-cramp, but with a concave radiused wooden caul lined with cork between the frets:


(Ignore the body defects in that pic: those all got put right... )

Cheers - C

heres what i have sofar with the mahog neck and body
waiting on bridge jack and plate then ill wire her up check it out then finish the body boo yaa