Ash tray for stringmaster

[Dan Campbell]

Dan Campbell here from Caladesi Guitars. I am thinking of making some “ash trays” for the old Stringmasters. I make Stringmaster reproductions and a lot of people have lost theirs or they are in very bad shape. These are expensive to make because they have to be stamped as well as some additional hand work. The one’s I have gotten in the past are poor quality. So I need to know two things: (1) Is there a substantial need? I need to make 500 or 1000 to make them affordable (2) how much should they cost? How much would you pay for one?

Perhaps someone knows who makes these— I would consider buying some. Any suggestions will be appreciated. Dan

[George Piburn]

Hello from GeorgeBoards

WD parts in Fort Meyers Florida already sells the Kluson version.

You can make these fit easily, since you are not retrofitting original guitars that were hand routed and inaccurate compared to modern ways of routing.

I am fairly certain you already know about them.

Setting up a press fixture can get costly, then adding clean up - buffing and plating on top of the pressed plate add price to manufacture greatly.

If you plan to make 100's of your very nice instruments, it might be worth it but I personally would not count on a large market to sell aftermarkets to folks trying to save beat up old Fenders.

Back when I was making consoles we toyed with the tray concept, and opted to save a lot of coins making routed headstocks and ended up with nearly straight string to tuner pegs , verses the trays all having angled pulls.

[Dan Campbell]

Thanks George for the quick response. What I am talking about is not the tuner pan which Kluson makes - I’m talking about the bridge flip cover that goes over the blend pot behind the bridge. I should have said that in the original post to avoid confusion.

[Will Brown]

Jimmie Hudson use to make them I don't know if he still does or not He might have the equipment still might contact him see if it's for sale

[Dan Campbell]

Jimmie no longer makes them. I talked to him last week.

[Erv Niehaus]

There are two different types of bridge covers for Stringmasters.
The early ones didn't flip up, they were screwed down.
Erv

[Bill Sinclair]

Forum member Gary Rue made them (the flip up style) for his Kingpin and Stringmaster guitars. I don't know if they're the same size as the Fender or not.

It seems that $50 is the typical asking price for a used cover in decent condition. I think that's probably about what most people that are needing one would be willing to pay for a well made reproduction. I've been able to find them in the $25-$35 range because I wasn't in a hurry and snagged them when they came up. I think it would take a very long time to unload 500-1000 of them but others know the market better than I do.

[Dan Campbell]

Thanks Bill that was very helpful.