A little while ago there was some discussion about turning bridge pins
out of different woods, bone and ivory. After a few requests for a short
turorial, I grabbed a piece of bubinga and sat down at the lathe to turn a
few for photos.
This is a pretty simple tutorial with the photos doing most of the
talking. It's possible to hold tolerances of +/- .001" if your stops are set
up well and your lathe is well tuned. It's important that gib wedges and
half nuts must be set up properly for the feeds to work and maintain
accuracy and consistency in all directions.
Just like any machine in your shop, the late needs to be checked and
adjusted regularly.
Here's a few photos with text that will run through a step by step
process of turning a pin.
Thanks for checking out how I turn my pins. I can set up to any taper
and have matched pins from many vintage Martins and Gibsons that are
very difficult to find replacement pins for. I match the taper, diaters and
length to be able to have them directly replace the original pins with no
fresh excessive reaming and cutting in those old bridges.
I'll be cutting some fossilized Walrus ivory pins, nuts and saddles this
year as I'm back to work and my be offering them for sale.
Regards,
Kevin Gallagher/Omega Guitars
