US3706254A - Guitar servicing tool - Google Patents

Abstract

A plastic guitar servicing tool in the form of a crank with a rotatable handle, the remote end of the arm of which is configured to provide a receptacle for the key by which each guitar string may be tightened or loosened, the wall of one end of the receptacle being notched to enable such end also to be used to pry out the pegs adjacent the bridge of the guitar, by slipping such notched end under the head of each peg and employing the tool as a lever to effect such prying.

Description

United States Patent Morin I [54] GUITAR SERVICING TOOL I [72] Inventor: Van Morin, Hollywood, Calif.

[73] Assignee: Astro Music Company, Inc., North Hollywood, Calif.

[22] Filed: April 25, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 247,484

52 Us. Cl ..84/458, 84/297 R, 84/452 P [51] Int. Cl. .......Gl0g 7/00 [58] Field of Search..Q.....84/453, 454, 458, 459, 267,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS I 152,934 7/1874 White ..84/458 762,723 6/1904 Hutchins...,.... ..84/458 2,812,682 11/1957 Longone et al ..84/4S8 [451 Dec. 19, 1972 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 261,654 5/1949 France ..84/458 Primary Examiner-Richard B. Wilkinson Assistant Examiner-John F. Gonzales AttorneyWilliam I-I. Pavitt, Jr.

[57] ABSTRACT 3 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures GUITAR SERVICING r001.

I BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION relative to the arm, the remote end of which is provided I with a receptacle to receive and grip the key of a guitar by the turning of which each string maybe tightened or loosened. This, however, has been the sole function of such prior art tools. Originally these-crank tools were fabricated of wood or metal. More recently tools of this type have been made of plastic.

The anchored ends of the strings of certain guitars, particularly those having metal strings, are ordinarily secured in holes ina wooden plate, located just behind the guitar bridge, by wooden or plastic pegs, each usually being slotted axially along one side and topped by a bulbous head. These pegs may be of wood or plastic and must be force-fitted into the holes in the plate in order to prevent the end of the guitar string from popping out when the string is placed under high tension. Heretofore, removal of such pegs has only been accomplished by the use of a plyers-type tool, whereby the user pulls the peg away from the plate in a direction normal to the plane of the plate. Although the pegs could also be pried out of their holes, this was not done with the prior art crank-type tools for several reasons: I

When the cranks were made of wood, were the receptacle wall used to pry the peg, the force necessary for this purpose would be too great, so that the wooden wall would rupture. With cranks made of metal, any prying of pegs with the crank receptacle, using the guitars wooden plate as a fulcrum, would quickly mar the appearance of the wooden plate, to the great dislike of the guitar owner. Nor have plastic cranks been utilizable for this purpose. When prying is tried, the plastic lip of the receptacle wall simply slips off the rounded peg head as levering pressure is applied.

Thus, none of the crank-type tools of the prior art have been utilizable for the removal of the guitar pegs so that the tuner or repairman has been forced to have available, in addition to his cranking tool, a second plyers-type tool in order to remove the force-filled pegs from the holes in the plate where the end of each guitar string is anchored, and accomplish his repair and tuning of the instrument.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention enables the guitar tuner or repairman to remove the guitar pegs without the need for a second tool. This capability is attained by modifying the receptacle of the plastic crank-type tool to provide a thicker wall and a slot in the remote end thereof. The slot is specially configured to grip the rounded underside of the wooden peg head, and a sufficient length of plastic wall extends from the inner edge of the slot to the base of the receptacle to provide the required leverage to enable the user to pry out the pegs.

The basic crank-type tool, therefore, can now also serve as a convenient peg-remover. Because the slotted receptacle is made of plastic, it will not mar the wooden hole-plate when used as a lever, and the special slotting now prevents the slipping which occurred with the prior art plastic tool, were one to try to use it as a peg remover.

Although the present invention now disclosed, appears quite simple, it has not heretofore occurred to anyone, despite the many millionsof guitars in use and the long period over which the crank-type tools have been available for tuning and repairing guitars.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the accompanying drawings,

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a guitar showing the two locations where a tool constructed in accordance with the present invention may be employed;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation of the tool;

FIG. 3 is an end elevation of the tool;

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the tool;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged section taken on the line 5-5 of FIG. 1 and showing the prying end of the tool.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT In FIG. 1 there is illustrated a type of guitar 10 which is provided with a bridge 12 over which strings 14 extend from an anchoring plate 16 to the neck 18 of the guitar, where the strings 14 are rolled around the rotatable tightening shafts 20. In the better makes of guitars one end 22 of each of these shafts 20 is provided with a gear (not shown) which is turned by a pinion (also not shown), the end 28 of which has a thumbscrew or key 30.

Since metal strings, which are provided in most nonclassical type guitars, cannot be readily knotted and tied as are done in anchoring gut or nylon strings of classical guitars, the bridging portions 14a of the metal strings 14, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 5, are anchored behind the bridge 12 in holes 32 provided in the wooden plate 16 disposed adjacent the bridge 12, by means of balls or other small annular elements 36 attached to the ends 38 of the strings and wooden or plastic pegs 40 forced into the holes 32. Each peg 40 may desirably be slotted at 40a axially at least partway from the bottom end 40b towards its head 400 to receive the string 14 and secure it in the hole, while preventing the ball or annular element 36 from moving axially up the peg 40 and out of the hole 32. As those persons who are familiar with this type of guitar readily appreciate, in order well to secure the ends 14a of the strings in the holes 32, the pegs 40 must be force-fitted into the holes 32 and, once this is done, the pegs cannot easily be removed merely by pulling them out by ones fingers. Some type of prying instrument or plyers-type tool is required. If a prying instrument is employed, however, great care must be taken particularly with metal instruments to prevent the latter from scarring or otherwise marring the appearance of the wooden anchoring plate 16. As a consequence, therefore, persons tuning or repairing guitars have generally tended to employ a plyers or similar gripping device to pull the peg 40 out from the plate 16.

Another tool which has been employed by guitar tuners and repairmen is a small crank 42 with an arm 44 rotatable relative to its handle 46 and a receptacle 4 8 into which the thumbscrew or key 30 is received and held. When the crank handle 46 is rotated, the thrum? screw may be rapidly rotated, thereby to increase or decrease the tension of the string 14. Such a crank 42 has had the overall appearance {of the crank tool 49 shown in FIGS. 2-4, but without the slot 50 which has been provided in the tool so illustrated in these figures of the drawings, and without the wall thickening which the new function of the tool 49 renders desirable.

The tool 49 is molded of a plastic such as a high impact polyethylene or polypropylene. By providing the partial slot 50 in the end wall 52 of the receptacle 48, such receptacle may now be used to perform a second function, namely, gripping a peg and prying it out of its hole 32, as shown in FIG. 5. Because the end wall 52 is thus molded of a yieldable but rigid plastic, the tool 49 may be employed as a prying instrument without the danger of scarring or otherwise marring the surface'of the wooden anchoring plate 16.

The slot 50, to enhance its peg-gripping feature,

' desirably may include transverse inwardly extending rib 54 which may be angular in cross-section. To facilitate the peg-prying action, the bottom comer 56 two functions which heretoforewere required to be performed by two separate instruments.

lclaim: l I f g l. A guitar servicing tool, said tool being in the form of a crank comprised of ahandle and an arm disposed at a right angle tothe handle and rotatably attached to the end of the handle, 'said-armbeingmolded of a yieldable but rigid plastic materialv and including a receptacle disposed at its distal end from where the arm is attached to the handle and on the opposite side thereof, said receptacle being configured to receive,

when placed over a thumbscrew of a guitar, such thumbscrew, and to retain it during cranking thereof, said receptacle being defined in part by an end wall most remote from the crank handle, said end wall being partially slotted from its rim to receive and grip the underside of the head of an anchoring peg of the guitar, and said end wall further including an "unslotted base portion adapted to serve as a lever to pry out such peg, with the base corner of the end wall acting as a fulcrum.

2. A guitar servicing tool as described in claim 1, wherein the base corner of the end wall is rounded to facilitate levering action and to distribute the force required over a greater area, thereby to better avoid applying too much pressure to any particular spot on the face of the anchorning plate-of the guitar through the holes in which the pegs are forced in order to anchor the ends of the guitar strings.

3. A guitar servicing tool as described in claim 1, wherein there is provided in the slot a transverse angular rib to improve the gripping of the peg during prying action. v v

Claims (3)

1. A guitar servicing tool, said tool being in the form of a crank comprised of a handle and an arm disposed at a right angle to the handle and rotatably attached to the end of the handle, said arm being molded of a yieldable but rigid plastic material and including a receptacle disposed at its distal end from where the arm is attached to the handle and on the opposite side thereof, said receptacle being configured to receive, when placed over a thumbscrew of a guitar, such thumbscrew, and to retain it during cranking thereof, said receptacle being defined in part by an end wall most remote from the crank handle, said end wall being partially slotted from its rim to receive and grip the underside of the head of an anchoring peg of the guitar, and said end wall further including an unslotted base portion adapted to serve as a lever to pry out such peg, with the base corner of the end wall acting as a fulcrum.

2. A guitar servicing tool as described in claim 1, wherein the base corner of the end wall is rounded to facilitate levering action and to distribute the force required over a greater area, thereby to better avoid applying too much pressure to any particular spot on the face of the anchorning plate of the guitar through the holes in which the pegs are forced in order to anchor the ends of the guitar strings.

3. A guitar servicing tool as described in claim 1, wherein there is provided in the slot a transverse angular rib to improve the gripping of the peg during prying action.

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