Drilling The Wiring Channels

I've completed drilling the holes for the wiring channels and the input jack. At this point of the build process I'd have to say that the guitar for my part, is completed. The drilling of the wiring channels is fairly straight forward but caution must be taken or you will have a guitar with drilled holes where you do not want them.

First hole I drilled was for the grounding wire that sits beneath the bridge. Don't think you are not going to ground the guitar and get away with it and you will know it's not grounded by the hum the guitar generates. Touch the bridge the hum goes away, that is because it is now grounded. For the ground wire, you can use the type of wiring used in jewelry making and I mention this because it is readily available at any craft store such as Jo Anne's or Michael's. My wife makes jewelry that's how I know this.

Here's a picture of the first hole drilled. Note that I used the hole pre-drilled by Carvin.

I don't like drilling larger then necessary holes for anything and guitar wiring is no exception. Some people recommend a 1/2 drill bit to that I say, I don't think so! I widen the hole enough to allow more then enough room for the grounding wire. Note that I went into the pickup cavity and not the control cavity. That is just my preference and it is just one less drill hole I have to worry about screwing up.

In the next picture I drill the wiring hole from the bridge pickup or rear pickup cavity into the control cavity. Take you time and line it up correctly. Place your free hand inside the control cavity and use that as your imaginary guideline. The second image is the placement of the wiring hole inside the control cavity.

For the front pickup or neck cavity I use a 24 inch 1/4 inch drill bit that allows me to get the right angle. Do not allow the drill bit to turn resting on the the fret board! Use a thin piece of plastic to allow the drill bit to rest upon. Here's the trick I use to line up the path. Using a pencil, I mark the direction I want the bit to travel and using this mark I align the bit. Stepping to the side and again using my hand as a point of reference inside the control cavity I mark the placement for the drill bit inside the pickup cavity.

The last hole to drill is the input jack. For this I have built a cradle using plywood and 1 inch dowels. the guitar has the front horn placed beneath the from dowel and the back of the guitar

rest on the two dowels in the rear.

For the placement of the jack input, I measure across the width of the guitar and place a pencil mark to indicate where the center is. Using a small drill bit, I drill a pilot hole for the next larger bit and so on. Not knowing if the buyers preference is a jack plate (7/8) or a self mounting input jack, I leave it a size that can be enlarged without to much difficulty. Note that the guitar's backside is flush against the one inside of the box. This is to ensure that the guitar is straight up and down when drilling. To drill out the hole larger, lay the guitar on its side and using a hand drill and a larger bit, drill away.

This concludes this project. Nothing to do but package it up and ship it out. Next project....not sure yet but Australia has from very nice wood that I am considering.