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Post new topic Making new pull rods
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Author Topic:  Making new pull rods
Jerry Malvern

 

From:
Menifee, California, USA
Post  Posted 23 Jan 2009 7:57 pm    
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I'm adding some changes on my guitar, adding two pulls. Is there a trick in bending them to make a clean 90 degree bend? I've tried, but they look home-made. Oh Well
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Scott Howard


From:
Georgetown, TN, USA
Post  Posted 24 Jan 2009 3:04 am    
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This may sound stupid but it works if you have a vise. Go to the hardware store and buy a door hindge that the rod can slide through the crack of with the hindge at 90 degrees.The one I use is sort of a barn door type. Small rectangle part that would mount to the door goes in the vise with the rod sticking up through it , and the long triangle shape that would mount to the barn makes a handle.
Stick the rod through the crack in the hinge. I leave it long and then trim it after it is bent. Look at the way the hindge is made because when you put it in the vise at 90 degrees to the left it will need to be able to move to the 90 degrees to the right. The long side makes a good handle and it will give a perfect 90 degree bend.
I have made Fessy and Mullen rods this way . On Mullen rods I take a die grinder or dremel and cut a slot part way throught the rod for the hairpin clip instead of trying to drill a hole. I have never had a problem with the slot instead of the hole but it is tons easier to do.
I can add some pics later but have to go to work now. I hope this makes sense.
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Ulric Utsi-Åhlin

 

From:
Sweden
Post  Posted 24 Jan 2009 4:57 am     Rod-bending...
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Sometimes it´s a good idea to heat the area prior to
applying the force,perhaps not in this case,but with
some alloys,and with regard to the type of re-
shaping to be done,heating the material can be what
prevents damage to the parts...McUtsi
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Lee Bartram

 

From:
Sparta, Kentucky, USA
Post  Posted 24 Jan 2009 12:11 pm    
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Scott please post sopme pictures when you can i'd like to see this also.
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Dennis Wireman

 

From:
North West Indiana 47978
Post  Posted 24 Jan 2009 2:14 pm     Scott
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I Would like to see some pic's also please
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Scott Howard


From:
Georgetown, TN, USA
Post  Posted 24 Jan 2009 2:42 pm    
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Came home from work , grabbed the camera went to the garage. After a hour of looking for the hindge I gave up. I live too far from town to just run down and get another one. I will pick one up after work Monday and post pictures. It works great.
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Dennis Saydak


From:
Manitoba, Canada
Post  Posted 24 Jan 2009 3:15 pm    
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Hobby Shops that carry model aircraft supplies sell wire benders. They are relatively inexpensive, easy to use and do a pro job of bending hardened steel (music) wire for landing gear. Practise on some coat hanger wire first. Make sure you get the correct size bender for your diameter wire.
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Dennis
Just when you think you're getting ahead in the rat race, the rats get faster.
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Darvin Willhoite


From:
Roxton, Tx. USA
Post  Posted 24 Jan 2009 6:09 pm    
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I just grab the rod with a large pair of vise grips and give it a bend. This is very easy on 3/32" rods, I usually put the 1/8" rods in a vise and give them a whack with a rubber hammer. I like working with MSA's, their rods are straight.
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Darvin Willhoite
MSA Millennium, Legend, and Studio Pro, Reese's restored Universal Direction guitar, a restored MSA Classic SS, several amps, new and old, and a Kemper Powerhead that I am really liking. Also a Zum D10, a Mullen RP, and a restored Rose S10, named the "Blue Bird". Also, I have acquired and restored the plexiglass D10 MSA Classic that was built as a demo in the early '70s. I also have a '74 lacquer P/P, with wood necks, and a showroom condition Sho-Bud Super Pro.
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Scott Howard


From:
Georgetown, TN, USA
Post  Posted 26 Jan 2009 3:19 pm    
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Here is the way I do it.

Notice the position of the hinge. It is important. With a little practice it is easy to even do a MCI bend. This was a 1/8 rod , and hard to see in the 3rd picture , but if you look good you can see it under the long part of the hindge.









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Donny Hinson

 

From:
Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.
Post  Posted 26 Jan 2009 3:30 pm    
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I just chuck it in the vise and bend it (pulling it from as close to the vise as possible with my hand), and then I make it neat and remove any "arc" with a soft-face hammer. Always put the short end in the vise, as it gives you more leverage to make the initial bend.
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Paddy Long


From:
Christchurch, New Zealand
Post  Posted 26 Jan 2009 7:26 pm    
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Donny thats exactly what I do .. easy peasy !
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14'Zumsteel Hybrid D10 9+9
08'Zumsteel Hybrid D10 9+9
94' Franklin Stereo D10 9+8
Telonics, Peterson, Steelers Choice, Benado, Lexicon, Red Dirt Cases.
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Kevin Hatton

 

From:
Buffalo, N.Y.
Post  Posted 26 Jan 2009 11:27 pm    
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Donny, thats my method also. Smack it with a hammer. Works every time. No muss, no cuss.
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