Steel Guitar Builder

Quick question.
When drilling holes for my tuners in a metal keypad, (Cast Aluminium) Do i need to thread the holes for the small retaining screws on the outside? Or just drill a hole and let them "bite?"

You can just let them "self-tap", but be very careful about the hole diameter, Jason. If you drill a hole of the core diameter of the thread, the screws will shear. Ask me how I know....

So just drill a hole a tiny bit less diameter than the o/d of the screw. The screws themselves are loaded sideways-on, in shear, but they can handle it with just a gentle bite of the threads.

Will