Official Luthiers Forum!

I have my neck all fretted. Only thing left is to drill out the tuner holes. Is there a certain distance that i need to place them ( 3x3 ). I was just thinking that I could have a problem with a string touching one of the tuning pegs if I did it wrong ( ex.. g string touching the b string tunning peg). Maybe Im over thinking it. even though that seems hard to believe lol . any help would be appreciated Thanks.

Lay it out on paper first, including strings and intended spacing at the nut, then take your needed measurements from there, or glue the drawing to the peghead as a template.

Pat

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formerly known around here as burbank
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http://www.patfosterguitars.com

thanks

I like my strings to stay as straight as I can keep them past the nut. I like to draw out exactly how the strings would lay out if they continued past the nut for 5 inches or so, then plan my tuner holes aesthetically from there.

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http://www.tinyhouseandland.com

I've been pretty stunned at times by the string paths that builders I otherwise respect use. I've seen some, and these are pro's making $3-4k guitars, where the strings actually appear to have a break over the preceeding tuner post, and some where the tuner heads are very badly aligned from the back. I mean visibly croocked....

Don't know. Mine are placed, as said before, to have as straight a path as possible, and to avoid any interference from another tuner post. The shape of my headstock is, therefor, evolving as we speak...

I draw the entire guitar out on paper. You can get what's called Banner Paper from places like Staples. A nice long roll of white paper. I plan the string path from the bridge, along the side of the neck, at the nut and to each tuner. If you do this it makes it simple and easy to get it right. And you have a blueprint to follow to make things like your neck and headstock templates from. Takes the guess work out.
I built my first with no blueprints, just from my head. That first time was enough for me to realize that things go so much better if you have a game plan, drawn out on paper first. A good plan yields good results. No plan? Good luck with that. You're gonna need it.

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Mike

The only thing nescessary for evil to thrive is for good men to do nothing.