Need to drill a countersunk hole in a pickguard

roberty

I'm not very handy - can someone please tell me what kind of countersinking tool I will need and what size?  It's the small hole near the neck, the large hole for the bracket is pre-drilled.

I am attempting to posh-up my LP Studio

Thanks

Jalapeno

Use an oversized (newish) wood drill bit, and do it by hand (not drill) - or just get a countersink bit.

roberty

@Jalapeno thanks, will any countersink bit do?  Or I can just bore it out with a normal bit by hand?

octatonic

I use this:

http://www.leevalley.com/en/Wood/page.aspx?p=41012&cat=1,180,42240,42281&ap=1

I use a pillar drill with a depth stop though.

Jalapeno

roberty said:

@Jalapeno thanks, will any countersink bit do?  Or I can just bore it out with a normal bit by hand?

There aren't really any variations other than circumference - all screw heads are the same angle (more or less).

I use a wood drill by hand (wouldn't for metal obvs)

ICBM

You want a hand countersink tool. They're very hand for quite a lot of jobs (especially quickly and easily taking burrs off drilled holes), and not expensive.

Like this - 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/CONNEX-COX972250-12mm-Hand-Counter/dp/B00BZH4CDI/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1501415230&sr=8-3&keywords=hand+countersink

You need to drill the screw hole through first though, with a normal twist drill bit - the countersink doesn't go all the way down on a small hole like this.

Rocker

I countersink holes in plastic by using a large drill and twist it by hand, between my forefinger and thumb.  A few spins is usually enough....

roberty

Cheers thanks all, hopefully I won't cock it up!

octatonic

Practice on a piece of scrap first.

FelineGuitars

Get a countersink - they are cheap enough and they do come in handy now and then.

Or just walk in somewhere friendly (like Feline Guitars) and have them drill the hole and countersink it too
If it's real quick we'd probably only ask for £5

OilCityPickups

Make sure you countersink deep enough ... I see this fault a lot: the screw head sitting proud of the countersinking and showing an ugly gap at the edges of the screw head. Try on a piece of scrap before hand, then use a drill press and depth stop to get it bang on right. 'Right' is usually a little deeper than you think it will be.

roberty

Finally got around to this - used a hand countersink, few good twists, worked a treat.  Thanks for the advice

What do you guys think?  Was channeling the look of a Les Paul Special, specifically this one.  I wanted a 50's neck though, and the Special Plus has a slim profile.  Picked up this virtually unplayed 2004 Studio for cheap on eBay and swapped all the gold out.  The pups are JB/Jazz.  It weighs a metric tonne and sings for days