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unslotted pins & bridge
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Author:  martinedwards [ Sun Oct 01, 2006 1:52 am ]
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Ok folks, I've owned maybe 20 acoustics over the years. All except a horrible nylon strung thing had slotted bridge pins.

I'm now interested in the unslotted idea.

I've found this article here
and it all seems terribly simple. just cut a slot in the bridge with a jigsaw blade and use a solid pin.

surely there's more to it than that?

Anyone know of a pictorial tutorial on the net?

Thanks!!
Author:  Bobc [ Sun Oct 01, 2006 2:21 am ]
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Martin it is pretty simple to do. If not not mistaken Mario may have some pictures on his website.
Author:  David Collins [ Sun Oct 01, 2006 2:23 am ]
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Bridge pins were never meant to be slotted until molded plastics made it
easier. As a repairman though I think every one should stay with slotted
pins, because they really keep me in business. Bridge plate patches,
replacing Bridge plates, cracked bridges, buckled tops - man, I love
slotted pins.

Really though, I think the slotted bridge pin is one of the worst
"standards" in the industry. It wasn't until sometime around the 30's that
they started to commonly show up, and by the late 40's / early 50's it
seems unslotted pins had all but disappeared.

Yes, they are that simple to install. A few strokes of a jig saw blade, then
a little shaping and smoothing with some needle files and that's it. I
think the page you pointed to is about all you need to know.David Collins38991.4762847222
Author:  Roy O [ Sun Oct 01, 2006 2:28 am ]
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Ok, I'll bite. Why are slotted pins a bad idea?
Author:  David Collins [ Sun Oct 01, 2006 3:04 am ]
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With slotted pins the ball end will be thrust against the corner/edge of
the hole, rather than the flat surface of the plate. It may be okay when the
pins are new, but pins bend and wear in short time and then the damage
begins. The bridge plate is gradually chewed away by the ball ends
against the edge of the hole, and will eventually wear through the bridge
plate. I see cracked bridge plates, cracked bridges, even tops split
perpendicular to the grain that can all be traced back to the bridge plate
wear. These problems are found far less frequently on instruments from
the pre-slotted days.

This may take twenty or thirty years to happen, but it almost inevitably
does. It is often aggrevated by the fact that most manufacturers drill the
initial hole slightly larger than the pin width at the bottom of the plate.
Then you will have a matching taper in the upper 1/2 - 2/3 of the pin,
with some slop already at the bottom that allows the ball end to start
wearing the plate right away.

There are also arguments relating to tone quality, which although I think
may have some real merit are not my main reason for using unslotted
pins. I think of it as a necessary preventative maintenance.

David Collins38991.5044444444
Author:  martinedwards [ Sun Oct 01, 2006 10:35 pm ]
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Thanks gang, looks like the next build (after the doubleneck) will have unslotted pins!!
Author:  crazymanmichael [ Sun Oct 01, 2006 11:02 pm ]
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if the guitar has been built with the bridge without string slots, it's no big thing to cut the slots and turn the pins so that the pin slot is away from the string.
Author:  Roy O [ Mon Oct 02, 2006 12:40 am ]
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David, Thanks for the explanation. That's something I would have never considered.
Author:  mikev [ Mon Oct 02, 2006 1:50 pm ]
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when cutting the slot, do you make them all the same depth and thickness, or do you make the bass string slots thicker and wider. What width and depth is typical.
I actually saw a pic or two of a top that was damaged by someone doing this with the jig saw, think it was on mimf a year or two back. No, not just with the blade, but with the saw, power and all.
Mike
Author:  Arnt Rian [ Mon Oct 02, 2006 7:14 pm ]
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I use a different size saw blades and files to fit the slots as close as possible to the individual strings, but not so close that they bind or get stuck in there. It is also common to use the string ramp's geometry to adjust the string's break angle over the saddle.
Author:  crazymanmichael [ Mon Oct 02, 2006 10:47 pm ]
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whilst s-m sells a little saw to do the job, many folks just mount a suitable jig saw blade in a simple wooden handle. which is just what the s-m version looks like.

the thicker the string winding, the wider the slot has to be, so a set of needle files is the second tool item required to do the job properly.

as far as the depth and angle, that is determined by your bridge/saddle geometry, keeping in mind the need to maintain a suitable string break over the saddle.

i have seen one of my favourite players play without pins as the strings were well seated in the rather deep slots created by time, 30+ years, with new strings at every gig, almost countless restingings.
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