Apologies if this has been asked before, but Im looking fir bridge pin replacements for my Angelus. Come to find out the sockets are smaller than standard pins, so I bought an ebony set and had to carve them down. Rather not have to do that again, so any help would be awesome.
Was affraid it was gonna be the elbow grease route. Ill have to try again. The ebony set I carved worked, but one split. I wouldnt have replaced the stock ones but they were plastic, kinda bent, and smelled a little like Marlboros.Most all aftermarket bridge pin sets available on the internet will not likely fit SE A##E Angelus or T## Tonare guitars. According to the bridge pin makers, the only solution to an incorrect fit is sanding the pins down to a proper fit.
(I know this is a PITA and takes forever. It's your only option.)
What I did with mine was use this (see below) and hold the head of the pin with the clamp. I then used a fold of heavy grit sandpaper and had at it for about 15 minutes each pin. (Yes, it was a lot of busy work, but the bridge pins sit better (not flush) with the bridge compared to how high they sat, and would not fit before.)
If I ever choose to have at it again with the sandpaper between string changes, that is an option for a better fit. The process was just too much at the time to produce the correct fit when expediency was more important.
Nicely done! I do have a dremel with a stylus, if I hold the pin head in a vice, that might do what I need. Ill have to try again. Im glad at least I only dusted a 13 dollar pin set. I had the urge to try those Martin things which are some kind of odd material, but If I gooched one of those sets Id be livid.Took Reub's (Alnus) advice and tried using a powered drill for sanding the bone bridge pins that were riding high in the bridge. It took about 5 to 7 minutes per pin, with 150 grit sandpaper. It was possible to simply hold the pin within the bit grips of the drill, and use a fold of sandpaper to sand while the drill rotated the pin.
After, I was re-stringing the guitar, and bringing the guitar up to tune. The G-string bridge pin popped out, and shot across the room. (Didn't see where it went.)
So for the next 30 minutes, I combed the room, looking on the rug, within the nearest bookcase, under the chairs and sofa, in the front lobby, just about anywhere I could think the pin might have gone. Bupkis.
As a last ditch effort, I began searching the top of my dining room table. The lazy susan? Nope. The chocolates dish? Nope. The bookstand? Nope. Under the chocolates dish? YES! There you are you bastid!
Well, frustration soon became relief. The G-string was reinstalled and the guitar brought up to tune.
Here's a couple before/after pics of the reworked sanded pins that now sit flush with the bridge. Before, they looked like this:
Now, this:
Oh thank you, very nice of you. If my ebony pins go pear shaped, might take you up on it.
