End Pin - Friction or Screw?

[Drummertist]

What do you prefer and why?

[cliff_the_stiff]

Friction. A screw removes material.
one can put a little tape, or waxed cooking twine on the pin to make it more snug without drilling it out more.

[Rudy4]

A friction fit end pin is a great way to ensure a broken guitar. Buy two so you have a spare.

[Wade Hampton]

I’ve always found friction fit endpins untrustworthy - if you move around while you play they pop loose given half a chance. Since I play multiple instruments and routinely switch between them in performance, it’s when I’m taking an instrument off to grab another that friction fit endpins are at most danger of letting go.

My solution is to have the endpin hole doweled and Schaller strap lock hardware installed. It’s infinitely more secure.


Wade Hampton Miller

[OnTheFidele]

Originally Posted by Wade Hampton

I’ve always found friction fit endpins untrustworthy - if you move around while you play they pop loose given half a chance. Since I play multiple instruments and routinely switch between them in performance, it’s when I’m taking an instrument off to grab another that friction fit endpins are at most danger of letting go.

My solution is to have the endpin hole doweled and Schaller strap lock hardware installed. It’s infinitely more secure.


Wade Hampton Miller

I've never heard/read anything about getting an endpin hole doweled. Does this involve simply screwing the endpin into a dowel placed inside the guitar to better secure it?

[phavriluk]

Originally Posted by Wade Hampton

I’ve always found friction fit endpins untrustworthy - if you move around while you play they pop loose given half a chance. Since I play multiple instruments and routinely switch between them in performance, it’s when I’m taking an instrument off to grab another that friction fit endpins are at most danger of letting go.

My solution is to have the endpin hole doweled and Schaller strap lock hardware installed. It’s infinitely more secure.


Wade Hampton Miller

Absolutely agree. Simple enough to drill the tapered hole out to a dowel's diameter and screw a strap button to the glued-in dowel. Or drill out to the diameter needed by a 'nojack' that S-M sells.

[Mandobart]

No preference. I've had both. I've replaced some tapered end pins with a Tapastring vintage jack and some with switchjacks. Replaced a few screw-in strap buttons with switchjacks. All my neck heel strap buttons are screw in - is there any other kind for that application?

Never had a major problem with any of them. I've had two switchjacks get slightly loose; easily fixed with the Stew-Mac jack tool.

[Mandobart]

Originally Posted by cliff_the_stiff

Friction. A screw removes material.
one can put a little tape, or waxed cooking twine on the pin to make it more snug without drilling it out more.

The hole drilled through the end block for a tapered end pin removes a lot more wood than a hole for a screw....

[Robin, Wales]

Martin's tapered end pin is a hangover from the "old days". It's a poor design from a function standpoint. If it was such a good idea then it would be the standard fitting on every acoustic guitar. The fact that it is not says everything really.

Acoustic guitar makers have copied all elements of Martin guitar design, except for the end pin.

[Wade Hampton]

Originally Posted by OnTheFidele

I've never heard/read anything about getting an endpin hole doweled. Does this involve simply screwing the endpin into a dowel placed inside the guitar to better secure it?

The way it’s done is that the tapered endpin hole is drilled out so that it’s got straight sides, then a very short section of dowel rod of the correct diameter is glued into the hole. Once the glue has dried and had time to cure, a hole for a strap button screw is drilled into it and the strap button mounted.

Hope that makes more sense.


Wade Hampton Miller

[OnTheFidele]

Originally Posted by Wade Hampton

The way it’s done is that the tapered endpin hole is drilled out so that it’s got straight sides, then a very short section of dowel rod of the correct diameter is glued into the hole. Once the glue has dried and had time to cure, a hole for a strap button screw is drilled into it and the strap button mounted.

Hope that makes more sense.


Wade Hampton Miller

Thank you very much.

This thread was quite timely because I recently looked inside my Rainsong and saw that the endpin was just screwed into the endpin part of the sheet of carbon fiber that makes up the back and sides. The screw end is just sticking out on the inside. No endblock, from what I can see. Although it feels fairly secure, it's not a confidence-booster and it's a relatively easy fix.

Fortunately, I was able to find carbon fiber dowels of many diameters.

[rllink]

My Guild has a tapered end pin. There are probably better ways but I've gotten accustomed to giving it a push and a twist every time I get it out to play and it has never fell out unintended since I got into that habit. Maybe some day I'll do the dowel thing, or I've thought about putting some glue on it, I don't know why that wouldn't serve the same purpose, but I tend to leave things as they are. So I probably never will get around to it.

[cliff_the_stiff]

Originally Posted by Rudy4

A friction fit end pin is a great way to ensure a broken guitar. Buy two so you have a spare.

From what? Dropping guitars? Most of my acoustics don’t plug in- Martin and Collings, my Gibson has a no-jack as the pickup was removed.
All end pins are snug and trouble free.
I don’t ship with them installed and I ask sellers to pull the endpins prior to shipping as that can crack the end block.

[Charlie Bernstein]

Whichever the guitar comes with.

Same reason as why Edmund Hillary climbed Everest: because it's there.

[redir]

Having been doing repair and restorations for some time now I have seen my fair share of cracked end blocks. The screw in design is plain and simply better. The friction design is tradition. If you go with that then be sure that the collar of the pin mates up with the body of the guitar else if you drop it on the pin the pin will act as a wedge as it's shoved into the hole splitting the tail block. I also glue them in unless the owner is really against it. I don't really see why one would need to remove a pin ever and the risk of it removing itself is just not worth it.