Coordinator rod

November 20 2012, 4:38 AM  by Shawn Hoover

I've been leery of cranking up to full tension without this hybrid
dowel stick/coordinator rod to stabilize the shape of the rim.

Threaded inserts in the rod receive the tailpiece bolt and a short
piece of all-thread threaded into the lower threaded cross dowel in
the neck. The 11/32" pilot holes drilled like butter compared to the
1/4" holes in the neck heel. I think I'll chalk it up to the hard
maple center laminations in the neck being very hard. Maybe the drill
bit had something to do with it, too?

Turns out threaded inserts aren't much fun to work with. They didn't
go in straight (I'm not sure if that was due to crooked holes or my
threading technique), and one of them stripped out a bit of wood
before locking in place. As I find myself saying almost every post
lately, it works. (And as parenting has taught me to qualify every
positive statement: for now.)

68 views and 2 responses

  • Nov 20 2012, 8:04 AM
    Monica responded:
    Another pin stripe! I like it, I like it.
  • Nov 24 2012, 6:29 AM
    Shawn Hoover responded:
    Thanks! I do enjoy the pinstripes. Fortunately it's never all that much extra work.