# Drill Bit for Bridge Studs



## THRobinson (Jun 29, 2014)

I bought a Gotoh wraparound bridge for a project I am doing, that has an 11.3mm stud.

Looking online, I see people saying to buy a metric drill bit 11mm in size, then people saying too tight get 10mm, then some saying a 7/16" will work fine, and a few posts saying too lose... :S

Also some saying a regular sharp bit, and some saying a brad point.

What do you guys use? I was leaning towards a 10mm Brad, but not sure if too tight a fit or not.


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## Ayr Guitars (Oct 24, 2016)

I use 7/16 for Tonepro studs. 

Lee Valley sells a 11mm bit - but only in the ‘economy’ model, which don’t work as well. I’ve tried it and I find the stud ends up being slightly sloppy. So I use 7/16. And only Lee Valley’s lipped brad point bits.


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## THRobinson (Jun 29, 2014)

Kinda funny, that Lee Valley's HSS bits skip 11mm... 10mm and 12.5mm.

7/16" is 11.1125mm... less than 0.2mm smaller. Is that enough for the splines/teeth to dig in to?


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## knight_yyz (Mar 14, 2015)

Brad point will give you a more accurate hole size but it isn't necessary. 

There are 3 drills in imperial between 10 and 11 mm, they are 13/32 (10.3) and 27/64 (10.7) and the 7/16 is a smidge bigger than 11 (11.1), should be a few bucks cheaper than a metric drill. How big you make the hole is also dependent on how hard the wood is. Soft wood I would go smaller, hardwood I would go slightly bigger. I would actually find a piece of wood and experiment with the 13/32 and the 27/64 to see how tight the hole is when you press the stud in. Once you are happy about how snug it is, pull it out and drill the holes in your guitar. 

I think 7/16th is too big for those studs


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## buyusfear (Nov 18, 2009)

Use a forstner bit, in a drill press if you have access.


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## power tools (Jul 13, 2020)

I have a drill press which I quickly finish my work and it is very strong.


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## THRobinson (Jun 29, 2014)

This is a 3yr old thread... 😀


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