Well, I told you he'd be back. You know the guy who bought a set of ebony pins from me last week. That's right he didn't have the 5 degree tapered reamer.
We whipped it out and had 'em all done in ten minutes. There was a problem. The top three strings would not go in the minimal grooves of the Low E, A or D. And the two steel strings, the B and High E, required work too due to the windings length.
The Golden Era has a through the bridge saddle, just a slot and flush fit on the ends to the taper of the bridge wings. And no, he would not let me saw slots into the bridge. What's a guy to do?
The solution was my old Dremel with a Ball end mill. Oh, he had a set of silk wound Marquis on this guitar, and I showed him the thickness of the winding, it was way big. We changed strings to a set of SP's he brought along. They were fairly large bindings too on the Mexican Martin strings.
Having done it before I knew it required hogging out the slot and just kissed the ring under the head of the pin to let the string out if it's slot and get the thing down in an even arc across the bridge. He was a happy camper when he left.
Good sounding guitar, one anyone would be proud to own. Parting shot at plastic pins, yep, they were beginning to deform slightly, black and shiny on top. Now he get's to return the single bone pin he bought for $21 and shipping.
Someday, when I find a customer with lots of dough, I'm gonna try a set of bone or FWI expecting no miracles of course.
Here's you a YOU TUBE link to Andy McKee's songs on his newly released CD:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tn1d5DmdMqY&mode=related&sear ch=