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Permalink Reply by Mark on July 6, 2009 at 7:33am

I'm puzzled by this word "keystock" - sounds like an American term for something us Brits know by a different name (I tried looking it up in online dictionaries but got nothing). I'm making a guess that you might be talking about lengths of plain metal bar that are sold by DIY or engineering suppliers. If so then it's a perfectly reasonable choice for nuts and bridges.

I use 10mm square aluminium (I guess that would be 3/8 inch aluminum when translated into American). I reckon this has two advantages that stem from it being a bit softer than steel: First it's relatively easy to shape and finish (I use only hand tools and an electric drill); Second, an aluminium bridge or nut won't wear strings as much as a similarly shaped nut made from steel stock. In terms of sound it seems every bit as good as any of the alternatives. There are some close-up pictures of my designs on my website at www.airburst.co.uk/junkboxinstruments.

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Permalink Reply by William Bannier on July 6, 2009 at 8:55am

That is pretty much what I am talking about. You can get it in assorted lengths and thicknesses and I figured it would make a decent sound conductor.

Junk Box Instruments said:

I'm puzzled by this word "keystock" - sounds like an American term for something us Brits know by a different name (I tried looking it up in online dictionaries but got nothing). I'm making a guess that you might be talking about lengths of plain metal bar that are sold by DIY or engineering suppliers.

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