Enlarging body screw holes to optimise neck alignment

jaymenon

On a Fender Stratocaster type guitar, if the neck and body screw holes are very mildly misaligned, is it acceptable to enlarge the holes in the body very slightly? (on the basis of that the screws are supposed to pass freely through the body without the threads catching)

Most grateful for expert opinions...

paulnb57

Yes, I've done it and it works well....I used one of those step drill bits, it locates nicely in the original hole, drill one size larger from front and back, doesn't grab like a normal drill bit - works a treat!

Headphones

The screws provide a clamping force.  Retention in position is by the friction they generate between the neck and the body as a result of this pressure.  So no, enlarging the holes a small amount is unlikely to be a problem.  Enlarging them a lot...

Roland

You want to “move” the hole, by making it oval, rather than enlarge it on all sides. I’ve done this  manually with a round file. A chainsaw sharpening file is the right size. If you can orientate the neck so that the direction you want to move a hole is downwards then it’s easy to use your weight when filing. Something else you can do is put a slice of wood onto the side of the neck socket. It will help hold the neck in the new position. If the amount of movement is small then this might be sufficient, without the need to enlarge the hole.

ICBM

Headphones said:

The screws provide a clamping force.  Retention in position is by the friction they generate between the neck and the body as a result of this pressure.  So no, enlarging the holes a small amount is unlikely to be a problem.  Enlarging them a lot...

Roland said:

You want to “move” the hole, by making it oval, rather than enlarge it on all sides.

It doesn't really matter. As Headphones said, the grip force is provided by the friction between the neck and the body - and overall movement is stopped by the end and sides of the neck pocket. The holes can be *substantially* oversized and as long as they're covered by the metal plate, it makes no difference.

Unless you need to move the holes a truly huge distance I would use a round drill, it's far easier.

prowla

Hmmm - I went through that exercise on on bass body (a cheap one) and I have to say it was a bad move.

In retrospect I should have plugged the holes and re-drilled.