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Topic: new idea for p/p lower return spring |
chris ivey
From:
california (deceased)
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Posted 8 Oct 2014 8:23 am |
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yesterday i sat down to play my oldest p/p and found my 6th string lower (c6) not functioning properly. of course nothing has been touched...'it just happened'.
so now it's upside down in the garage as i try to get to the collar that holds the rod and spring to increase tension.
on my steel, this collar is underneath layers of rods which i'm not about to undo. anyway, it's tedious and annoying. i have slightly smaller collars on these and so it takes a really tiny short allen wrench, making it even more delicate and nerve wracking.
so i woke up this morning with this thought. next time i'm rebuilding any p/p pulltrain i'm going to change out the rod for a threaded rod of some sort and where it goes through the bracket i'll put threaded knurled pieces instead of collars so the tension can be changed by screwing the piece in or out....instead of trying to get a tiny allen wrench into a tiny screw under a maze of crap.
whattaya think?
it made me realize how clever bruce zumsteg was to put nylon thingies with little nodules on it that catch against a comb-like bracket on my 82 zum for the lower return spring connector. it can easily be retensioned by repositioning the nylon dealy. |
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Lane Gray
From:
Topeka, KS
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Posted 8 Oct 2014 11:16 am
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Interesting idea and it might work, but there's not a lot of room between strings so the knurled knob will be small.
BTW, those nylon-tipped springs aren't return springs, but raise helper springs.
_________________
2 pedal steels, a lapStrat, and an 8-string Dobro (and 3 ukes)
More amps than guitars, and not many effects |
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Lane Gray
From:
Topeka, KS
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Posted 8 Oct 2014 11:20 am
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Interesting idea and it might work, but there's not a lot of room between strings so the knurled knob will be small.
BTW, those nylon-tipped springs aren't return springs, but raise helper springs.
_________________
2 pedal steels, a lapStrat, and an 8-string Dobro (and 3 ukes)
More amps than guitars, and not many effects |
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Lane Gray
From:
Topeka, KS
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Posted 8 Oct 2014 11:24 am
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Interesting idea and it might work, but there's not a lot of room between strings so the knurled knob will be small.
BTW, those nylon-tipped springs aren't return springs, but raise helper springs.
_________________
2 pedal steels, a lapStrat, and an 8-string Dobro (and 3 ukes)
More amps than guitars, and not many effects |
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Tony Glassman
From:
The Great Northwest
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Posted 8 Oct 2014 11:58 am
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Adjusting lower springs on the push pull used to be quite a chore for me until I simplified it
I use a slot head screwdriver that I filed a notch in, to hook the end loop of the return This allows me to hold it stable while adjusting tension on the return spring rod. I then loosen, move and retighten the collar setscrew with a long handled 5/64 T-allen wrench which changes the tension on the lowering spring.
The hardest part is to spin the securing collar so you can gain access to the setscrew hole. Once you can fit the wrench into the screw and and loosen it, you can use the wrench like a lever to move the collar up and down the rod to reposition and then retighten it. |
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chris ivey
From:
california (deceased)
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Posted 8 Oct 2014 12:59 pm
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lane..i guess i never thought about which spring that was. is the zum lower return the one that adjusts with a screwdriver at the endplate?
i know i've adjusted them all at one time or another in the past....haven't had to touch anything for years. |
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Chris Lucker
From:
Los Angeles, California USA
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Posted 8 Oct 2014 2:47 pm
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Chris
that is actually an old idea. That is kinda what the original Wraparounds used for lower returns. But instead of a threaded rod, through an untapped hole, the hole was tapped.
_________________
Chris Lucker
Red Bellies, Bigsbys and a lot of other guitars. |
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Lane Gray
From:
Topeka, KS
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Posted 8 Oct 2014 3:26 pm
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Bingo, Chris. That's the ones.
_________________
2 pedal steels, a lapStrat, and an 8-string Dobro (and 3 ukes)
More amps than guitars, and not many effects |
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Tony Glassman
From:
The Great Northwest
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Posted 8 Oct 2014 3:27 pm
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| Chris Lucker wrote: |
Chris
that is actually an old idea. That is kinda what the original Wraparounds used for lower returns. But instead of a threaded rod, through an untapped hole, the hole was tapped. |
So Chris, do you have to disconnect the spring at the changer (or rod) in order to spin the threaded rod for adjusting return spring tension? |
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chris ivey
From:
california (deceased)
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Posted 8 Oct 2014 4:30 pm
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| thanx chris...it's nice to see i've finally reached the cutting edge of 1960s technology! |
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Chris Lucker
From:
Los Angeles, California USA
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Posted 9 Oct 2014 7:49 pm
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Chris I, your idea is better than that used on the first few versions of the Wraparound. You need to unhook the spring to turn the screw on the 1964 Emmons design. With your idea, you needn't unhook the spring.
_________________
Chris Lucker
Red Bellies, Bigsbys and a lot of other guitars. |
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Donny Hinson
From:
Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.
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Posted 13 Oct 2014 6:53 pm Re: new idea for p/p lower return spring
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| chris ivey wrote: |
as i try to get to the collar that holds the rod and spring to increase tension.
on my steel, this collar is underneath layers of rods which i'm not about to undo. anyway, it's tedious and annoying. i have slightly smaller collars on these and so it takes a really tiny short allen wrench, making it even more delicate and nerve wracking...trying to get a tiny allen wrench into a tiny screw under a maze of crap.
whattaya think?
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I think you need a small pin-vise to hold that tiny allen wrench.  Sure makes it easier than fumbling and constantly retreiving a 2" long allen wrench!
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chris ivey
From:
california (deceased)
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Posted 13 Oct 2014 9:25 pm
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| thanx donny. that looks like a handy item. |
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