(Bridge) Pilot hole screw-up

[kumimajava]

I was installing a new bridge on my Tune TWB6 today, and since the mounting holes did not coincide with the previous ones, I had to drill new mounting holes.

The mounting stcrews were 4mm, and going from memory, I thoguht that a pilot hole of 3mm should be about right. So off I went drilled the holes, mounted the bridge and then... noticed that the 3mm drill-bit was still on the table.

It appears that instead of 3mm, I used a 2.5mm drill-bit for the pilot holes. The bridge mounted fine, and so far, the wood doesn't appear to be splittling. There was a lot of resistance when driving the screws in, but I thought that that may be due to the hard top (walnut?).

But I wonder - is this "too small pilot hole" issue likely to cause future problems? should I remove the bridge, re-drill the holes to 3mm and re-mount? Or will it be ok as is ?

Any advice would be warmly welcome

 

[Jeff Scott]

So long as no wood split or you stripped the treads of the screw holes, you are good to go.

 

[kumimajava]

So long as no wood split or you stripped the treads of the screw holes, you are good to go.

Thanks - no splits visible at the moment, and mounting holes aren't stripped, so keeping fingers crossed

 

[Jeff Scott]

If the wood still has no splits in it, no worries, mate. It's not going to change.

 

[Lizooki]

Just as an FYI ....
With just about any screw I put in a neck or body, I poke it into a bar of soap first.
Gives it just a bit of lubrication and does not hurt the wood or the grip of the screw.

 

[Qlanq]

^. the soap thing is useful. Good tip.

 

[kumimajava]

Just as an FYI ....
With just about any screw I put in a neck or body, I poke it into a bar of soap first.
Gives it just a bit of lubrication and does not hurt the wood or the grip of the screw.

Good tip - thanks! Will keep it in mind

 

[dwizum]

The only real danger is that you torqued the screws so hard that they've stretched and could break easily in the future if/when you need to take the bridge out. If you do ever remove the bridge for any reason, I would discard and replace the screws just in case. Proper pilot holes should mean fairly easy screwdriver work, no matter how hard the wood is. The screw should go in easily. If you have to really wrench on it, your pilot holes are too small.