Endpin Help

I looked for one of those pins years ago but couldn't find one. I believe the maker was ill at the time. From another post, It looks like he died a year ago. Fred Miller was his name.

 

I have one of Fred's endpins on my Tyrolean. It came with the carbon fiber pin, but now I use both ebony and rosewood pin from Onyx that fit very nicely into the Cameleopard unit and give a richer, warmer sound than the carbon fiber.

 

One reason endpin plugs come loose is if they’re not round to begin with. You've said this one was beautifully hand made, so possibly that’s not the problem. Another problem is if the endpin hole is cut without the proper taper. This can lead to needing shims to try and hold things together that don’t fit well. The two parts need to mate well, and it sounds like yours don’t.

It’s always possible to fill the hole in the bottom block and re-drill a new one. I’d say have the hole bushed and recut.

 

Since we're here, a luthiery question. When drilling for a tapered endpin, we start with a straight hole and use a standard tapered reamer to finish, right? What's the procedure for drilling to fit an endpin set with a nonstandard taper, or correcting a taper to fit the endpin? It's probably simpler to recut the endpin taper to fit the block taper, but it seems tricky too.

 

Sorry, not clear - is the endpin or the collar/plug that doesn't fit?

 

I'm not asking about a specific repair, more about how to approach the repair when the tapers don't match.

 

My bad, that was for the OP.

 

If I’m reading this right, the nicely hand made collar isn’t a standard taper. In this case I'd want to reshape the plug on a lathe (to make it conform to the taper in the block). It’s a job that needs to be done slowly and carefully, as you can’t put material back on once it’s removed.

 

Agreed. It is a relatively simple problem- a tapered pin into a tapered hole. You just need someone with a good lathe and solid skills. Most bass luthiers should have this skill and tool, but many do not.

It is also possible that the socket in your bass is a little out of true. That is pretty easy when: you drill anything into a block of solid wood, half of it is sidegrain and the other half is endgrain. The two expand and contract at different rates, forming a somewhat oval hole over time. 'Simple to correct with a proper reamer. The high percentage of basses that I see with a poorly fit endpin often amazes me. It is a huge grounding point for everything with the voice of your bass.

 

I just saw this.
The easiest way to do it without altering the bass is to glue wood veneer to the plug and then shape it to fit the hole. If the veneer is wet, it will naturally curve in one direction and I wrap it to a suitable thickness and use masking tape to hold the shape. Use hide glue (or CA if it will be permanent). Then remove the masking tape and use CA or Titebond between the layers, and shape it to fit the hole.