Drilling for Pickups

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In part 3 of the video series on installing pickups, I select some screws and show some tricks for drilling the holes right where you want them.

For the screws, I chose some slotted silver 3/4” long #4 wood screws.  Even though the Bigsby and tuners are finished in gold, I think these silver screws will look good with the polepieces.

Since the new holes will overlap a bit with the old filled holes, the drill bit will have a tendency to walk into the old hole.  The bit always wants to take the path of least resistance.    I’m using a Rockler Self-Centering Bit, which makes it really easy to drill precisely centered holes – it’s good for things like door hinges and cabinet hardware too.   If you don’t have one of those, the next best thing is a brad point drill bit, which has a sharp spike to prevent the bit from shifting.  With a brad point bit or regular bit, you’ll want to use something sharp like a drill punch or awl to give the drill bit a good starting point.