Break angle to machine heads not great enough

Posted by J-Hob on August 20, 2010 at 5:41pm
For some reason the machine heads I bought seem to have long shafts on them so they stick up above the headstock by about 15mm or so to the eye where the strings are threaded through.

This has meant that the break angle over the nut is very shallow.  I see that I have 2 options:
* Make something to pull the strings down, a bit like fender use on strats etc.  Any suggestions for suitable materials to use for this purpose?

* Get new machine heads with shorter shafts.

I'm not too sure what my best option is here, anyone have some advice?

Here's a some pics of what the head looks like:



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Replies

  • GI Junker August 24, 2010 at 4:11am
    great job
  • J-Hob August 22, 2010 at 7:09am
    Getting some longer strings and putting more winds on the tuners work, thanks everyone for the advice!
  • Mike Ptolomey August 22, 2010 at 6:55am
    Just a suggestion, how about a metal plate the size of the headstock fitted to the rear of it, acting as a spacer? You could use stainless and do some decorative engraving on it to dress it up.
  • Wichita Sam August 20, 2010 at 9:19pm
    I see another choice..... FREE.... from the pics, it looks like you probably have enough drop between the headstock and the nut, so.... just wind enough string from the top of the tuner post DOWN until you are tensioning the string closer to the headstock (below the nut) level.....

    hope this helps,

    Wichita Sam
  • MadGomer August 20, 2010 at 8:45pm
    I used a scarf joint but still was concerned about the break angle too because of the length of my tuner pegs. I put a bunch of turns around the post, as you're saying, and it worked out just fine. Need to plan ahead just a little bit so you don't end up with too many turns before you get the right tension in the wire (or you have to unwind it all & start again, as I did). For every turn of the peg you'll use about 3.2X the peg diameter in string length, so that should give you a rough idea how much slack to start with.

    J-Hob said:
    Cheers Mike, I like the coin idea!

    I also realised another option is for me to get longer strings (something I need to do anyway) and put more turns around the posts. Will probably try that first and then go for the coin idea if that fails.
  • Naz Nomad August 20, 2010 at 6:30pm
    Steel bar ... nice smooth surface for the strings to rub against, works perfectly.

    3stringheadstock.jpg



    Brass plate ... sharper edges, so a small piece of wire-insulation was slid over the 2 thinner strings as a precaution against snapping.

    01head.jpg

  • J-Hob August 20, 2010 at 6:01pm
    string retainer bar, that's what I was trying to describe! Trying to think of what materials I could use for that, Like Mike's coin idea.

    Building up the back of the headstock is out for me as the guitar is finished, save for these teething problems - wood is oiled and corners rounded - I think it would look odd if I stuck another bit of wood on there now. Will definitely think about doing that in future builds though.
  • J-Hob August 20, 2010 at 5:57pm
    Cheers Mike, I like the coin idea!

    I also realised another option is for me to get longer strings (something I need to do anyway) and put more turns around the posts. Will probably try that first and then go for the coin idea if that fails.
  • Shawn August 20, 2010 at 5:57pm
    Build up the back side of the headstock with wood would be one opt. Or put a string retainer bar on the front of the headstock could fix it as well.
  • Mike Bingham August 20, 2010 at 5:55pm
    Hey J-Hob I've had good luck drilling a hole in the center of a coin, screwing it to the headstock before the nut and passing the strings under it. You might also be able to glue a thin piece of wood to the back of the headstock to use up some of the excess shaft length.
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