Machinist's Thread for Guitar Repair

[Cygnus X1]

I know there are some machinists in this forum,
question...
How many of you do serious guitar work?
What kind of tech do you bring from the world of
machining metal into luthiery? I've been in machining,
from production fixturing, to some tool and die work,
for 20 plus years. I have plenty of CNC experience, also.

For myself, I aped the idea of a neck jig from Dan Earlwine,
and made one from hotplate steel, and run an indicator over
the neck to ID the high/low spots, and make an autocad
sketch to work from. 99% of the time the neck comes
out right the first time, with only a couple of restringings
to get it perfect.

What other ideas are out there?

[Cygnus X1]

Huh.
I guess not.
I'll list this as a forgotten thread starter.
I've seen far too many solutions from the the woodworker's side,
but not that many from the machinist's mindset.

[jacksoncsplayer]

It feels a little stuffy in here. :ROTF:

[Cygnus X1]

It is....I forgot to turn on the A/C
Sorry....BRB.

[Cygnus X1]

Question...I made an edit.
So why doesn't my "back" button work?

[jacksoncsplayer]

Huh ?

[Cygnus X1]

Nevermind. You'd have to be there.
Hey, JCSP...did you get the painting supplies?

[jacksoncsplayer]

yup Chat

[thetroy]

fretsonthenet makes some cool stuff =)

[Bengal65]

fretsonthenet makes some cool stuff =)

I believe Dave, "Budman" is a machinist if I'm not mistaken.

I'm an engineer that can machine and weld with just about any process, but I don't do it from day to day.

[Cygnus X1]

I believe Dave, "Budman" is a machinist if I'm not mistaken.

I'm an engineer that can machine and weld with just about any process, but I don't do it from day to day.

Machinists have special names for "engineers", that I shouldn't repeat.
It's usually due to those types that have all the schooling, but have never had to actually manufacture products.
I saw your RC thread, that was absolutely awesome.
Thanks, Bengal...I hope this will turn into something.

How about carbide posts for trems? Or saddles?
I am currently using machineable carbide for steel mill rolls, it's not
just a grinding process, anymore!

[Bengal65]

Machinists have special names for "engineers", that I shouldn't repeat.
It's usually due to those types that have all the schooling, but have never had to actually manufacture products.
I saw your RC thread, that was absolutely awesome.
Thanks, Bengal...I hope this will turn into something.

How about carbide posts for trems? Or saddles?
I am currently using machineable carbide for steel mill rolls, it's not
just a grinding process, anymore!

Yeah, I know what you mean about engineer's. Luckily, I was a woodworker and a welder before I got into college to study engineering and music! (I have a degree in both).

I would think pure carbide would be a problem due to shear strength for posts on trems. Perhaps an alloy of carbide or an alloy steel (AISI 4130 or 4140 or even 410 Stainless steel), coated with carbide such as Stellite 6 or 14, which has cobalt in it. Very hard stuff. It could be plasma or flame sprayed on a certain thickness. It could be then machined with carbide tooling, then plated or left along for that platnium look. You would have the strength internally, but a super hard surface. It may however wear the "knife" edges of a trem plate. So, possibly the trem plate could be coated as well. Carbide saddles probably could work as is. You probably have seen the outfit making Ti saddles and trem parts. I just installed the Ti locking clamps in one of my Floyds to see how long they last. Lots of areas to explore here!

[Dreamland_Rebel]

i would like to see brass saddles, brass baseplates, and brass sustain blocks for floyds and schallers milled for us here on the jcf.

[Bengal65]

i would like to see brass saddles, brass baseplates, and brass sustain blocks for floyds and schallers milled for us here on the jcf.

One thing for sure, you would have to have hardened knife edges for a Floyd base plate made from brass. It wouldn't last long without them.

[Cygnus X1]

One thing for sure, you would have to have hardened knife edges for a Floyd base plate made from brass. It wouldn't last long without them.

Yup...thinking about it. I'm not an expert in lineage, but my FR2 has hardened inserts for the pivot point. The baseplate is probably pot metal.