The latest head-scratcher was a customer requesting help with keeping a guitar in tune when the glider capo (aka a roller-style capo) was rolled behind the nut for storage. The maker of the capo simply suggests storing it on the nut, which can crowd some players (including our customer). To complicate matters, the customer uses the capo for key changes on a few tunes, so needed the capo to roll from the stored position to use position and back several times without any fuss during the number.
My constraints were 1) no permanent mods to the instrument (a Taylor 714ce), 2) no loss access to the trussrod beyond the existing need to remove the mounting screws and cover, and 3) no interference with the string lies.
After a day or two at Greenridge, I had a design for a shelf which could be installed just above the nut, and a couple of early prototypes in hand. The fifth design generation seemed to work well and generated a customer visit. The attached Fusion screen capture is the 6th generation, which incorporated some additional tweaks by that customer. After some stage time to see how well the device works under actual performance conditions, we will likely iterate a final time and then print in carbon fiber with much thinner layers so as to provide a more finished appearance. The pictures and the screen grab from Fusion show the draft-quality print PET-G 5th generation design installed and in use on the Taylor, as well as the tweaked sixth generation capo shelf design (the latest).
The mounting screws were changed from the round-head Taylor originals to the shorter, flat-head Phillips LP trim ring screws to avoid string interference.
Feel free to offer suggestions for further design mods.
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The only small refinements I'd make are
