On the rear of the guitar I’ve noticed that the low E string ferrule is offset quite considerably and I don’t know why. Can someone enlighten me as to why it has to be that far out please?

Hmm...

It doesn't need to be so far out...The others don't look too straight either?

Could be a mistake during building...

Obviously it is on the low e which is normally the furthest back - but it is not normally necessary or advisable to do this.

If you buy a bridge for through body stringing then it will likely have pre-dilled holes so you can use that as a template for the holes.

You can put yours in a straight line 🙂

Thanks Mark, I couldn’t for the life of me think why it should be like that, surely the intonation wouldn’t need to be that different. It was nice to get some confirmation though, thanks. They are only cheap guitars though, I’ve stripped it down to do some finniting jobs. I’m doing the fret ends properly as some were a little sharp and sanding the neck as it was quite rough in places. I’m basically doing some of the jobs that should have been done in the factory, I guess quality control is not as good there as it is here in your school!