NGD - begins on a sour note. Marwin Jewel Archtop

[skunqesh]

I was doing really well - hadn’t purchased a guitar in almost 2 years. Been tryna thin the herd. But then my S.O. spots an estate sale nearby.
And there’s a sweet old Marwin Jewel in the corner. Nothing exotic but it has all its bits. Looks and sounds ok.

So I do the deal , bring it home, start dialing in the bridge because it needed some tlc. Seems easy enough.

And then..
POP goes the Weasel.
The trapeze gave up the ghost as I tuned back up.

Now I’m scouring the webz for a new trapeze - preferably something with the same mount specs. Kluson makes one that looks the part , but if anyone has a recommendation I’m all ears.

 

[hemingway]

I looked at Guild tailpieces a few years back when I was thinking of ditching the bigsby on my archtop, and they looked good. In the end I just left the Bigsby where it was.

 

[Freeman Keller]

That is exactly the tailpiece I have used on both of my archtops. Should be available at many sources including StewMac where you can also buy a nice adjustable archtop bridge.

Also it is intended to come apart, the tailpiece itself should hook into the part thats screwed to the guitar.. Nice score on the old Marwin.

ps - a trick with floating bridge guitars is to change one string at a time so the bridge doesn't fall off. If it does the points of the f-holes are often at the scale length and that is a good place to start when you put it back on. You can intonate from there.

 

[tubedude]

I like the ebony

 

[Supertwang]

Nice find! It's a Harmony product made in Chicago prob from the late 1940's into the 1950's. Almost any trapeze will fit. I'd be looking for a similar trapeze on EBay but prob only use the mounting plate. Make sure to buy a "nickel" finish part because a chrome trapeze will still out like a sore thumb

 

[hemingway]

I like the ebony
View attachment 1379451

Does that tailpiece just loop over the strap button? If so, most ingenious.

 

[Freeman Keller]

Does that tailpiece just loop over the strap button? If so, most ingenious.

That is a Benedetto style tailpiece that you might see on a fancy carved archtop. StewMac sells them an most archtop builders will do their own version of it, its one of the marks of the builders.

Benedetto Archtop Tailpiece Installation Instructions - StewMac

Benedetto Archtop Tailpiece Installation Instructions

www.stewmac.com

I need to make one for mine, I just haven't got around to it yet.

The metal ones like on the OP's and my guitars are common on mid priced guitars and are readily available.

 

[lammie200]

I would start by measuring for the bridge location. F-holes can be all over the place. Nice find, btw.

 

[Freeman Keller]

I would start by measuring for the bridge location. F-holes can be all over the place.

I totally agree with that, but many instruments do have the points as I described. Once the bridge is located I like to put little pieces of tape on the top when there is a chance of it coming off to mark the location. Usually the finish will take a couple of small marks where the bridge has been located. Loosen the strings a hair and it can be slid around.

 

[doster]

What a cool find, please post again when it's back together. I'd love to stumble onto something like that.

 

[Supertwang]

I'd probably make a new mounting plate out of a piece of stainless steel using the old piece as a pattern

 

[skunqesh]

I'd probably make a new mounting plate out of a piece of stainless steel using the old piece as a pattern

WIP
Unfortunately I don’t have stainless , but I have some scrap flat steel pieces ,~2mm+ thick. I’m keeping my eyes out for other materials.

Hoping to redo the little “jewel” section on the bottom where the strap peg and L bracket attach. The original material has crumbled. looks like it was celluloid based.

 

[Supertwang]

WIP
Unfortunately I don’t have stainless , but I have some scrap flat steel pieces ,~2mm+ thick. I’m keeping my eyes out for other materials.

Hoping to redo the little “jewel” section on the bottom where the strap peg and L bracket attach. The original material has crumbled. looks like it was celluloid based.

DYH a “Metals Supermarket” store near you? I also save up scraps but if I don’t have a piece of metal when I need it I go to the local Metal Supermarket store. 2mm might be kinda thick to bend well. Measure what you remove from the guitar for thickness and don’t go any thinner. Stainless steel matches OK with nickel finishes. You could do a little nickel plating on your steel. It’s not terribly uncommon for those mounting brackets to break exactly how yours broke. I’ve seen just the brackets for sale before I think on EBay.

 

[Freeman Keller]

WIP
Unfortunately I don’t have stainless , but I have some scrap flat steel pieces ,~2mm+ thick. I’m keeping my eyes out for other materials.

Hoping to redo the little “jewel” section on the bottom where the strap peg and L bracket attach. The original material has crumbled. looks like it was celluloid based.

Did you look at the one that StewMac sell, which I showed on my two archtops? It looks to be exactly what you have now, I seriously doubt that you can build anything for the price and I'm quite sure that if you look around ebay you can find it for less

Thin Body Trapeze Tailpiece - StewMac

Traditional design for archtop guitars.

www.stewmac.com

 

[skunqesh]

Heya,
When I click the link or search StMac I’m not seeing anything that looks like the ones on your examples or the original off the Marwin. The trapeze TPs I see there all look like the Gibson variety / have the diamond shapeon the stop tail.

 

[Freeman Keller]

OK when I look closer I don't see the ones that I used. I only buy parts from SM or LMII who is out of business, so maybe they aren't available any more. You could ask at the Jazz Guitar forum and I do see a couple on evil bay.

 

[warrent]

Heya,
When I click the link or search StMac I’m not seeing anything that looks like the ones on your examples or the original off the Marwin. The trapeze TPs I see there all look like the Gibson variety / have the diamond shapeon the stop tail.

it's the kluson version available in nickle

Kluson Archtop Guitar Tailpiece - StewMac

Traditional deco-style trapeze tailpiece for deep-bodied archtop guitars.

www.stewmac.com

 

[Freeman Keller]

bingo

 

[skunqesh]

So it begins:


I’m choosing the diy fab approach because i want to avoid drilling new holes (the Kluson TP anchor has a significant different shape), and this allows keeping the original TP trapeze up top.
Specs
2x12” -2mm thick 304 stainless steel piece.
If I screw up the first time I still have 2 more to go


The rough cut with a little shaping

 

[Freeman Keller]

The hard part will be rolling the part that holds the rod from the tailpiece itself. Nice thing about stainless is it will polish nicely and you don't have to worry about chrome plating it.