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Here's what I want to make


1) First, you need a piece of brass (old toilet bolt will do)


2) Grind one side flat


3) Make 2 sides square and flat


4) Measure the original (mine was 1.57 inches)




5) Cut it off a little oversize


6) Grind it square


7) Glue it into a piece of wood


8) Grind it down. Every few seconds, I had to quench it in a can of water and sometimes reglue it


9) Grind it to a 3/16 radius


10) Make a fence for the bandsaw so the blade protrudes exactly the depth of the string slots (about 1/16 of an inch)


11) I painted it with machineist's ink and marked the string spacing with an x-acto blade


12) Cut the string slots, rolling the brass along the fence


13) I rechecked my measurements often




14) Round the edges, and buff it until it shines


15) I had some other things nickel plated, too


16) Here it is in place!


17) I made some out of aluminum, too


I also had to make a new pickup for it


But that's another story

Keith, incredible DIY, thanks for sharing.

Very good information. All this DIY stuff is great!
Dennis

Thanks, Keith, for posting that. Fascinating.

--Jim

Nice tips for handling such a small piece of metal! I'm going to make a brass nut this summer, and this post will help make that job a lot easier! Thanks!

Wow, that's great! Do you have pictures of the pickup build as well?

That looks familiar

did you use a regular bandsaw blade?

what did you use to grind down the brass? amazing work

No, I didn't take pictures of me making the pickup because I learned how to do it on this website at viewtopic.php?f=20&t=3240&start=100
I also looked up pickup re-winding online. I made my winding machine out of an old wood lathe and a variable speed DC motor.

To grind down the brass I started with a grinding wheel but most of it was done on my sanding disc. grind a little-drop it in a can of water-fish it out with some tongs-grind a little more-ect. Many times it got so hot that the super glue lost it's hold so I would re-glue it and drop it in the water harden the glue. Sounds like a lot of work but it's not really that hard.