Looking at a drill press for a newbie

Harkins77Harkins77 Frets: 1
edited January 2020 in Making & Modding
Hi I’m starting to build an Ibanez JS1000 guitar from scratch and I know from other sources I’ve gone about it the wrong way so far but it’s all about learning. It’s going to have a fixed Gotoh bridge and have a Dimarzio humbucker at the bridge and a rails Dimarzio single humbucker at the neck.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B6yCGB1FVIy/?igshid=12fc2rb25g9od

I’ve already bought myself a Triton JOF1010 router but for what I’ve already done I’ve just been using a belt sander a mouse sander a jigsaw and a friend of my sons small palm router (which I used to make a mess of a neck pocket, hopefully not as bad as it looks. I’ve got some proper templates on their way from the states which should be here sometime in the next 2 weeks.

My question is I was advised to get a drill press with an 8 inch gap between the chuck and column to be able to drill the body holes that I can’t do with the router. 

I’ve seen this one for sale and for the price it doesn’t seem too bad. Am I spending too much for it or is that about what I’m expecting to pay for one?

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F202745098741

any suggestions or comments welcome
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Comments

  • PeteCPeteC Frets: 409
    Hi there.   I have been through the same search recently and after lots of reading round and forum advice I looked for a classic old British Fobco Star drill.   I am glad I did.  These old Brit machines are built like tanks, are super accurate, and will last a lifetime with regular use and maintenance.   
    You’ll pick one up from eBay easily for your budget.   It will outshine anything modern or Far East built. 
    Good luck finding something. 

    Cheers
    Pete 

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  • PeteC said:
    Hi there.   I have been through the same search recently and after lots of reading round and forum advice I looked for a classic old British Fobco Star drill.   I am glad I did.  These old Brit machines are built like tanks, are super accurate, and will last a lifetime with regular use and maintenance.   
    You’ll pick one up from eBay easily for your budget.   It will outshine anything modern or Far East built. 
    Good luck finding something. 

    Cheers
    Pete 

    Hi Pete I’ve found one that is really close to me but when I’ve asked about the column to chuck measurement the seller said it was 6 inches. Is there a specific mode you got or is 6” enough? The one for sale he wants around 400 for it as it’s been refurbished.

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  • PeteCPeteC Frets: 409
    Hi,  I will check the throat depth tonight on mine and let you know. 
    I haven't used mine for drilling ferrules yet ( like on string through Teles ) and I'm note sure what depth you need for a JS1000. 
    I'll measure the Fobco and then at least you can judge whether its going to do it. 
    cheers
    Pete

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  • RolandRoland Frets: 8590
    6” isn’t enough. One of the big uses for a drill press is drill holes for bridge mounting and string ferrules. Check the plans for the type of body you expect to build. I would have said that you need 8”.

    It’s also helpful if the table rotates to vertical, or at least can be moved out of the way. Then you can drill the long holes for cables: bridge pickup cavity to control cavity, and neck cavity through neck pickup cavity to bridge pickup cavity if you’re building a guitar which doesn’t have a scratch plate.


    Tree recycler, and guitarist with  https://www.undercoversband.com/.
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  • TTonyTTony Frets: 27340
    Roland said:


    Then you can drill the long holes for cables: bridge pickup cavity to control cavity, and neck cavity through neck pickup cavity to bridge pickup cavity if you’re building a guitar which doesn’t have a scratch plate.


    I just use a long drill bit in a hand held drill - and a bit of hand/eye co-ordination - to do those!


    Another option for thru-body holes for the strings is to  use something like this;

    Drill the outer 2 holes from top through to bottom, all the way through.

    Drill the inner 4 holes from top, half way through.

    On the back side of the body, you've got the outer 2 holes drilled through.  Now mark where the inner 4 holes should be so that they're all evenly spaced and in a straight line.  Drill half way through.

    Unless your drilling is particularly inaccurate, the from-the-top and from-the-back inner 4 holes will meet up somewhere in the middle of the body.  You've got string-thru holes, lined up perfectly on top and back of the body.


    (Credit to WezV for that suggestion when I was doing one of my early builds, without a big drill press, many years ago).
    Having trouble posting images here?  This might help.
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  • Thanks chaps. I’m still looking for one then. Shame as that one is only 40 miles away in York.

    I’m going to be using a Gotoh GTC101 bridge on this guitar and it has a 10.5mm string spacing and 74mm for the post spacing.
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  • CorvusCorvus Frets: 2924
    tFB Trader

    I can get nearly all the way to the 'far end' with a 7" throat, on a Tele - no idea about the Ibanez though, 8" would be room to breathe.

    That aside I'd do the 2-sides method, the chances of drilling 6 perfectly aligned holes all the way through in one go are a bit slim. The slightest bit off shows loud & clear.
    Or dodge the accuracy issue altogether by using a ferrule block instead. Bonus points - claim it's for sustain and strident upper mids etc ; )  Grainger ones are quite a bit cheaper than most and look very neat.

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  • TTonyTTony Frets: 27340
    Corvus said:

     Grainger ones are quite a bit cheaper than most and look very neat.

    The Grainger hardware that I've tried has also been top quality stuff.
    Having trouble posting images here?  This might help.
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  • PeteCPeteC Frets: 409
    I think Fletcher guitars has a good video on Youtube of his method.  I think its the Tele (or Strat ) build he does which features it. Worth a view. 
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  • RolandRoland Frets: 8590
    Corvus said:

    ... dodge the accuracy issue altogether by using a ferrule block instead.

    I prefer a block to individual ferrules. Easy enough to make yourself from brass bar.
    Tree recycler, and guitarist with  https://www.undercoversband.com/.
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  • Had a nice conversation with the chaps down at Axminster and they came up with this that’ll suit my 8” requirements. 

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  • PeteCPeteC Frets: 409
    Hi.  I checked the Fobco column to drill centre dimension - it’s 6” so probably not enough for what you want.   
    Good luck with your search.  
    Pete 
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  • PeteC said:
    Hi.  I checked the Fobco column to drill centre dimension - it’s 6” so probably not enough for what you want.   
    Good luck with your search.  
    Pete 
    Thanks Pete
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