Hitone Posted December 21, 2008 Report Share Posted December 21, 2008 I am working on a new guitar that I am making all the hardware (pickup rings, bridge, headstock, etc.) out of one type of Texas Ebony. I bookmathed the headstock and the tailpiece. It looks great. I am just stuck on how to hinge the tailpiece. My question is how do most people attached the tailpiece? I see that Benendetto uses a violin style fastener. Which seems like a pain to use, especially when changing the strings. Myka uses some kind of brass bracket. This is what I am wanting to use, but where can I get or how can I make one? Artinger uses a wooden bracket, which is killer looking. I am just worried that this method would break over years of usage. I haven't found an info out there about this. If anyone knows of instructions (other than Benedettos method) please post a link. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southpa Posted December 21, 2008 Report Share Posted December 21, 2008 Some are hinged and articulating , some are rigid. Either works so long as you use conventional anchoring. I've seen styles that employ anywhere between 1 and 4 anchoring screws. Here is a 70's Empire I cleaned up and refurbished a few months ago that uses a Bigsby style trem as part of a hinged tailpiece, material is cast aluminum. The end piece has a hole in the middle for the strap button and is anchored with 3 woodscrews. You also have the choice of making a rigid tailpiece with a simple metal bracket between your guitar and your ebony. Whatever you do must be able to overcome the tensile strength applied by the strings...and then some. I'm not sure if I would use wood screws to hold the bracket or hinge to the tailpiece. I would probably drill through and use small nuts 'n bolts with something on both sides to distribute the clamping pressure, eg. decorative washers or plate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpm99 Posted December 21, 2008 Report Share Posted December 21, 2008 (edited) Have you emailed David Myka yet? If not, you most certainly should. He's hands down one of the nicest guys in the business, and I can just about guarantee you he'll not only respond, but be willing to you figure out the whole mess. Also, make sure to post pictures as some point. I'm really curious to find out what that Texas ebony looks and sounds like on a guitar. I've got about forty acres lying dormant in Brown County, and have been considering planting a few things. Edited December 21, 2008 by dpm99 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hitone Posted December 22, 2008 Author Report Share Posted December 22, 2008 SouthPa that's a killer Killer Empire. I am building two guitars in a themed series. Funny enough, the second guitar in the this series looks a lot like the Empire. It will be a double cutaway hollowbody with a gold bigsby and vintage p-90 style pickups. dpm99 - I did email Myka. I'm guessing that either he didn't get the email or he's pretty busy. That's why I thought I would ask you guys. Also, great idea on planting some future guitars. I like that thinking. Below is a pic of the wood. It may have another name, but I was told it was Texas Ebony. To the left you see a wooden hinged tailpiece I start on. It seems pretty heavy duty, but I am not 100% sure it will hold forever. My thoughts are to make a hinge at the bottom and use a peice of brass to hold it to the guitar. Like SouthPa's example the brass piece would be held by the strap button and a few additional screws. Here's another example of a wooden hinge from Artinger Guitars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiKro Posted December 23, 2008 Report Share Posted December 23, 2008 (edited) Texas Ebony-- Persimmon!!!!!! At least that's what I have been told from some wood suppliers. mk Edited December 24, 2008 by MiKro Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpm99 Posted December 23, 2008 Report Share Posted December 23, 2008 There are at least two species commonly referred to as Texas Ebony or Mexican Ebony. That looks like the stuff. It's a rare and sought after wood for turning stock. Looks like you've got some good stuff! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hitone Posted December 27, 2008 Author Report Share Posted December 27, 2008 Wood Craft had a good amount of it for a reasonable price. It was cut into a block for turning. They said some guy in south Texas was supplying them with it. It thought it was cool, going from light to dark. The headstock and tailpiece came out pretty good bookmatched. Good to hear from you Micro! I hope everyone has had a good holiday! I am looking forward to seeing a lot of 2009 builds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiKro Posted December 27, 2008 Report Share Posted December 27, 2008 Wood Craft had a good amount of it for a reasonable price. It was cut into a block for turning. They said some guy in south Texas was supplying them with it. It thought it was cool, going from light to dark. The headstock and tailpiece came out pretty good bookmatched. Good to hear from you Micro! I hope everyone has had a good holiday! I am looking forward to seeing a lot of 2009 builds.You to Rob, We need to get together for lunch soon !! BTW if you talked with Scott at WoodCraft he'll tell ya that the TE that they have is most likely Persimmon. It is of the ebony family and has been highly used in the Asian market for years. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Myka Guitars Posted December 28, 2008 Report Share Posted December 28, 2008 HiTone, I must not have gotten your email or something. I looked again and I couldn't find it. Sorry about that! I make my own brass hinges from 1/2" wide 3/16" thick stock and a piece of 3/32" steel rod for the pin (usually a finish nail). I drill a hole for the hinge pin and then a couple anchor holes to attach it to the body. Then I cut a slot into the tailpiece to fit the hinge (I use a router but you can use a 1/4" forstner bit and chisels). Make sure the slot is not too wide so the hinge fits snug. Then drill the pin hole in the tailpiece through one side only. I clamp the tailpiece in a drill vise for this. Once the pin hole is drilled I put the hinge into the slot and clamp it square. I then drill the remainder of the pin hole using the actual hinge as a guide. This produces a much more accurate hole considering the flexible 3/32" bit. Get the pieces buffed and finished and then the pin fits good I push the pin into the tailpiece and fill the hole with a wood/epoxy mixture to cover it up. Here are some pics: You can see some more here: tailpiece hinge pictures. Sorry about the poor quality photos. This is from 5 years ago! ~David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hitone Posted December 28, 2008 Author Report Share Posted December 28, 2008 Myka! You Rock. That is exactly what I was looking for. Thanks a ton. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattia Posted December 29, 2008 Report Share Posted December 29, 2008 As an alternative, I just popped down to the hardware store, bought myself a fairly simple small-ish steel hinge, inlayed half of it into a slot routed out of the tailpiece, epoxied it in with an (epoxied) cover piece of matching wood, with the hinge area itself free to move and free from glue. it's got enough mobility to provide for more than the required range of adjustment for the carved top semi-archtop thing that's currently awaiting a polish, and embedding the hinge hides away the barrel efficiently. Before gluing, I reshaped the bit that's going to screw into the butt of the guitar with a sander and a small grinding wheel, then (again) made a cover of matching wood and inlaid it into it, rounded the edges a little, and drilled through the two screw holes. One will be for the end pin/strap button, the other as an extra reinforcement. Hides away all the metal bits nicely. I'll try to get some pics some time this week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeanguitar Posted January 16, 2009 Report Share Posted January 16, 2009 Hi guys, You all guys are genius in making guitars. Wooden Craft would be good but the wood should be very smooth and strong for that otherwise you can't fix your string bridge into that. Jeanguitar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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