Official Luthiers Forum!

CAn someone show me a good drill press setup for accurately drilling for an endpin or jack? Getting the instrument into a perfectly tangent to the drill seems challenging. Gracious.

_________________
A higher purpose for wood.
Rich Smith
Issaquah, WA

...to challenging for me. Here's how I did it.

_________________
Dave
Milton, ON

Check out how Hideo Kamimoto reams a cello for an end pin; that reamer must be 5' long! Scroll down, it is the third picture ... (this is from one of Frank Ford's field trips of course): http://www.frets.com/FRETSPages/FieldTrips/HK/hk.html

_________________
Rian Gitar og Mandolin

I mark the entry point with a small very sharp awl, and free hand with a good quality brad point bit. The LMI bits are great. I look from above and have my wife look from the side to keep things lined up. Ream the taper by hand. I do it after the finish is on. It's one of the last things I do before the guitar is completed
Terry

_________________
It's not what you don't know that hurts you, it's what you do know that's wrong.

If you don't trust yourself to square by eye and use a hand drill an brad point (which I think is not too ambitious and would encourage folks to learn), making a guide block would be an appropriate alternative. It would be fairly simple, so long as you have a drill press set up square. You wouldn't even have to sand a radius on the inside, and could just glue spacers of a certain thickness to certain distance out from each side of the hole. It would seem the easiest way to ensure the drill at the center is in line with the radius of the lower bout.

Or you could just drill out and ream a hole. Jigging up for consistency is great, but I think at some point you really just have to learn to trust your eye.

_________________
Eschew obfuscation, espouse elucidation.

I've done several of these for people who wanted pickups installed. I just eyeball it and start with a very small bit, then work up larger & larger. Putting some tape over the wood seems to help reduce tear-out.

Use an awl to mark the spot, then guide block and a hand drill with a brad point bit. Works for me.