Hi, I sometimes use the type of hinge pictured as a tailpiece, but recently found a weak spot with them.
One side of the "flap" has one knuckle and the other side has two, with a pin going trough both sides making the hinge. I found that if the strings are fitted to the side that has the one knuckle, the knuckle could pull through, as shown in the photo.
I would suggest screwing the one knuckle side to the guitar and using the other side for the tailpiece. I tried it and it works fine. It may depend on what tuning or what gauge of strings you use that causes this to happen, but if you are selling a CBG you my not know what the customer does.
Just a thought. Taff
Replies
by putting the single barrel side over the edge, the force is applied at the base of the single barrel where it's not been fatigued by shaping. doing it the other way round puts the force in the middle of the bend that formed the barrel where it has been weakened by the shaping. If you face mount it, it won't matter which end has the strings the force is in the middle and you risk it opening also.
I bought/used them for the embossed effect on the top, they do not look good any other way around.
The good thing is I could not tune the guitar from the very start due to the metal stretching or unrolling off the pin, so I fixed it straight away.
Cheers Taff
this is what I mean
I turned the hinge around and had two knuckles holding string pressure, and they did not pull through.
Either way, the pin is contacted against knuckle of the flap (as per your drawing)that screws to the body.
Cheers Taff
I just used cbgitty's hinge tailpiece in a 3-string build that went out to a customer yesterday. I hope the two knuckle side was supporting the strings. There is a clear difference between the two sides and I used the finished side as the top without a second thought. I definitely see how this could be a serious problem. Thanks for the tip.
Taff
I use the same type of hinge quite a lot. Never paid attention to how I put it on. Now I will. Thanks.
That's the kind of hinge I used on my last build, definitely stronger