Stringmaster assembly.

Pete McAvity · Post by **Pete McAvity** » 27 Jul 2023 10:11 am

Question for all- how are Stringmaster necks held together? Are there a big ole lag bolt under those diamond covers, or are the necks all just glued & smooshed?

Roy McKinney · Post by **Roy McKinney** » 27 Jul 2023 11:01 am

your first response!

J Fletcher · Post by **J Fletcher** » 27 Jul 2023 12:11 pm

Threaded rod with a type of nut that tightens with an Allen key . Runs the width of the guitar .

Pete McAvity · Post by **Pete McAvity** » 27 Jul 2023 12:53 pm

Thanks all!

Pete McAvity · Post by **Pete McAvity** » 27 Jul 2023 1:05 pm

One follow up- anyone ever had to source the lag bolts or use aftermarket bolts to put one back whole?

Bill Sinclair · Post by **Bill Sinclair** » 27 Jul 2023 6:26 pm

They're not exactly lag bolts, but 1/4" steel rods with about 1" of 1/4-20 threads on each end. One of the Allen socket nuts that J Fletcher described tightens down on each end of the rod. The nuts are a unique design that I haven't run across anywhere else but perhaps one of the machinists among us has. The body of the nut is tapered like the head of a flathead wood screw. Some of the early ones have a large flat blade screwdriver slot instead of the Allen socket. I have refurbished at least one Stringmaster that someone had used 1/4-20 all-thread rod and drilled a little deeper into the body so that a low profile hex nut and washer could be used to replace the missing special nuts. The diamonds are pretty low profile so the nut has to recess into the body somewhat. Anything deeper than two necks, I wouldn't use all-thread because it doesn't have the strength of a solid rod with threaded ends. How many necks does your Stringmaster have? I think I've sold all of my extraneous Stringmaster hardware but someone on the forum might have some. Pictures of your project will generate some interest.

Pete McAvity · Post by **Pete McAvity** » 27 Jul 2023 6:42 pm

Thanks, Bill. Not in my hands, but a potential quad that was split in half, so if the full length rods aren’t there that’s a check in the “maybe don’t aquire column”.

Bill Sinclair · Post by **Bill Sinclair** » 27 Jul 2023 6:54 pm

Are you thinking of restoring a quad? I think that's one pair of rods that I do still have. No spare nuts though. Also, I forgot to mention the weird little spacer/sleeves that go between the necks. You'd need six of them for a quad. Here's a picture of one with dimensions I did for someone on the forum a while back. I think Georgeboards made some up in plastic with a 3D printer. That should work just fine (they don't show after assembly).