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Topic: Single blade bell cranks for 3/8-inch crossrods? |
John McClung
From:
Olympia WA, USA
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Posted 28 Jan 2016 11:17 am |
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Does anyone make single blade bell cranks for older style 3/8-inch square crossrods? I like the GFI bell crank, but believe those crossrods are 5/16". I might replace the whole underside of a steel that has MSA style bell cranks, I hate those rods passing through the upright blades and making the set screw impossible to reach without loosening other pull rods to get them out of the way.
Thanks!
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E9 INSTRUCTION
▪️ If you want to have an ongoing discussion, please email me, don't use the Forum messaging which I detest! steelguitarlessons@earthlink.net |
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Lane Gray
From:
Topeka, KS
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Posted 28 Jan 2016 12:02 pm
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Aren't Zums 3/8?
_________________
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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John McClung
From:
Olympia WA, USA
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Posted 28 Jan 2016 2:07 pm
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Zums = 3/8"; anyone know the answer? Lane, you have Zum, can you simply measure yours and report back? Thanks.
_________________
E9 INSTRUCTION
▪️ If you want to have an ongoing discussion, please email me, don't use the Forum messaging which I detest! steelguitarlessons@earthlink.net |
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Ian Worley
From:
Sacramento, CA
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Posted 28 Jan 2016 5:07 pm
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| They would be really easy to make. How many do you need? |
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Lane Gray
From:
Topeka, KS
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Posted 29 Jan 2016 3:07 pm
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I'll measure when I get home. I'm in Indiana and the guitar is in Topeka. I do like Bruce's bellcranks, both versions.
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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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John McClung
From:
Olympia WA, USA
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Posted 30 Jan 2016 12:49 pm
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Ian, I'm likely to need about 45 bell cranks for my full extended E9 copedent. Will also need a couple of square 3/8" crossrods about 9.5" in length with round ends. Do you do machining of parts like that.
I hate with a passion twin blade bell cranks with the set screw obscured by other pull rods passing through. Later Zum, Mullen and GFI bell cranks are the ideal design.
_________________
E9 INSTRUCTION
▪️ If you want to have an ongoing discussion, please email me, don't use the Forum messaging which I detest! steelguitarlessons@earthlink.net |
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Tim Russell
From:
Pennsylvania, USA
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Posted 30 Jan 2016 2:15 pm
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| John McClung wrote: |
I hate with a passion twin blade bell cranks with the set screw obscured by other pull rods passing through. Later Zum, Mullen and GFI bell cranks are the ideal design. |
I feel your pain; I am in the process of adding a lot of changes to my Sierra and I was presented with the same issue; Either convert the entire guitar, or add more of the same. I begrudgingly added more of the same, as I felt it was too much work involved to change the existing ones over.
Also, in my case, I only have a 2 up/down changer, so I'm limited in how far I can go anyway. If this guitar would be more versatile, i.e. 3 up/down I would have changed everything over to a single blade bellcrank system.
Plus, I'm machining my own, so all I need is time...
Good luck with your endeavor.
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Sierra Crown D-10 |
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Jerry Overstreet
From:
Louisville Ky
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Posted 30 Jan 2016 2:28 pm
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| Zum and Williams, at least the 400 series, have 3/8 cross shafts. The later Zums and the Willy's are pretty thick though, so you need a keeper of some sort that will work with them. I'm not sure what late Zums use, but the Williams model used a spring over rod tensioner to secure the rod. Looks like the ones Michael Yahl sells. |
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Ian Worley
From:
Sacramento, CA
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Posted 30 Jan 2016 8:02 pm
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| John McClung wrote: |
Ian, I'm likely to need about 45 bell cranks for my full extended E9 copedent. Will also need a couple of square 3/8" crossrods about 9.5" in length with round ends. Do you do machining of parts like that.
I hate with a passion twin blade bell cranks with the set screw obscured by other pull rods passing through. Later Zum, Mullen and GFI bell cranks are the ideal design. |
John, yes, I could make them, and the cross shafts too. I think you're after something like this, correct?
This is just a picture from the forum, I think the one on the left is Emmons, the one on the right may be a Rains. I have a knee mill in my shop and could make them out of aluminum like the one on the right pretty easily. Perhaps 5/16" or 3/8" wide with an 1/8" thick blade, 8-32 set screw. The blades could certainly be wider than the one in the pic, with any sort of length and hole pattern you wanted.
You've probably already considered this, but what you end up using may depend on how much rotational clearance your cross shaft mounts allow. The Emmons crank is steel, the clamping band around the cross shaft is much thinner, which allows more clearance between the heel of the crank and the body. Aluminum cranks would probably need the heel radiused concentric to the shaft unless the shafts were offset quite a bit from the body. The one in the picture looks like the heel would bottom out pretty quickly.
Do you know how much space do you have between the flat of the cross shafts and the body? It's pretty quick to just measure the height using a few dimes or pennies or something to fill the space that you can then pull out and measure without all the clutter.
If you're not having any luck finding what you need out in the wild, send me an email and we can discuss. |
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