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I have a Mark I body that I am using in a parts-rite project. It's in good shape, but the hole for the grounding wire hasn't been drilled. This may be a silly question (I've been know to ask them before ), but how do I drill that hole? At the local hardware store they have long drill bits, but they're too big in diameter. Other bits I've seen are skinny enough. but too short. So, what size bit does one use to drill this hole? By the way, there is a mark on the body where the hole should go, so I know where I will be drilling (from under the trem plate through to the bridge pickup cavity) just not how...

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=33448

Here you go. These are cheap imported bits, but you're drilling wood not hardened steel, so I'd say you can't go wrong for the price.

Just be sure to get one long enough so that your drill chuck doesn't touch the body when drilling at an angle. (Experience speaking)

Dennis

So would the 1/8" bit be the one to go with? Are there long 1/16" bits or would that be too small of a diameter and just break off?

1/8th is kind of big, and you should be able to get smaller at Lowe's or HD. Although, the bridge plate should cover it anyway ...

I'd think that an 1/8 bit would be perfect... If you use a bit that's too small it's gonna be a pain to the wire through.

I agree. 1/8th is a good enough size. one thing I did however is when the chuck got too close to the body, I took the bit out and reattached it to my dremel. it gave me the extra room I needed to get the hole drilled.

Yeh, the hole is supposed to be 1/8" dia. It's located centrally to the tremelo plate so as long as you know where its position is going to be on the body, roughly find the centre, get the drill started perpendicularly, then slowly angle the drill over (still rotating) until you can approximate the angle to break out centrally in the wall of the pocket. Use a normal length drill to get yourself started, you can work out the angle with the short drill first, it'll be more sturdy than the longer one, just use the longer drill to get the last couple of inches..

It's about a 10 deg angle...

It doesn't matter where the hole starts as long as it is under the tail piece.

Jim