Increase Tuner Hole Size on a Graphite Neck

[Delberthot]

I ordered a Status Graphite neck and asked for the tuner holes to fit 1/2" Hipshot Ultralites.

 

When I insert the top nut thingy that goes through the front to screw into the tuner itself it gets so far down before getting really stiff and not going the last 3-4mm. I don't want to force it for fear of cracking the lacquer.

 

I've increased loads of tuner holes in the past but they have all been on wooden necks - is there anything special that I need to watch out for when increasing the holes on a graphite neck?

[songofthewind]

Send it back to Status for modification.

[rmorris]

What songofthewind said.

If anyone is going to have the tools/technique to do this then it should be Status.

Otherwise I can see it all going wrong !

[rmorris]

4 hours ago, Delberthot said:

 

 

I've increased loads of tuner holes in the past but they have all been on wooden necks - 

 

What is your technique for doing that ? Do you fill the existing holes before drilling ? or clamp to a supporting piece and use that to align/centre the drill ? Or...

[Dan Dare]

On 05/10/2021 at 08:09, songofthewind said:

Send it back to Status for modification.

 

Definitely. The hardness of graphite/carbon fibre means it can be brittle and prone to cracking/splintering if you don't know what you're doing and don't use very sharp cutting tools.

[LeftyJ]

Coincidentally, I just read the install guide for one of these necks earlier this week because I was wondering if any of the holes for mounting the neck and the tuners would be pre-drilled. The manual suggests to lightly sand the inside of the holes with a rolled up piece of sandpaper, and not to use a drill. 

[Jean-Luc Pickguard]

On a wooden neck, you'd use a reamer to increase the size of the hole - never a drill

[Delberthot]

Thanks for the replies and sorry for not responding sooner.

 

Well that was terrifying!

 

When I looked at the neck again in the light it looks like the holes had originally been drilled slightly smaller then enlarged but when they had been enlarged the drill hadn't done all the way through so there was a ridge all the way around the hole nearest the back of the headstock. This was why the top part of the ultralite hadn't been able to get all of the way through

 

I tried to use a small round file but it was going to take forever so decided to use a large drill bit wrapped in sandpaper. I had my cordless drill set to screwdriver on it's slowest setting and carefully, after applying frog tape front an rear, went around the hole  checking frequently.

 

I had taken sufficient amounts off fairly quickly to allow me to get the tuners on properly.

 

Then came the fun part - drilling 4 small holes for the screws for the tuners. I was terrified that I would end up going all the way through to the front of the peghead as with wood you get a uniform pressure of the drill against the wood but with graphite there's loads of pressure then nothing.

 

Using digital callipers, the screws were 2.2mm. my drill bits were 1.4 and 1.9 going by the callipers (stated to be 1.5 and 2.0). I got away with the 1.4 by lightly moving it around after driling the initial hole to enlarge it slightly but for the xtender for the E I had to use the large one.

 

I used a countersink bit to go around the holes by hand (not using a drill just turning it back and forth using my hand) to avoid the lacquer cracking

 

That's all for tonight - tomorrow night will be drilling the holes in the heel of the neck

[Delberthot]

2 hours ago, LeftyJ said:

Coincidentally, I just read the install guide for one of these necks earlier this week because I was wondering if any of the holes for mounting the neck and the tuners would be pre-drilled. The manual suggests to lightly sand the inside of the holes with a rolled up piece of sandpaper, and not to use a drill. 

 

I did email Rob at Status for advice, he suggested I use one of these:

 

 

[Delberthot]

Oh and I used brand new drill bits. In fact I've bought loads of new stuff specifically for this including the countersink bits, digital callipers and so on. I am taking no chances with anything

[neepheid]

On 06/10/2021 at 19:14, Jean-Luc Pickguard said:

On a wooden neck, you'd use a reamer to increase the size of the hole - never a drill

 

I used a pillar drill with a forstner bit.  Did I cheat?

[Deedee]

Reading with interest.

 

Without wishing to derail, I have a Status neck where the neck fixing screw holes are a little slack, so I bought some threaded inserts and machine screws to fit instead. Given my skills, I wonder if the reaming method would be the safest option to sufficiently enlarge the existing screw holes to take the inserts. 🤔