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Topic: Ball Bearing Rollers |
Stu Schulman
From:
Ulster Park New Yawk (deceased)
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Posted 14 Sep 2005 12:30 pm |
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| My friend Josh Dubin had George Sell build him a beautiful D-10 years ago and It had Ball Bearing rollers.I was wondering if the grooves were cut into the bearing,or did he use a sleeve that went over the bearing?and does anybody use the bearing method these days,Or does everybody use them?Thanks.By the way Josh's guitar was stolen at least twenty years ago,One of a kind rosewood front,maple aprons GES logo. |
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Mike Vallandigham
From:
Martinez, CA
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Posted 14 Sep 2005 12:58 pm
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I have a '69 ZB Custom D-10, and it has Ball bearing rollers. it looks like the groove is cut into the outer race of the bearing, not in a sleeve slipped over the outer race.
Interesting this came up. I had one of those crack, and the little balls were coming out...well I called Tom Bradshaw, and he couldn't believe my guitar had ball bearing rollers. he had a pile of take off rollers from ZB's and they were all solid rollers. well anyway, I replaced the bearing roller w/ a solid one. We put it under the tenth string, and moved them all up (the one that cracked was under the 2nd or 3rd string.)
Morever, the grooves in the bearing rollers were guaged!!! dont know about the accuracy, but the fat strings DEFFINATELY have wider(and maybe deeper) grooves. Yeah, I know depth is what counts...but still. Slick little set up.
More info than you wanted, I'm sure
Other ZB owners! do your guitars have BB rollers? |
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Donny Hinson
From:
Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.
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Posted 14 Sep 2005 1:07 pm
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I would think ball bearing nut rollers are totally unnessary. The nut rollers move so little (only a few degrees of rotation), that all the benefits of a roller bearing are lost. I'll wager that someone made that modification to reduce the hysteresis, but it's definitely "over-engineering".
There's simpler ways to deal with that problem. |
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Mike Vallandigham
From:
Martinez, CA
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Posted 14 Sep 2005 1:23 pm
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LOL Donny. I totally agree w/ you.
sure do look cool though.
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Stu Schulman
From:
Ulster Park New Yawk (deceased)
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Posted 14 Sep 2005 7:04 pm
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| I would still like to try some grooved bearing rollers,I would also like to see the difference on a strobe tuner,just my curiosity,It seems to me that anywhere that you can reduce friction would help. |
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Bill Ford
From:
Graniteville SC Aiken
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Posted 16 Sep 2005 5:00 pm
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Where I used to work used the limit switches that had a hardened roller/w an oilite bushing in it, I finally scrounged 12 of then, and made a roller bridge that worked real well.They were about 3/8" od X 1/4" W with a 1/8 hole.
Bill |
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Barry Blackwood
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Posted 16 Sep 2005 6:18 pm
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| When I lived in northern California many moons ago, there was a guy - Greg Lasser in San Francisco - who provided the ball bearing rollers for my and anyone else's ZB's. It might have been overkill, but that ZB of mine stayed and played dead in tune more than any steel I've owned before or since ....! Wish I could find him now - maybe he could supply me with some for this Super Pro instead of these chincey brass ones that, (incidently,) don't work that well. [This message was edited by Barry Blackwood on 16 September 2005 at 07:24 PM.] |
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Joseph Solomon
From:
Newtown, Pennsylvania, USA
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Posted 17 Sep 2005 9:45 am
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| I am a personal friend of George Sell. He helped me immensely when I built my own guitar. I used Oil-Lite bearings, and he machined the grooves in them for me just like he did on the guitars he built himself. He is a great craftsman. |
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chas smith
From:
Encino, CA, USA
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Posted 17 Sep 2005 11:14 am
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| One of the things to keep in mind, about tone, is. The vibrating string makes the guitar body vibrate which then "backloads" the string to produce the tone of the guitar. The less "stuff" that the vibration has to pass through, the more direct the effect. |
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Jim Hussey
From:
Reno, Nevada - USA
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Posted 21 Sep 2005 8:09 pm
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| I'm the original owner of a ZB D10 from ~1974. I have ball bearing rollers that were made by Greg Lasser back in the 70's. Each bearing was hand grooved by gauge on a small lathe. Greg is still in SF. I don't know if he still turns the bearings, but if you want a replacement, I know how to contact him. |
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