Bridge pins and those lovely people at Brook

TheBigDipper

I changed the strings on my Brook Taw a week or so ago and noticed one of the bridge pins was split at the bottom. No spares, so I used it again and started searching for replacements for next time - but didn’t know what size to order. So I emailed Brook to find out where they got theirs from and what size to order.

I still don't know, because Simon popped a set in the post for me, f.o.c. Wasn’t that nice? 

They'll look the same on on the guitar, as the top ends look identical, but they seem a bit more robust at the slotted end, so here's hoping it won't happen again.

Thanks, Simon! :-) 

ICBM

Great!

Although they won’t sound as good as fossilized dimetrodon ones...

Mellish

That was nice of him. If you do a Google search for bridge pin sizes, you should be able to find out the correct size. I'm sure I've read it somewhere  

BillDL

TheBigDipper said:

...I emailed Brook to find out where they got theirs from and what size to order.  I still don't know, because Simon popped a set in the post for me

It was a nice thing to do, but for future reference it might be useful to know the dimensions of the bridge pins and the taper in degrees in case you decide to change them.  Some pins are sold just using length and largest and smallest diameters, while others are sold specifying the taper in degrees.  The next time you change strings, if you are doing them all at once rather than one at a time, keep each of the bridge pins separated so you know what hole they came out of.  If he bridge pins are factory made and commercially available from large manufacturer they will all be the same dimensions and it won't matter, but if they are more "hand made" ones then the tapered holes in the bridge may have been tailored individually to match each of the six pins that may have minor differences.

While they are out use a vernier caliper to measure the length, the diameter at the thickest point of the taper, and the diameter at the thinnest point of the taper.  You can then work out the angle of taper, which is really the most important aspect of good pin to bridge fit.  A bridge pin should match the taper of the reamed hole in the bridge as accurately as possible so that when the ball end of the string is properly located up under the bridge plate inside the guitar it doesn't take excess pressure to push it in or to pull it back out, but there is maximum contact area between the sides of the hole and the pin.

Online taper calculators:

https://www.easycalculation.com/shapes/taper-degree-calculator.php

https://www.omnicalculator.com/construction/taper

TheBigDipper

BillDL said:

TheBigDipper said:

...I emailed Brook to find out where they got theirs from and what size to order.  I still don't know, because Simon popped a set in the post for me

It was a nice thing to do, but for future reference it might be useful to know the dimensions of the bridge pins and the taper in degrees in case you decide to change them.  Some pins are sold just using length and largest and smallest diameters, while others are sold specifying the taper in degrees.  The next time you change strings, if you are doing them all at once rather than one at a time, keep each of the bridge pins separated so you know what hole they came out of.  If he bridge pins are factory made and commercially available from large manufacturer they will all be the same dimensions and it won't matter, but if they are more "hand made" ones then the tapered holes in the bridge may have been tailored individually to match each of the six pins that may have minor differences.

While they are out use a vernier caliper to measure the length, the diameter at the thickest point of the taper, and the diameter at the thinnest point of the taper.  You can then work out the angle of taper, which is really the most important aspect of good pin to bridge.  A bridge pin should match the taper of the reamed hole in the bridge as accurately as possible so that when the ball end of the string is properly located up under the bridge plate inside the guitar it doesn't take excess pressure to push it in or to pull it back out, but there is maximum contact area between the sides of the hole and the pin.

Online taper calculators:

https://www.easycalculation.com/shapes/taper-degree-calculator.php

https://www.omnicalculator.com/construction/taper

All good info. Ta. FWIW, these are plastic bridge pins and I'm fairly confident they're generally commercially available, so it shouldn't be too tough to replace next time without bugging Brook. They look very similar to a couple of options on the Strings Direct website.

bertie

Mellish said:

That was nice of him. 

us Okey boys are very helpful like that   

Mellish

@bertie yes, I wouldn't be surprised..............