Drill Press Recommendations for guitar mods?

Kapo_Polenton

Kapo_Polenton

Well-known member
Any of you fellas tinker with modding guitars? I see drill presses go for cheap on marketplace and I am wondering, is there a certain spec I would want for drilling posts for floyds or straight drilling into guitars? I have one of those manual ones you set your drill into but problem is, if the body is angled, invariably the drill guide sitting on it is also crooked (which is what happened so I had to fill the cavity and take another shot). Or is this where you free hand with a drill with a level on it? Ultimately a stand alone drill press is always going to be better. Will something like this get the job done? Educate me

1755103808693.png
 
I have a 5' tall standalone drill press, the big advantage is the size of the table. It's big.
Other than that, it drills pretty much the same as any other drill press. You can set up a depth stop but i end up just using tape on my bits for that.
 
Yes, something like this is always handy for guitar building/modding. I have one too (also a quite cheap one). In my opinion one very important thing to consider is the clearance between the drill holder and the metal post where the drill machine is put on. This clearance determines how far into the middle of a guitar body you can drill your holes.
Make sure that the drill machine is big enough so the clearance is enough so you can reach all the places on the body where you want to drill on your guitar bodies. Believe me its a royal pain if you can only drill like 80% of all the holes you need and then you have to get creative :D

Another cool thing about using those drill presses for guitar building/modding is that you can buy some fret press insert cauls like this one:
https://guitarsandwoods.com/Freating/fret-press-insert-caul-1139599790.html
That is the way i press in the frets in my builds.
 
You have to take into account the wideness of your guitar or bass body. Think of how far the drill has to reach out for all the work you want to do with it, without the guitarbody hitting the centerpost of the drillpress.

As I wanted to remove material before routing the pickup cavity, I needed something that at least reaches the centerline of a bassbody. So I opted for this thing:

https://www.wabeco-remscheid.de/boh...MIrL7wyaqIjwMVlan9BR2ARCs6EAQYASABEgKm9PD_BwE

You probably could get away with something smaller as you don‘t have to reach the centerline when the holes for bridge posts. But in principle, that is the spec to look out for.
 
BesaMoogie said:
You have to take into account the wideness of your guitar or bass body. Think of how far the drill has to reach out for all the work you want to do with it, without the guitarbody hitting the centerpost of the drillpress.

As I wanted to remove material before routing the pickup cavity, I needed something that at least reaches the centerline of a bassbody. So I opted for this thing:

https://www.wabeco-remscheid.de/boh...MIrL7wyaqIjwMVlan9BR2ARCs6EAQYASABEgKm9PD_BwE

You probably could get away with something smaller as you don‘t have to reach the centerline when the holes for bridge posts. But in principle, that is the spec to look out for.
Click to expand...
I like it! Yes this would account for the body depth and width which you guys are right, I didn't think through. You have to be able to reach all areas of the guitar that you will want to drill.
 
Another easier solution would be, to use two squared timbers just a tad higher than the guitar body and place them parallel to the body. Place a piece of wooden panel, or better acrylic glass with a hole on the squared timbers and use your manual press
 
Kapo_Polenton said:
Any of you fellas tinker with modding guitars? I see drill presses go for cheap on marketplace and I am wondering, is there a certain spec I would want for drilling posts for floyds or straight drilling into guitars? I have one of those manual ones you set your drill into but problem is, if the body is angled, invariably the drill guide sitting on it is also crooked (which is what happened so I had to fill the cavity and take another shot). Or is this where you free hand with a drill with a level on it? Ultimately a stand alone drill press is always going to be better. Will something like this get the job done? Educate me

View attachment 411848
Click to expand...
Looks like the one i use. Works just fine.
 
Kapo_Polenton said:
I like it! Yes this would account for the body depth and width which you guys are right, I didn't think through. You have to be able to reach all areas of the guitar that you will want to drill.
Click to expand...
With a small drillpress, you probably can mange to get away by rotating the body in various direction, but once you work on something lika an explorer, it gets complicated.

I hope the explanation of my easy solution was not to complicated. You are using acrylic glass as a base for your manual press with the guitar body lying under it. By using acrylic, you actually see, what you are doing.
 
Infernal_Death said:
Yes, something like this is always handy for guitar building/modding. I have one too (also a quite cheap one). In my opinion one very important thing to consider is the clearance between the drill holder and the metal post where the drill machine is put on. This clearance determines how far into the middle of a guitar body you can drill your holes.
Make sure that the drill machine is big enough so the clearance is enough so you can reach all the places on the body where you want to drill on your guitar bodies. Believe me its a royal pain if you can only drill like 80% of all the holes you need and then you have to get creative :D

Another cool thing about using those drill presses for guitar building/modding is that you can buy some fret press insert cauls like this one:
https://guitarsandwoods.com/Freating/fret-press-insert-caul-1139599790.html
That is the way i press in the frets in my builds.
Click to expand...
I’ve been collecting tools in order to learn how to refret, I think I have everything except a press. I’ve been looking at just using a drill press.
 
Yeah, what the other guys said re the distance from the center of the chuck to the support post.
Advantages of a larger press include a larger table, and if you get a well made, sturdy enough one, they can be used as an arbor press to press frets and also to stake turrets to make custom turret boards.
Get the biggest and best quality you can afford.
You won't be sorry.
 
fusedbrain said:
Yeah, what the other guys said re the distance from the center of the chuck to the support post.
Advantages of a larger press include a larger table, and if you get a well made, sturdy enough one, they can be used as an arbor press to press frets and also to stake turrets to make custom turret boards.
Get the biggest and best quality you can afford.
You won't be sorry.
Click to expand...
Yup, bigger is better. If you buy used just make sure the chuck is good. They wear out over time. Also, be aware that some drills change speed by moving the belt to different pulleys under the top cover.
 
I started with one of those cheapo little Mastercrap drill presses very similar to that one. It will do the job, just barely, but you'll be wanting to upgrade pretty quick. Mine was noisy, inaccurate, and vibrated badly.
 
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