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Post by pete1951 on Feb 21, 2020 16:14:51 GMT
The tailpiece broke while it was in it's case and I was on Holiday so it's a mystery. There-by hangs a tail. It looks like the old one could be repaired, I’ll have if your throwing it away. Pete
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Post by Michael Messer on Feb 21, 2020 17:05:12 GMT
Davey, It has been ordered. I am sure it will be here soon.
If a tailpiece is going to break, it generally happens in the case when the guitar is not being used. I have seen it happen to a few old Nationals and a couple of MM guitars. Now I've seen it on a Gretsch!
PM me your email so I can contact you when it arrives.
Shine On Michael
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Post by davey on Feb 21, 2020 22:06:38 GMT
Okay, thanks Michael.
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Post by tigercubt20 on Feb 22, 2020 18:34:26 GMT
getsch tailpiece, plated brass. and a simple construction, it might be possible to silver solder it together, plunbers solder, tinmans solder, electrical solder wont do it, no tensile strength.not sure silver solder would be strong enoughe. i am surprised it has developed what looks like a fatigue fracture, these kind of failures are usually caused by stess reversals,brasses dont take kindly to cold forming, depending on the gauge and particular alloy.
if mine fails, i will make a new one, the materials are easily available by mail order. the construction is simple, crosspiece flat strip,with a lip formed at right angles, two lenghts of bar formed at the necessary composite angle,solid brass rivets, or small set screws, or small bolts and locking nuts. for set screws you will need to tap threads. of course it will be unplated. sounds easy. your local model makers could make you one. well maybe not as easy as sourcing a replacement, but think of all the fun your missing.
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Post by davey on Feb 23, 2020 10:35:56 GMT
Unfortunately if I made it, it would look a mess. I once worked in Engineering and the night shift was where you went to get small jobs done. Having said that there was a lad who had made a complete new chassis for his minivan plus a stainless steel roof rack.
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Post by snakehips on Feb 23, 2020 13:08:56 GMT
Laser weld strongest repair and the least unsightly. I got two tailpieces repaired at a dental lab. Mind you we we buying a £27k 3D camera scanner system off them, so it’s the least they could do !!
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Post by Stevie on Feb 23, 2020 14:08:45 GMT
I too worked in engineering and it was considered the norm to do "Government Jobs" under the noses of authority. I once got tired of waiting for my MD and a customer to move away from the box and pan folder, so I rocked up and folded my job in front of him and he actually stood to one side and said to his customer something like "mustn't hold up production"! I had a colleague that I still keep in touch with who built a giant bar-be-que from stainless-steel and aluminum alloy sheet. He just walked out of the stores with 6 metre bars on his shoulder grinning and we all knew. Happy daze!
e&oe ...
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Post by Michael Messer on Feb 23, 2020 14:48:31 GMT
Shine On Michael
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Post by tigercubt20 on Feb 24, 2020 16:58:26 GMT
my career in engineering is the reason i play slide guitar. i always wanted to be jimi hendrix. losing quite a bit of the tip of my index finger, making playing in standard tuning difficult and frustrating. if not for the bottleneck and bar, i would have been reduced to learning the trombone, OH THE HORROR.
the rubber thimble thing, black sabbath.wont work, as a bit of bone fell out while i was looking for the tip. too late the workshop rats had already carried it of.still musnt grumble.i did build a nice instrument panel from titanium for my mini cooper, while the welding engineer was building a kneeler chassis for his racing combo.
apologies if off topic. that image does look like a fatigue failure.
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Post by pete1951 on Feb 24, 2020 17:09:29 GMT
The twist it got when it broke will most probably weakened the other side, so both ‘arms’ may need replacing. Pete
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Post by davey on Feb 24, 2020 17:12:54 GMT
According to Daddario, their resophonic strings pull 202 pounds. That seems far too much for a skinny piece of brass. Wrong choice of material, I think.
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Post by Michael Messer on Feb 24, 2020 19:17:41 GMT
Davey, I think you might find that D'Addario EJ42 Resonator Strings pull 202lbs when tuned to GBDGBD, which is what those strings, gauged at 16/56, are designed for.
Reading D'Addario's website; even they, over the years have lost the reason they were originally produced.
Blurb from D'Addario's website...
EJ42 is a resophonic Phosphor Bronze set designed to be used with resophonic or dobro guitars. Since D'Addario introduced Phosphor Bronze guitar strings in 1974, they have been synonymous with warm and well-balanced acoustic tone.
They have mentioned "dobro guitars", but they have lost the tuning information along the way.
Shine On Michael
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Post by tigercubt20 on Feb 25, 2020 15:38:07 GMT
the gretsch tailpiece, and to a lesser extent the national one, unless the national one has been understrung, in which case it too will be affected in the same way as the gretsch. in tension the brass bar on the gretsch, is strong enoughe you could hang a car engine from it. the problem is bending moment. brass being fairly granular, once formed doesnt take to being sraightened out. a crack is inevitable.
looking at my gretsch and national tailpiece, at pitch the strings are attempting to pull the trapeze upwards to align it with the string angle over the bidge, returning it to only under tension. a particular problem with the gretsch due to its design, less so on the national, unless its been UNDERSTRUNG. what to do, some trapeze tailpieces are desinged to match the string angle by pivoting at the mounting point. break angle over the bridge would have to be considered, in the design. or make them from chrome plated steel, or stainless steel. this would push the problem off into the far distant future. on the gretsch, check the plating on the bars, it may give some early warning of developing cracks. cheer up it might never happen.
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