Official Luthiers Forum!

I've got a guitar in at the moment for a re-fret and the owner's asked if I'd replace the current 4mm abalone dots on the fingerboard with some slightly larger pearl ones.
Anything I should look out for when drilling with the bit centered on shell? I'm a little concerned of the ability of the shell to hold the centre spur of the drill accurately. I certainly don't want it to wander. Or am I worrying about nothing?
Always best to check I thought
Thanks

If it were me I would predrill the centre with a 1/16 or so router bit, or possibly a dentist burr with a sharp point .... the router bits dont bend (1/4 shank), so you will get as true a hole as possible. then follow up with the required bit to fit the shell in.

_________________
Tony Karol
www.karol-guitars.com
"let my passion .. fulfill yours"

So the bit you'd follow up with would be a HSS style rather than lip and spur I take it?

I would try heating them with the tip of a soldering iron or wood-burning pen and see if they will pry out. I've removed inlays that way that were epoxied in.

Ron

_________________
OLD MAN formerly (and formally) known as:

Ron Wisdom

Somewhere in the middle of Arkansas......

But then I'm still left with the tricky task of enlarging some holes by 1mm.

Perhaps remove, plug with wood, and re-drill? hmm....

If i was doing that i put a cross on the pearl dot to get the center point.
i would then make a mark in the center with a bradawl for the drill bit to bite against.
then i would drill it with a 1-2 mm drill bit before moving on to the right size lip and spur or brad point.

nice and simple.
of course you will have a deeper hole where the spur was but this will be filled with whatever glue you use and hidden under the new dots.

Joel.

I would use a brad point once I had a small pilot ...

_________________
Tony Karol
www.karol-guitars.com
"let my passion .. fulfill yours"

A small pilot in a pin vice to guide the end of the brad-point bit worked like a charm! The new dots are just setting up as I type this.
Thanks for the help guys