You'd never guess it by looking at one but guitars are full of holes. True most of them don't go all the way through but they are still holes and they need to be dug. Here's how I dug mine.
As you can see from the pictures there are the following holes:
1) Control Cavity where the volume, tone, and pickup controls will go. This hole was made using a drill press to get the right depth and a router to smooth the edges once most of the wood was carved out with the forsner bit and drill press. It is the deepest of the holes - being between 1 and 1/4 inches to 1 and 1/2 inches deep. The wood itself is only 1 and 3/4 to 1 and 5/8 inches deep - so this was the tough one. You accidentally go all the way through on this one and you now have a handle for carrying your mistake around to gigs.
2) The neck pickup hole - also made with a drill press and router combo - this was the easiest one and the one I was the most cavalier about making. Most of the hole will be covered by the pickguard - so it's not essential that the hole is straight or even. IIt just needs to be deep enough to fit your pickup.
3) The bridge pickup hole (also made with the drill press and router combo). This needs to be pretty big and an odd shape because the bridge pickup is positioned at an angle. I ended up tracing the bridge plate and the bridge pickup to outline the maximum and minimum size the whole could be. If it was smaller than the pickup - obviously the pickup wouldn't fit but if it was larger than the bridge plate the hole would be visible and the electronics exposed to the elements instead of hidden under the bridge plate. The problem is there's only a few millimeters difference in size. I actually made the hole a millimeter too big and had to build up the side of the hole with some wood putty so the whole wouldn't be visible.
You would think that's it for holes. Not so much...
4) There are 6 holes in the back of the guitar for the ferrules that hold the strings in place. They have to be drilled with a drill press to an exact depth so that the ferrules are not sticking out or counter sunk. They are supposed to be flush with the body of the guitar. As it happens the only reason for this is that I bought the kind that need to be flush. You can buy the kind where it's okay for them to stick out from the body but the hole you have to drill for them is even more complex. Go here to see what I mean. I liked the type that I bought ( the one without a lip/rim) because they looked beefier and would hopefully transmit more vibrations from the strings to the wood. One of the toughest things about making this guitar was lining up the 6 holes so they were close enough together to come out at the correct place in the bridge plate but also be far enough apart that the ferrules didn't touch. As you can see - I messed one of them up and had to try rebuilding the wall of the hole with sawdust and glue. I worked a little - but not enough. I will be relying heavily on the fact that wood swells when it gets wet (when I stain the guitar) and that I'll be putting a lot of sealer/lacquer on the body. With any luck the damaged hole will be small enough that the ferrule will fit snugly. If not - I'll have to try a little glue - Something I'd prefer not to do to the ferrules. I want contact with wood for maximum tone (if there is such a thing).
5) The Input Jack. This is a relativly easy hole to drill as long as you have the right size bit. The hole needed to be 7/8 of an inch due to the type of input jack I purchased. You just need to mentally draw a straight line from the outside of the guitar to the side-wall of the control cavity (hole #1). This is how the electronics connect to the outside world (i.e. the guitar cable). This hole ends up being the deepest hole you make and required the most muscle to create. I ended up having to press the hand drill into the wood with my whole body to get through the 2 - 3 inches of mahogany. Using the drill press for this hole was not an option for me due to the type of drill press at my disposal - if you have one that'll do it - use it. This hole was no fun to drill.
Okay, you'd think we were done with the holes now. Not so much...
6) I had 6 holes to drill for the strings to pass through the body. In theory these are easy to make - you put the bridge on the body where it is supposed to go and mark off where the string holes are. Then you use the drill press to drill straight down. Sounds good in theory. This is where I messed up the holes for the ferrules. The string holes and the ferrule holes meet up in the back. I didn't drill the string holes exactly right - so the ferrule holes suffered. Not too much but enough that one of the ferrules may be loose when I'm done. If all else fails - when I string up the guitar the string tension will hold the ferrule in place but I'd like it to fit their without string tension.
7) Bridge Screw holes (done with a drill press). There were 4 holes that had to be drilled for the screws that hold the bridge in place to the body. They have to be deep enough and wide enough so that the screws holding the bridge in place have plenty to bite. Here's the challenge:
a) The holes are too big - the bridge doesn't stay in place - therefore the guitar can't stay in tune therefore Jerry picks up a more relaxing hobby.
b) The holes are too small - the screws cause crack/splits in the wood as they get screwed in to the wood - therefore the guitar splits in two when strung with guitar strings (100+ pounds of pressure) - therefore Jerry goes into a corner for some 'quiet time' before drinking heavily - and then goes and picks a new hobby
8) Neck screw holes (done with a drill press). Four holes used for the 4 screws that hold the neck to the guitar body. I used the metal plate (see here) as a template for where they should be drilled. They were easy to do - again it was just a matter of drilling them the right width. There wasn't a lot of wood here to be forgiving so I tested it out with a piece of scrap wood first to know that the wholes were the right dimensions.
9) Pick Guard holes (not pictured). Something like 11 holes used to keep the pick guard in place. Small holes done with the drill press. The trick is to make sure you don't drill them too big or small (width or depth).
I'm surprised there's any wood left. I paid how much for this collection of holes...?
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