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After a lot of work my mid 19th century German guitar is nearing completion. It's been interesting and challenging but the end is now in sight. One of the last things to do is fit the bridge pins, now I know I could do this with a rat tailed file but I think it would be better if the bridge/body/bridge plate was reamed. Looking on the Stew Mac web site reamers are $65, about £55, so when I see this http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Pair-of-TECHNOFRET-tapered-bridgepin-ream...

at £30 for the two obviously I am tempted. All views appreciated.

Also I know I could work out whether its 3 or 5 degree taper using maths but is there a simple way of finding out?

Many thanks

Steve

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Murray, 

 I can see the humor in the process too but, like Rusty, I also believe that the advice given is probably as good as can be had on a forum like this.  I feel compelled to point out  that there is a of " I made this and it works just fine so don't spend a lot on the other thing... " advice given here too. Some things just can't easily be replaced.  On the other hand, it's already been pointed out multiple times that a rat tail file will do the job too.  ( Not high tech, not high price, multitasking.) 

Well, I am actually as much of a tool snob as the next man, and I wholeheartedly endorse the concept of buying the best you can afford. One day , I even hope to be able to afford a Karl Holtey plane ...(yeah right ...) in the meantime I soldier on with my Veritas planes.

The thing is, if you aren't a full time pro and if you don't anticipate making thousands of bridges in your lifetime, but you just want to ream out the parallel drilled holes on your Martins to accept a 5 degree pin, then  why would you spend twice the amount for a Stewmac reamer, when the TECHNOFRET reamer will achieve exactly the same result , just as accurately ? ( and believe me it is just as accurate).

It's a bit like the ubiquitous threads on all guitar forums from beginners who want to make their own nuts, for their own guitars.

Invariably, someone ( who btw already owns a set) will pipe up and say "you need the proper tools to do the job, buy the Stewmac nut files". So the novice is faced with an outlay in excess of $100 to do a job which can be accomplished perfectly well, if a lot slower, with a razor saw and a set of needle files costing less than 10 bucks.       

Sure, if you are going to be making nuts as part of making a living, then buy the Stewmac set ( I have the full set  ...great tools...)

Getting back to the reamers, I would like to make the OP an offer ...send me a message via my  Ebay site  ...I know you have already bought the appropriate  Stewmac reamer for your guitar, so you  have no need for another but, just out of interest,  what I will do is send you a TECHNOFRET reamer of whichever taper you require , along with a rosewood bridge with 6 drilled holes, and you can try the reamer out, and post a report on this thread comparing the accuracy and ease of use of the two tools. By all means, use the Stewmac reamer on your guitar, and the TECHNOFRET reamer on the dummy bridge. I will also enclose a prepaid addressed padded envelope so you can return it at no cost. 

Always assuming that Frank doesn't have any problems with that proposal, of course ... 

 

 

Murray  -

Sure, no problem - making that offer to Steve (the O.P. here)  is a reasonable way to get some feedback about your reamer.  I agree with your general comments about tools, too! Tools of various styles and levels may do the similar jobs, and  may have a valid places in different workshops as well.

I really like the washer threaded onto the string end idea offered by the same seller :

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/TECHNOFRET-Alternate-String-Anchoring-Sys...

It eliminates the reamer drama.  

OHMIGOD ...worms ...can ... opening ...

 

or a big bottle of snake oil..........

Now, take it easy fellers.  As you ponder the efficacy of these simple products, don't forget that nobody is getting hurt here, and obviously nobody is profiteering and getting rich either. . .

I wonder about the original motive for bridge pins. Obviously, they're a pain in the neck for consumers. I've seen guys trying to pound them in with a hammer, once their guitar was strung up, to keep them from popping out. I'm guessing that loading strings from the top was thought to be easier than threading them from beneath.

Tradition is a harsh mistress and I wonder if any well-though of guitar makers experimented with a solution like Murray's to eliminate bridge pins. Fender-type ferrules in the bridge plate might be another angle of attack and holes could be drilled at the preferred string-break angle.

As for the tone/sustain claims - any physical change will affect the amplitude, envelope and overtones. The question is whether in a significant way. Anechoic chamber tests would tell us what's happening, but our ears would make the final decision. Advertizing claims have to be backed up either with actual tests, by making the "9 out of 10 users" agree claim, or getting a celebrity endorser...otherwise it's just the obviously biased opinion of the seller.

I'm not making a personal comment here, Murray, just stating the obvious about marketing claims.

I'll admit that I looked at the washer bridge pin replacement idea and  thought " WOW".  At first I thought it was a crock and part of the reason is the hyperbole in the ad and the fact that my guitars, one of them a Martin,  just haven't developed this problem.

 Once I thought about it, I realized that it might be a better idea than my original reaction warranted.  It's certainly not the strangest idea I ever seen to replace bridge pins and while I personally see no reason to replace bridge pins for the sake of replacing bridge pins, I have sometimes considered using a thin strip of metal to mitigate some of the wear that string balls cause so this isn't that far off from that.

I can't see how this could make string changes faster than I do them now. Pulling bridge pins, dropping in a string and replacing the pin is about as fast as it gets with this sort of bridge system but in the end, I can see where I might find a use for this idea, albeit in a pretty specialized way but it's not really such a bad idea.

Companies like Stew-Mac had to start somewhere and while I may not see a need for some of the tools that Murray is offering I also sometimes feel the same way about things offered by Stew-Mac.

I was shopping on Allparts.com and ran into this:

http://www.allparts.com/LT-4238-000-Bridge-Pin-Reamer-Tool_p_2211.html

I haven't seen this before, Mike. It's something like what I envisioned but I was thinking about just a thin strip that would glue directly behind the holes so that only the ball ends set upon it. I was thinking of adding as little weight as possible and still reinforce the area.

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