Owen Posted January 5, 2023 Share Posted January 5, 2023 (edited) My daughter has a Faith acoustic. It has lovely wooden machine head ears. It got me thinking. I would love some wooden ones for a couple of basses. In fact I would love some Ebony balls as machine head ears. Obviously, making the balls is a job for someone with a lathe. This is not me. However, mounting them is a bit of a tricky one. I have taken one to pieces and realised that the barrel is going to be a royal pain to mate with the ball. Here is a picture. I am woodwork clueless. Is there any secret way of doing this? The diameter for the curved bit is 4.85mm and diameter for the flat bit is 4.11mm. Obviously if someone were to make these they would measure them themselves properly. But is it possible to machine this sort of shape into wood? I guess some sort of rectangle would work. Am I dreaming madness here? Edited January 6, 2023 by Owen because of the spelling. As usual. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Si600 Posted January 5, 2023 Share Posted January 5, 2023 A rectangle would work fine, 4.85 on the long sides and 4.11 on the short. Drill it out to 4mm and then carefully cut the rest with a small chisel. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamIAm Posted January 5, 2023 Share Posted January 5, 2023 Yes. It could be done with a CNC machine ... or one could drill two adjacent holes of the 4mm size and clean up the cavity with a chisel. S'manth x 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owen Posted January 5, 2023 Author Share Posted January 5, 2023 OK. Thanks, so it is do-able then. I guess I should find someone with a CNC machine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamIAm Posted January 5, 2023 Share Posted January 5, 2023 (edited) 3 minutes ago, Owen said: OK. Thanks, so it is do-able then. I guess I should find someone with a CNC machine. If you can then they should also be able to mill the outside of the tuner head to be the exact shape you want saving the need to find ebony balls (that sounds so wrong!) of the desired size (Tho you would probably need to finish them with some sanding). Most desktop CNC machines would cope. I'd offer to do it for you but my CNC machine is out of action at the moment due to my fire ... perhaps a post in the wanted section of the site? S'manth x Edited January 5, 2023 by Smanth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owen Posted January 5, 2023 Author Share Posted January 5, 2023 Thanks S'manth. I actually have two pieces of Ebony I have been saving for the right occasion. As well as a piece of Cocobolo for vol and tone knobs. I bought some stock from a guy who inherited some stock from a bagpipe maker so they are old and dry. As a special treat I shall take a pic of them tomorrow. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Si600 Posted January 6, 2023 Share Posted January 6, 2023 You could also, and this is, I suspect, completely out of your skill level, but apologies if I'm wrong, make a broaching tool for the hole.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KingBollock Posted January 6, 2023 Share Posted January 6, 2023 Going for a simple, home brew idea (because that’s all I’m good for!), if it were me, I would try to find, or make, a 4.85mm dowel. Drill a 4.85mm hole in the ball. Then split off sections of the dowel to fill the gaps where the flat bits are, and glue them into the ball. I think that makes sense. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owen Posted January 6, 2023 Author Share Posted January 6, 2023 1 hour ago, Si600 said: You could also, and this is, I suspect, completely out of your skill level, but apologies if I'm wrong, make a broaching tool for the hole.... I am flattered that you even imagine I know what a broaching tool is without having to google it! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owen Posted January 6, 2023 Author Share Posted January 6, 2023 51 minutes ago, KingBollock said: Going for a simple, home brew idea (because that’s all I’m good for!), if it were me, I would try to find, or make, a 4.85mm dowel. Drill a 4.85mm hole in the ball. Then split off sections of the dowel to fill the gaps where the flat bits are, and glue them into the ball. I think that makes sense. I can see what you mean, but my experiences of wood/drilling/fitting anything suggest this is a job for someone who has manual dexterity which I do not possess. I could POSSIBLY make one function, but it would not look like it should always have been there. And that would render it useless in my eyes. But thank you for the suggestion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Si600 Posted January 6, 2023 Share Posted January 6, 2023 (edited) Curveball idea. How about making a four piece tuner button, two ebony wings with a contrasting skunk stripe. Then you could wrap the existing tuner stem in sellotape and glue up the tuner button around the stem. Pull it off and clean it up before reattaching it with the appropriate screw into the stem. Edited January 6, 2023 by Si600 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owen Posted January 6, 2023 Author Share Posted January 6, 2023 Interesting, but I am afraid that I am after the purity of the wood. I like to follow grain all the way around. I am aware that I need to get out more! But thanks for engaging! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Si600 Posted January 6, 2023 Share Posted January 6, 2023 Drill an appropriate size hole and epoxy the barsteward thing on! Then cross your fingers it never needs to come off again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owen Posted January 6, 2023 Author Share Posted January 6, 2023 1 hour ago, Si600 said: Drill an appropriate size hole and epoxy the barsteward thing on! Then cross your fingers it never needs to come off again 20 years ago I would have done! That is the problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owen Posted January 6, 2023 Author Share Posted January 6, 2023 For the wood enthusiasts in our midst. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3below Posted January 6, 2023 Share Posted January 6, 2023 Enough to make a complete 23" scale length bass there 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owen Posted January 6, 2023 Author Share Posted January 6, 2023 STOP IT! You know how that would end. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Si600 Posted January 6, 2023 Share Posted January 6, 2023 3 minutes ago, Owen said: STOP IT! You know how that would end. By asking how to make custom tuner buttons? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamIAm Posted January 6, 2023 Share Posted January 6, 2023 7 minutes ago, Si600 said: By asking how to make custom tuner buttons? 🤣 S'manth x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owen Posted January 6, 2023 Author Share Posted January 6, 2023 The picture includes a nice piece of lignum vitae. I have NO idea why I bought that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPJ Posted January 6, 2023 Share Posted January 6, 2023 (edited) The epoxy idea isn’t as daft as it first sounds, but I’d use an epoxy putty rather than liquid. The obvious alternative is to drill the smaller hole diameter and then file the flats using a square needle file. Edited January 6, 2023 by JPJ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owen Posted January 27, 2023 Author Share Posted January 27, 2023 So, as I lay in bed this morning I started thinking about this again. It strikes me that I could get away with not having the central hole cut to mate to the shaft directly - i.e. curved and flat in different sections. A hole that would match the overall circumfrance of the shaft could then be secured by two grub screws, one onto a flat face and the other anywhere apart from directly opposite it. Sadowsky knobs are attached by two grub screws and are remarkably stable. I have thought of 3 screws at different points from the side, but suspect that 2 would do. Obviously there would be the screw through the end as well. Even though that might not actually be necessary. I don't know and am open to suggestion here. My reasoning is that fabrication would be a whole lot easier. It would not be as elegant a build, but I think the trade off might be worth it. Of course, the CNC programme might be sitting there thinking "why bother not doing it right with one screw, it is easy for me". I would appreciate your thoughts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPJ Posted January 27, 2023 Share Posted January 27, 2023 (edited) Drill a round hole, drop two ‘fillets’ in made from same diameter dowel as the hole you drill to make up the space between the hole and the flats of the shaft, put the end screw in, jobs a good’un. This will work if the screw head is larger than the hole you drill (which presumably it is, otherwise the tuner buttons would just pull off). Edited January 27, 2023 by JPJ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owen Posted January 27, 2023 Author Share Posted January 27, 2023 I went to see the local luthier who owns a cnc machine today. He reckons he can CNC a drop on replacement. Time will tell. If so, I guess he could fabricate any kind of tuner button. Could be a market for him there. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard R Posted January 27, 2023 Share Posted January 27, 2023 Pool balls would be cute. Or eyeballs for the punk and goth scene. Fishes for church bassist. The market is endless!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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