jchabalk Posted September 29, 2020 Share Posted September 29, 2020 Hi there, wondering if anyone can help me with this. I have a 50's ES-175d that i love, but the strap situation causes me frustration. I've been using a strap that attaches to the endpin and loops over the headstock, it works great and i use it on other acoustics as well. The root of the problem is that the hole in the guitar is a different size from the hole in the metal tailpiece, so basically the metal tailpiece is what's (not) holding the endpin in place. I'm nearly at the point of taking the tailpiece off, gluing and filling the hole in the guitar, and attaching a new screw-in endpin but i don't want to unnecessarily devalue the guitar. I'm not opposed to taking this to a luthier, just mostly looking for suggestions. I have the original 50s white plastic endpin but stopped using it in favor of a new ebony one since they all just keep falling out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merciful-evans Posted September 29, 2020 Share Posted September 29, 2020 So the guitar hole is smaller than the tailpiece hole? I don't see why that should be a problem with the strings fully tensioned. Or am I missing something here? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jchabalk Posted September 29, 2020 Author Share Posted September 29, 2020 The guitar hole is larger (slightly) than the tailpiece hole, so to get the endpin in at all the only thing holding it is the thin metal of the tailpiece and it immediately works its way loose. It's fine when i'm play it's when i put the guitar down for a minute it immediately falls out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merciful-evans Posted September 29, 2020 Share Posted September 29, 2020 (edited) Ok so you need to reduce the guitar hole. Why not use the tried & tested match (or wood shavings from pencil etc) method. Use wood glue in the hole and add wood (or wood slivers) to bulk it out. When it dries you can re-drill the hole the correct size (smaller) for your end pin screw. A luthier may do a neater job, but he is still going to need to reduce the hole diameter, possibly by further enlarging the hole and bushing it with a bung. Edited September 29, 2020 by merciful-evans Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jchabalk Posted September 30, 2020 Author Share Posted September 30, 2020 I'm kind of thinking the same. I could also plug the hole completely and install a screw in endpin like the modern Gibsons use. I don't want to do anything untoward here but i do want to not have to deal with the strap problem, and also not to drop it (that's kind of my highest priorty). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jchabalk Posted September 30, 2020 Author Share Posted September 30, 2020 I might have this all sorted out. I've had this guitar for maybe 5 years but i got it set up maybe 4 years ago and haven't adjusted it much since. I went ahead and pulled the tailpiece off tonight. 1 of the screw holes was mostly stripped, 1 was about to be stripped (really light grip) and the other was holding pretty well. I put a toothpick in each hole with some tightbond on it, snipped it off flush with the guitar body (under the tailpiece) and screwed them in - all 3 have a good tight bite now. Before doing that i reamed the endpin hole very lightly to make sure the hole matched a 5 degree endpin i have, then built the endpin up a bit with sawdust and super glue until it stood proud of the tailpiece by about 1/8" - then scuffed up the new super glue layer a bit, put some titebond on it and rapped it home with the head of a screwdriver (i used this same method to fix the same problem i was having with a M-brand guitar). I brought the strings back up to tension and got the intonation pretty much spot on. I'm going to let it sit until the morning for the glue to cure. Is there a good way to mark the bridge position that doesn't leave a permanent mark? (I'll look around too, i just figured i'd ask here too). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merciful-evans Posted September 30, 2020 Share Posted September 30, 2020 Nice work! 🙂 I use a light pencil mark to mark the position the bridge on my archtop. It will wipe away easily, so I mark the 'inside' of the bridge (the pickup side) under the strings for that reason. A higher carbon pencil shows up best. If you discover another good way, please share. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jchabalk Posted September 30, 2020 Author Share Posted September 30, 2020 I'm going to give the pencil a shot, seems like a good way to do it. i late leaving tape on there. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jchabalk Posted September 30, 2020 Author Share Posted September 30, 2020 I got a pretty noticeable increase in acoustic volume and general resonance. I guess having a partially loose tailpiece anchoring the strings makes a difference. who'd have thunk it?? 🤣 I just popped the strap on it and being able to confidently take it off an on is a real luxury with this thing. glad i went ahead and addressed this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted October 6, 2020 Share Posted October 6, 2020 Sounds like you did exactly the correct repair. With a drilled-through tapered endpin hole, it is pretty common for the hole to get worn over time, requiring some form of shimming. I've actually used a wrap of paper to fill the void in the past, but what you have done is a better, more permanent solution. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merciful-evans Posted October 6, 2020 Share Posted October 6, 2020 On 10/1/2020 at 12:29 AM, jchabalk said: I got a pretty noticeable increase in acoustic volume and general resonance. I guess having a partially loose tailpiece anchoring the strings makes a difference. who'd have thunk it?? 🤣 I just popped the strap on it and being able to confidently take it off an on is a real luxury with this thing. glad i went ahead and addressed this. Glad to hear that. It's useful stuff for me to bear in mind too. Its easy to take for granted how somethings sounds. We just get used to it I suppose. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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