How to revert an output jack to an ordinary endpin
Issue 312 August 23, 2018
Installing an endpin jack means creating an oversize endpin hole. So what happens when you want to go back to a regular endpin? Dan Erlewine’s got a solution.
About the guitar in this video: Dan's working on a 1941 Martin 000-18.
- Nice old Martin 000-18!
- Prepping the hole to fit
- The NoJak endpin idea
Video Transcription
[on-screen text reads: StewMac tools + ideas for guitarmaking. Reverting an Output Jack to a Standard Endpin]
Nice old Martin 000-18
Dan Erlewine: Today what I have is a 1941 Martin 000-18 that is in the shop for a lot of repair work. We've cleaned it, put a new Rosewood bridge on it, re-fretted it, reset the neck, patched cracks. We even put some Waverly Tuners on it. Oh, it also got an ebony strap button down here on the heel because she uses a strap. And along with the strap button on the heel, Gwen would like a strap button on the butt end. And that's not a big deal, except there's already a big hole in there because this bridge had a transducer pickup underneath the saddle in a jack in the end. Back in the day, we would have to have plugged this hole with wood and glue, drilled it out, and then tapered it with the tapered reamer. Because end pins are like bridge pins. They have a taper.
The NoJak endpin
But today I'm using this clever thing, which is an easier way to solve the problem. You have the ebony end pin, but it's tapped on the bottom, and it slides into this hard plastic sleeve that has slits in it. Then from inside the end block, you install this threaded machine bolt with an Allen-Drive, and as it tightens, it expands that sleeve and it grips the walls. You might have seen that in drywalling in a house where you can put a molly in the wall, and tighten it and it opens up and you can hang a picture on. And anytime you want to take it out and put a pickup back in, it's easy peasy. It's called a NoJak Endpin, and I'm going to show you how to do it.
Installing the NoJak Endpin
I'm using a four-millimeter Gripper Truss Rod Wrench. This happens to be a gripper. Gets a good grip. It's a little fumbly trying to find that hole and get this out the other end. So I got a half inch repair made then on his handle, and this helps me find that end and bring it out. Might as well get that pretty much tightened. Once I start pulling this wrench through, I don't want to pop out of that Allen head because it's hard to get back in there, and I got to start all over again. So I'm getting a bite on it right now. I'm starting to turn it. It's feeling a little tighter. And here's where I want to have a pair of pliers. These Soft Touch Pliers have some plastic jaws which protect it. Keep it really tight, and my right hand's not letting that wrench fall out of the head of that bolt. Okay, endpin jack installed. There's not much to it. It's that simple. It's one of those short sweet ones, and I'm anxious to hear this guitar. Ooh, hear the Martin sound. 000-18. Love them.
[Dan plays the guitar]
