Repairing a Vintage Tailpiece

A client brought in a 1940s Epiphone Emperor archtop with the tailpiece broken. The piece that mounts to the rim had torn, so that there was no rolled-metal tube for the pin which holds the 2 pieces together.

In order to save the original tailpiece, I decided to make a new lower portion out of brass, from 1 piece milled to the same size as the original. I would then mount the broken piece over the new one, so that the original look and spirit would be intact. Rather than a rolled tube of thin brass, I chose to mill the pin tube into a solid block for extra strength. I can’t stress enough that this is not possible without a milling machine.

First, a 1/4″ thick slab of brass needed to be bored for the pin, then milled to the correct shape. Once this was done, I cut it out on the badsaw, drilled the holes, and viola! The photos say it all. Thanks for stopping by!