Guitar Bridge Pin Shop

 Welcome to our gallery showing our guitar pin shop here in Ohio. We start with unique materials of the highest quality. For acoustical properties, harder materials such as bone and fossil ivory bring out a brighter and clearer sound in your guitar than softer materials such as wood and plastic that render a softer and muddier sound.

 High grade North American cattle bone is used for our bone pins and we purchase the Fossil Walrus Ivory and Fossil Walrus Jawbone from sources in Alaska where legal well documented materials are found or dug up by natives on fee simple, native and private landholdings.The fossil mammoth ivory (FMI) arrives from Russia with all proper international import and CITES papers.

 Scroll through the photos to see the materials and our fine machining operation where your pins are made with precision and with care. 


Clean Room Turning Center
A total of 10 lathes. From WW II era American made Atlas' to modern Prazi German.




20,000 year old "A Grade" Russian Fossil Mammoth Ivory (FMI)





Hand Work - Lots of it !
The inlaying, filing, sanding and buffing are all done by hand.




Musical Instrument Grade Russian FMI
Current stock has been aged (removed from the ground) 20+ years




Cutterheads
Precision cutterheads shape the pin heads. CNC lathes do not cut clean collars and heads like our precision cutterheads do.




Mert at work !
Former precision bearing machinist making your pins.




Musical Instrument Grade Russian FMI
In the trade of ancient ivory, tusks are cut into sections that are commonly referred to as fireplace logs. This allows the buyer to inspect the end grain for flaws and various types of growth ring and radial cracks.




Rough cutting FMI with Carbide Tipped 36" bandsaw
As good as this material is, carbide teeth are required for rough cutting.




End Pins & Strap Buttons
Making your End Pins and Strap Buttons.





The colorful bark of FMI cannot be captured for pins due to structural integrity concerns.




Inlaying and Pressing
Setting the inlays by hand with a press. We make our own inlays as well !




Multi-Stage Lathe Process
No CNC's here but multi-stage processing gives us time savings AND quality.




FMI Fireplace Logs
The ends are sealed with clearcoat to keep the ivory from micro-cracking.




Triple checking shaft diameters
Shafts need proper tapers and precise diameters. Something China is not producing.