security for end pins

[bones12]

One big worry for me when playing my mandolins is the security of the end pin. I always worry when adjusting the microphone, grabbing a beer or just stretching that the end pin will come loose and the mando will fall. On my F4s and A4s there is variable fit; on the newer Gibsons and Collings there seems to be even more looseness that make placing the strap on and off scary. Any great ideas of non-permanent adhesives or whatever. I welcome your ideas since I worry too much. Thanks, Doug

[BenE]

I think Charlie D. posted this tip that worked for me....

Spit all over your endpin and then slide it back in...Mine hasn't moved since...

[Scotti Adams]

Weber has a cool end pin that you can get from Greg Boyds...Im havin one put in my new mando and I have one in my current mando as well. There is a rubber bushing of sorts that has a threaded brass insert in it...the end pin itself screws into that....as you screw the endpin in it expands the rubber bushing to form a tight fit in the end pin hole....the thing will never fall out...I highly recommend them.....

[John Soper]

I had this problem with older Gibsons and newer Santa Cruz guitars- 2 or 3 small pieces of double-sided clear scotch tape placed length-wise on the distal half- to 2/3 of the endpin (towards the pointy end) seemed to fix this for me without mucking up the finish, permanently gluing the endpin in place, or bothering with fancy accesories...

My cheap two cents worth. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif

[sunburst]

All you really have to do is make sure the end pin fits.
That means the taper of the pin and the taper of the hole are the same, and the end pin will not go in quite all the way.
If the fit is good and you check once in a while that it is tight enough, but not too tight, it wont fall out.

I like for an end pin to start out so that it sticks out a little bit. That way, as it wears, it will not get to where it goes in all the way and wont tighten.

[Keith Newell]

Sunburst, I have seen endpins that stick out like that act like a wedge when they hit the floor and split the end-block and thus split the top and bottom or the instrument. I had one friend not latch his case and it fell to the floor and made 2 splits in the top from end-pin past the bridge and on split on the back for the same distance.
I use an insert in the endblock and thread in a endpin. See my web-site for pics.
Keith Newell
http://www.newellmandolins.com

[mmukav]

I wonder if you could use the same stuff violinists use to keep their pegs from slipping. It's a clear liquid, you apply a very small amount to the peg where it turns in the peg holes. Just a thought.

[GTison]

rosin I use rosin. I pulled my fiddle bow across it all around and stuck it in and that was it. It worked for me.

[Michael Lewis]

Taylor Guitars glues the pins in with CA. If you need to remove the pin you get to cut it off and drill out the tapered section. If you have a near good fit the rosin will do a good job, but if the pin is loose you should replace it with a larger one. The Weber end pin is a great idea and works well. I use Baltic birch ply for the tail block and drill a small pilot hole for the strap button screw. Nothing to fall out, or split if dropped.

[Mike Crocker]

I got in quite a discussion at our local Celtic College about this one year. A guy in the instrument repair area was absolutely convinced that glueing the end pin in place was tantamount to desecrating a church. I maintained that there's no point in depending on old technology if it doesn't do the job well, and if a glue job saved one instrument it was worthwhile.

I prefer screw in ones anyway, but I've glued many tapered ones. Some of my instruments have screw in ones now that I've removed the endpin jacks which replaced the original tapered pins.

We long ago quit using friction pegs for tuners, why hold on to friction strap pins? What's the logic behind not glueing the end pin when the rest of the instrument is held together with glue?

Btw, Mr. Lewis, your mandolins are the classiest things since Robertson screws. I don't suppose you trade one for a 10 year old Nissan, would you?

Peace, Mooh.

[ourgang]

I have a Taylor guitar that would not hold the end pin. I use just a thin coat of clear finger-nail polish on the tapered shaft and it holds tight until I want it out. This works great for me. It's not permanant.

[sunburst]

Kieth, Yep, I've seen instruments split from impact to the end pin too, but they didn't hit the floor from the end pin falling out.

Mooh, I agree that the tapered pin is old technology, I'm not sure it's the best way to attach a strap, but the tradition remains.

[thistle3585]

When I install bungs, tapered plugs, in wooden boats I brush the plug with a little varnish. That way I can get them out later a lot easier than if I used glue. I have never used anything but friction on my mandos, and have never had a problem.

[dgfoster]

How about casting it as part of the tailpiece? You might have to use larger screws to compensate for the pull of the strap.???

[Salty Dog]

I just cut a small shim from the sticky part of a "Post-it", stuck it on the end-pin and solved the loose end-pin problem. #These things usually don't happen instantaneously, so I occasionally recheck it for tightness but the "Post-it" seems to have done the trick.

[Martin Jonas]

How about casting it as part of the tailpiece? #You might have to use larger screws to compensate for the pull of the strap.???
My old Majestic (1920s or 30s German-built flatback) has the end pin/strap button as an integral part of the tail piece. It's a stamped one-piece tailpiece with the strap button riveted to it off-centre. The entire tailpiece is then nailed (!) to the endblock.

Here's a picture:

[Luthier Vandross]

One word: Rosin


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