Ugh, these Chinese Strat necks are so tempting

[Matt300ZXT]

I have a gold superstrat that has a cheap Chinese neck and has had fretwork done on it, and it just doesn't stay great for long before frets start to lift or sprout again, and I think I'd just like to try another neck. I see these beautiful figured maple necks with the Floyd shelf that I need for like $115'ish shipped. They're high grade flame usually and are just absolutely beautiful. Granted, I know it'll need fretwork 99% assuredly, but I've got the tools on the way, so I could always do it from the beginning and not have to worry about who has done work on it in the past, like my current neck. I want to use the guitar because it's SUPER heavy so I don't have to worry about people wanting to play it all the time, plus it has a great DiMarzio pickup combo and a Gotoh Floyd. It stays in tune superior to my Floyd guitars.

There's only one problem: the holes aren't drilled for the neck attachment, and I don't have a drill press or anything like that to get them 100% straight up and down.

Anyone have experience with the necks and is it possible to drill them at home with just a drill?

 

[mnemonic]

I have a drill guide clamp thing like pic attached that I can secure my hammer drill to (or any drill with a spot for a foregrip), I’ve used it successfully to drill floyd bridge posts, and neck mounting holes.

Get the neck into the proper position (using fishing line or similar on the high and low strings to position correctly) then clamp it, I used a hand drill to drill into the neck enough to mark the spot, then drilled the neck (neck off the body) with the drill guide. Done it a couple times, has always worked fine.

Word of warning on Chinese necks - don’t get one unless you can do some work. First one I got, Floyd nut shelf was in the wrong place and crooked, had to route and fill the slot, then re-cut in the right place.

Second (admittedly much cheaper) strat neck replacement had a too-thick heel, nut in the wrong place, sharp fret ends, and some mis-placed frets.