Tiny Mod of a Hardtail Squier Strat

I wanted to brag about this little thing I've done: I have this inexpensive Squier strat with hardtail bridge and top-mounted strings. I use pretty soft strings (Gilmour GHS), and the bridge saddles buzzed no matter how I tried to adjust them. So I drilled some holes, installed some ferrules, and now the strings are through-body, and nothing buzzes anymore.

It would be completely trivial except I did not have access to a drill press, so I did it all with a handheld power drill. It took some head-scratching to make the holes line up but I am pretty happy with the result.

I knew next to nothing about the electric guitars, so at first I thought I came up with an original idea - to put the strings through! 🙄 (My original plan was to just drill holes under the bridge, not all the way through, just to make room for the string ends, unscrew the bridge, thread the strings, and put the bridge back - that of course would make it a PITA to change the strings). But quick googling revealed that there is nothing new under the Sun.

The shiny coat does not lend itself to taking clear pictures very well but you can sort of see.
 

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