Obtain a drill bit a couple of thousandths of an inch larger than the diameter of the string you want to use. Extra long bits (ca. 6 inches in liength) are available in a limited range of sizes, but it is not essential to use one of those.
Obtain a dowel of small diameter, but at least 3 x the diameter of the drill bit. Use the drill bit to drill into the end of the dowel on center and on axis, as nearly as possible, to a depth of half an inch or so. Glue the butt end of the drill bit into the hole you have made in the dowel -- superglue may be a good choice if you are not interested in reusing the drill bit for something else later, but ordinary wood glue may be fine provided there is no oil on the end of the drill bit. You may wish to cut down the length of the dowel for ease of handling, but leave the total length of the tool great enough so that you can spin the dowel by hand while drilling out the bridge hole from the "bottom" end of the instrument -- that is, it should extend a couple of inches past the end of the instrument. Regards, Daniel Heiman -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Charles Mokotoff Sent: 19 August, 2015 06:53 To: LuteNet list Subject: [LUTE] Widening holes at bridge Greetings List, I am wanting to try a few slightly thicker strings for my fourth course. I've consulted the experts so am comfortable with tension, etc, but am unable to try a few of them due to a too narrow pair of holes for this course at the bridge. Is there some foolproof way to slightly widen the holes without any negative ramifications? Suggestions on tools, technique and if I should just take it to a luthier are welcomed. Thank you! -- To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
