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Hi, everyone,

I recently finished an archtop with a Sacconi tailpiece (like Benedetto). It turned out really well, except that the ebony endpin (Stewmac) broke while the guitar was hanging on the wall. (I must not have been home, as I'm sure I would have heard it.) My music room was just a little drier than usual, so I suppose it may have loosened a bit before breaking.

In any case, for those of you who build this style: what do you use for an endpin? I have a separate strap button, so it just holds the Benedetto tailpiece fastener--which is a lot of tension. It could be something like brass instead of ebony. I just want it to be reliable.

I'll post pictures of the guitar when I get an endpin back in--for anyone who is curious.

Thanks,
Viktor

Use a heavier endpin.

Heavier would be great. I’m not sure where to find one.


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In 40 plus years at the bench, that is a first for me. Perhaps that pin was damaged or had issues during manufacturing? I suggest simply trying another ebony pin.

_________________
"Act your age, not your shoe size" - Prince

My guess is that I didn’t fit it well and may not have had it seated deep enough. It’s probably more me than the endpin.


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Hi Viktor is there anything unusual about the strings in terms of string gauges? If you're not using 70's (I have two clients that do on arch tops) a properly seated and fit pin of the same size from another source might be fine too especially if you think your fitment of this pin was off.

Let's see your Archie too, we love pics

I'm lucky and have a small lathe. Very easy to turn to the larger dimensions (not tapered) shown in the Benedetto book for me. All of mine have been African Blackwood or the endpin jack that StewMacs sells that are designed for the cable.

I decided to turn a slightly larger one myself, in African blackwood. I don’t have a lathe but it was small enough to do in a drill press.
I think I’ll do my own too from now on. It didn’t take more than a few minutes.
Thanks for all the comments. I’ll send pictures in a day or so.
Viktor


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Somewhere in the dark past of this forum I posted about an end pin that broke under tension. It exploded like a cherry bomb in my lap as I was playing it. [FLUSHED FACE]

fortunately all the energy was directed outward so I was undamaged. But in the immortal words of Sid the Sloth “I think I did something involuntary… and messy”. For the next couple of guitars I used a brass end pin.


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Hi, everyone,
For the curious, I turned a new (very plain) endpin to replace the one that snapped.
I borrowed the shape of this guitar from Nicola Moffa's Lorraine with f holes I saw on an old Hofner (I think). It's fully hollow and parallel-brace. I attached the P90 to a very small block glued across the braces, and I used thumbwheel tone and volume controls under the tailpiece. I really just wanted to try out something with a P90.
Thanks again,
Viktor

Looks great Viktor!

Thanks, Darrel.
Viktor


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