Official Luthiers Forum!

Owned and operated by Lance Kragenbrink
It is currently Thu Oct 31, 2024 6:13 pm


All times are UTC - 5 hours





Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 10 posts ] 
Author Message
PostPosted: Fri Oct 30, 2020 5:35 pm 
Offline
Koa
Koa

Joined: Fri Feb 10, 2017 11:09 pm
Posts: 870
Location: Cowichan Valley, BC, Canada
First name: Conor
Last Name: Searl
City: Duncan
State: British Columbia
Zip/Postal Code: V9L 2E5
Country: Canada
Status: Semi-pro
I'm wondering what's going on here. The pins are after market. Are they not a good fit? The strings seem to be sitting okay on the bridge plate inside, but no matter what I do I can't get the E and A pins to sit flush with the bridge.


You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Fri Oct 30, 2020 6:05 pm 
Offline
Contributing Member
Contributing Member
User avatar

Joined: Thu May 12, 2005 5:46 am
Posts: 2966
Location: United States
seems like the hole needs to reamed a little deeper to me, or you might try changing pin positions, sometimes that'll take care of it.

_________________
Jim Watts
http://jameswattsguitars.com


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Fri Oct 30, 2020 6:14 pm 
Offline
Brazilian Rosewood
Brazilian Rosewood

Joined: Fri Aug 19, 2005 4:02 am
Posts: 3260
Location: The Woodlands, Texas
First name: Barry
Last Name: Daniels
Slotted or unspotted pins?


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Fri Oct 30, 2020 6:29 pm 
Offline
Brazilian Rosewood
Brazilian Rosewood

Joined: Thu Nov 04, 2010 1:46 pm
Posts: 2149
First name: Freeman
Last Name: Keller
Focus: Build
Status: Amateur
Ream the holes to fit the pins. Then open the slots to fit the strings. If they are slotted pins its not uncommon for the slots to be too small for the wrapping on the bass strings. Also look inside with a mirror and make sure they are seated against the bridge plate.


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Sat Oct 31, 2020 7:51 am 
Offline
Walnut
Walnut

Joined: Fri Aug 12, 2016 4:55 am
Posts: 1
First name: Mike
Last Name: Conner
City: Murphy
State: NC
Zip/Postal Code: 28906
Country: United States
Focus: Build
Status: Semi-pro
I have seen this before. Does your bridge have slots or notches on the saddle side of the bridge pin hole? These provide some space or relief for the string windings and also have the benefit of reducing the "break angle" of the strings as they leave the pin holes.

If the bridge does not have these slots, it is easy to cut them using needle files. There will likely be a dent at the edge of the bridge pin hole that provides a witness mark for the slot location. A triangular needle file can start the slots and is sufficient for the unwound strings. You may need to use the edge of the flatter needle file (or a nut slotting file, that's what I use) to open up the wound string slots.

You can try this before attempting altering the bridge pin holes or the bridge pins themselves. The slots are not as invasive, and once you modify the pins or pin holes you may have to ensure you keep track of the bridge pins in the future - that is, each pin would only be good for the slot it was fitted to.

//mike



These users thanked the author Mike Conner for the post: Gasawdust (Sun Aug 21, 2022 10:06 am)
Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Sat Oct 31, 2020 4:19 pm 
Offline
Contributing Member
Contributing Member
User avatar

Joined: Sat Jan 31, 2009 8:50 pm
Posts: 2257
Location: Seattle WA
Focus: Build
Status: Semi-pro
Stew Mac makes a nice little saw for cutting those slots. You can use a jigsaw blade also. You can actually use the whole jigsaw. It's not as bad as it sounds! Then I use a chisel to bevel the top of the slot.

Pat

_________________
Pat


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Sat Oct 31, 2020 4:32 pm 
Offline
Contributing Member
Contributing Member
User avatar

Joined: Wed Oct 08, 2008 11:36 am
Posts: 7371
Location: Southeast US
City: Lenoir City
State: TN
Zip/Postal Code: 37772
Country: US
Focus: Repair
Make sure you know what the problem is first. If the pins don't seat properly in the hole with strings removed then the hole needs to be reamed (you can try moving the pins to different holes- the pins in some sets are not all the same size). If the pins are ok without the strings in then the pins (I'm assuming slotted?) are not slotted sufficiently for the A and low E strings to fit and your will need to slot the bridge a bit for the strings (or get a set of pins with a bigger slot in them). If the pins are unslotted then the slot in the bridge is the culprit.

edited so it makes sense - I missed a few critical words the first time around :(

_________________
Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Mon Nov 02, 2020 12:28 pm 
Offline
Koa
Koa

Joined: Fri Feb 10, 2017 11:09 pm
Posts: 870
Location: Cowichan Valley, BC, Canada
First name: Conor
Last Name: Searl
City: Duncan
State: British Columbia
Zip/Postal Code: V9L 2E5
Country: Canada
Status: Semi-pro
These pins are slotted ebony pins I found in a box of parts I inherited from someone. With no strings the pins sit nicely in the holes. It's my personal guitar, and when I bought it it had just basic plastic pins. The low E string was always sketchy and looking inside it looked like the ball was beginning to migrate up into the bridge plate a little bit. When I changed to these pins the ball now sits nicely against the bridge plate, but the pin is sitting pretty proud once the guitar is strung up (as you can see). There is a little bit of a slot in the bridge coming out of the hole, but not much. It sounds like the slot on the new pins is smaller (or just less worn) than the plastic pins and this is what's causing the problem. I have a few of the stew mac hole slotting files, I'll try opening up the E and A string a bit and see if that solves my problem.


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Mon Nov 02, 2020 5:47 pm 
Offline
Koa
Koa

Joined: Mon Feb 13, 2012 8:49 pm
Posts: 1030
First name: peter
Last Name: havriluk
City: granby
State: ct
Zip/Postal Code: 06035
Country: usa
Focus: Build
Status: Amateur
OP might consider opening up slots for all 6 strings and turn the pins around 180 degrees... Slotting is something that I think manufacturers found that they could avoid, as it's not casually visible on a finished instrument. And you can't hear the benefits of a slotted bridge, when 'tone' seems to be the Holy Grail of buyers.

_________________
Peter Havriluk


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Mon Nov 02, 2020 5:51 pm 
Offline
Koa
Koa

Joined: Fri Feb 10, 2017 11:09 pm
Posts: 870
Location: Cowichan Valley, BC, Canada
First name: Conor
Last Name: Searl
City: Duncan
State: British Columbia
Zip/Postal Code: V9L 2E5
Country: Canada
Status: Semi-pro
Yeah I think I will end up slotting all the holes eventually and either buying unslotted pins or flipping these ones around. But in the meantime I opened up the E and A slots, and those pins are sitting a lot better now.



These users thanked the author Conor_Searl for the post: Mike Conner (Mon Nov 02, 2020 5:56 pm)
Top
 Profile  
 
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 10 posts ] 

All times are UTC - 5 hours


Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 2 guests


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot post attachments in this forum

Jump to:  
Powered by phpBB® Forum Software © phpBB Group
phpBB customization services by 2by2host.com