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Topic: An Inexpensive Upgrade |
Dave Grafe
From:
Hudson River Valley NY
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Posted 6 Jun 2023 4:53 am |
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Acting on a hunch, I asked Jim Palanscar to make me up a load of nylon bushings to support the cross-shafts on my Fessenden D10. Jerry's square cross-shafts all have the round center section but for whatever reason he chose not to install these bushings on his guitars.
Granted it's not as beautifully symmetrical as if the body had been pre-drilled using a jig during construction but Jim drilled the bushings off-center to allow for an adequate range of adjustment. I put them in, snugged them up against the cross-shafts and tightened the screws to hold them there. I noticed at the time that if they were not fully secured the shaft would push the bushings back 1/32" or more when activated, visible evidence of the suspected flexing.
Here's the eye-opener for me: I expected some retuning of the changes, but after installing them EVERY pull was out by as much as a quarter-tone, with a couple of raises over-tuned a near half-tone, all due to eliminating the flexing of the shafts. And yes, I can feel the increased firmness and precision of the stops when playing, making this a successful operation with results far beyond my greatest hopes, a major performance upgrade to an otherwise superb guitar costing well under $100 to perform.
Last edited by Dave Grafe on 6 Jun 2023 6:05 am; edited 2 times in total |
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Johnie King
From:
Tennessee, USA
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Posted 6 Jun 2023 5:01 am
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| Good job an upgrade for your Fessy for sure!! |
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Jerry Erickson
From:
Atlanta,IL 61723
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Posted 6 Jun 2023 2:29 pm
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| Thanks for posting this Dave. I’ve often thought of doing this to my Fessy, now you’ve made up my mind. |
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Larry Dering
From:
Missouri, USA
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Posted 7 Jun 2023 6:21 pm
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| What a great upgrade. Thanks for sharing. |
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Paul Brainard
From:
Portland OR
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Posted 9 Jun 2023 10:08 am Fess
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| My D-10 Fessy has these, installed by someone else previously. They also added Zum-style raise helper springs (adjustable via beaded bread bag ties) and Shobud-style return springs on the cross shafts. It does play more in tune and more precisely than my loafer S-10. I wish that one had the rounded spots in the shafts! |
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