pinless bridges

[peter havriluk]

I'm speculating about my next project, and the notion of using a pinless bridge appeared. I looked at Mike Doolin's web site and it looks like he's given up instrument building, and I haven't yet asked him if he's interested in selling me one of his bridges. It also seems at initial glance to require a goodly pile of tooling to make a bridge to his design.

Does anyone know of a vendor who offers pinless bridges for sale?

Thanks very much.

[ken cierp]

https://www.allparts.com/GB-2866-0R0-Ac ... _1649.html

http://www.lowdenguitars.com/replacemen ... ood-bridge

[Dave Bagwill]

That 40th anniversary model is just about the perfect visual appearance for a guitar imo. Beautiful, unified theme without being boring, great low-gloss sheen, proportions right on. I want one. Or two.
http://www.lowdenguitars.com/guitar-range-40th

[peter havriluk]

Thanks, folks, for the links. Dunno about the assymetrical body shape of the '40th Anniversary' one front-and-center in the linked page. Left off a piece of the upper bout. Ken, I looked at both the links. Would that I had the cash to buy that 'replacement part' bridge. Only eighty-five pounds Sterling. Plus postage, I bet. I ain't gonna have that much in the whole instrument. I hope. But the Allparts link, ten bucks makes more sense to my wallet, and more in keeping with the cost of the rest of the project. Think I'm gonna bite on that one. If nothing else, I'll have a bridge to handle and inspect. Upon further review...those two holes at the rear of the bridge...screw holes? Implication being that the user of said bridge is urged to drop a couple of bolts in those holes and run in some nuts and washers on the backside? Interesting.

[Dave Bagwill]

Just a suggestion - make sure that 2 1/8" hole spacing is right for your fretboard.

[peter havriluk]

Dave, I appreciate the warning. No problem yet, the bridge is the first part involved in the project... I have yet to settle on a fretboard. I'd half-decided to do something I hadn't had any experience with, install a pinless bridge. The ones available all seem to be hacked into shape by the same wood shop, they're all 2 1/8" at the saddle, implication being that the width at the nut is 1 11/16". Dunno if I much like that idea, I had notions of a 1 3/4" nut width, which seems to be paired with a bridge having a 2 1/4" string spacing. Right now, I think I'll purchase a commercial bridge and see what I might be able to do to use its design parameters and make a similar one it at 2 1/4" string spacing. This all is an educational journey. Might as well try to learn something.

Once I had the 'top loading' wording, not 'pinless bridge', I found a few peddlers of these seemingly-identical bridges at the universal auction site.