Creating a wooden endpin

[Burns-bass]

I recently became interested in picking up a wooden end pin. I bought the one here for £25 but it doesn’t fit (10mm spike!).

 

So I’ve decided to build one. In fact, I’m going to build two.

 

I’ve got the wood and fitted the stoppers. Need to measure the ideal length and cut the wood then stick the spike in (Gorilla Glue!).

 

One will be for barefoot practice at home and the other (slightly longer) will be for gigs where I wear shoes.

 

Total costs so far is £7.

 

Will let you know how it goes!

 

 

[Owen]

Dowel, walking stick end stop and a correct diameter rod measured to size. Drill the stick and glue the metal in? Put some nice oil on the wood to make it look shiny and lush, obv.

 

Is that it?

[Burns-bass]

2 hours ago, Owen said:

Dowel, walking stick end stop and a correct diameter rod measured to size. Drill the stick and glue the metal in? Put some nice oil on the wood to make it look shiny and lush, obv.

 

Is that it?

Literally the exact steps.

 

I figure it should take about 15 minutes.

 

Chose maple and ebony to see if that makes a difference (it won’t).

 

 

[Beedster]

21 minutes ago, Burns-bass said:

Literally the exact steps.

 

I figure it should take about 15 minutes.

 

Chose maple and ebony to see if that makes a difference (it won’t).

 

 

 

Eucalyptus 👍

[Burns-bass]

1 hour ago, Beedster said:

 

Eucalyptus 👍

Vintage Fender wood. I’ll use the core of a pre CBS jazz bass because you just can’t get tone like that from a modern piece of wood, as you know.

[Burns-bass]

Done.

 

It’s much more stable than the old endpin so perfect for outdoor gigs and things. It’ll also make setting up easier.

 

The fit was good enough without the pad so I may or may not remove that.

 

Total cost of materials was £6.50

 

Tools I already had. Time about half an hour.

 

 

[philparker]

Looks great! Very cheap as well compared to the ones for sale - I had one (bought from here, new) on my first bass that stayed with it when I sold the bass.

[Burns-bass]

4 minutes ago, philparker said:

Looks great! Very cheap as well compared to the ones for sale - I had one (bought from here, new) on my first bass that stayed with it when I sold the bass.

I guess if you charge the time it takes and aim to make a bit of profit the £40 or whatever it costs isn’t too bad.

[Owen]

Enough idle chatter. Tell about THE TOOOOOOONE!!!!!

[NickA]

What was the wood?  Broom handle?

[Burns-bass]

1 hour ago, NickA said:

What was the wood?  Broom handle?

 

Haha, no. This was a 2.5cm dowel made of beech I bought from Temu (I know it’s an awful shop!)

 

This was more a “proof of concept” if you like. I just thought I’d see what happens.

 

The process is simple and you could easily use an oak dowel or a maple one. Oak is more expensive at about £5 for a 30cm long piece, so your total materials cost would likely be about £8. 

 

Maybe I’ll try an oak one next and see if it makes a difference.

 

Oak dowel:

 

https://www.google.com/shopping/product/1?q=2.5cm+oak+dowel&sca_esv=61be2594c95dedbf&rlz=1C9BKJA_enGB1123GB1123&hl=en-GB&biw=1366&bih=905&tbs=vw:l&prds=num:1,of:1,eto:14665320379539976252_0,prmr:1,cs:1

 

[Burns-bass]

You could make 10 posts from this batch, so wood cost would be about £2.50!

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Pack-Premium-Quality-European-Dowel/dp/B0B7KL8KY1/ref=sr_1_3?crid=2TC1M9BP6FP62&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.ERPkfiRhBH4PIPVJooVNVes3Ale1EAmWvznBupufpQznZlbXU2KWLnXeMgBO7W5ejEGK7AR9ez4eQjGTdtPg6JSB3UvVuqnofpIHRnqA_UASJIFKWKe1f2BeycR4MUpnABdYRl8eyc_gU4btNk1tQ2MdYwsLKo0SYfxFewiQs0l0s-qpiSlRbmgZU8Ks4f0bpiviBgL6LakhtB5szGji2OlLgHI47LpYcOXBuB3cYwo.9mg4CPr4gLYhQStJfG3AMsKz_UZCO5mXTX9j9Pbhba8&dib_tag=se&keywords=Oak+dowel+25mm&nsdOptOutParam=true&qid=1731977410&s=diy&sprefix=oak+dowel+25mm%2Cdiy%2C74&sr=1-3

 

Anyone fancy trying one?

[Burns-bass]

10 hours ago, Owen said:

Enough idle chatter. Tell about THE TOOOOOOONE!!!!!

 

It sounds better to me, but not much. I would say the wooden end pin (for me) is about convenience. 

 

I literally can hear no difference on this video. See if you can!

 

 

[Beedster]

This is how business empires start 😆

[Burns-bass]

1 hour ago, Beedster said:

This is how business empires start 😆

 

I already run a couple of businesses so it wouldn't be a big enterprise. But creating them wouldn't be a challenge. Let's see if there's any interest.

 

The sticking point is that you need to have a removeable endpin so the market is somewhat limited.

 

 

[Burns-bass]

Ok, have played for an hour today and it’s noticeably stronger tone and the bass moves around an awful lot less than the previously not very solid metal one. This is a win for wood. 

[NickA]

9 hours ago, Burns-bass said:

have a removeable endpin

Saw off the pointy end and most of the rod, then push the rest into the bass, then extract through the f-holes. 

 

Does the rubber stopper stay put?  My experience of rubber tips is that they slide about and wear through.  Gone back to a sharp pointy end.

[Burns-bass]

24 minutes ago, NickA said:

Saw off the pointy end and most of the rod, then push the rest into the bass, then extract through the f-holes. 

 

Does the rubber stopper stay put?  My experience of rubber tips is that they slide about and wear through.  Gone back to a sharp pointy end.

To be fair, I’ve not played it long enough and anywhere other than my carpeted room. I’ve glued the stopper in place and it seems solid but you’re right that it will inevitably wear out over time. 
 

On the metal spike (which I’m still keeping and will always take to gigs) I use this:

 

https://www.thomann.co.uk/wolf_super_endpin.htm?glp=1&gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAADuDMCX8xPj0-8EnpxBIKWRya_On0&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIlpLIpazpiQMVnJpQBh3oIAkwEAQYASABEgKIPPD_BwE

[NickA]

I've one of these:

 

  https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/152659424030?chn=ps&_ul=GB&mkevt=1&mkcid=28&google_free_listing_action=view_item

 

But on carpets and that rubbery stuff they put on stages, I just go with the pointy bit.

 

The rubber end that came with the end pin does prevent people cutting through the bass section at tea break from being speared in the legs.

[Burns-bass]

6 hours ago, NickA said:

I've one of these:

 

  https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/152659424030?chn=ps&_ul=GB&mkevt=1&mkcid=28&google_free_listing_action=view_item

 

But on carpets and that rubbery stuff they put on stages, I just go with the pointy bit.

 

The rubber end that came with the end pin does prevent people cutting through the bass section at tea break from being speared in the legs.

Physically injuring a cellist won’t win you many friends!

 

People probably wondering why I bother, but I had to cancel a gig once as someone broke a carbon fibre end pin on my bass. (Hated that thing, far too much flex)

[Beer of the Bass]

My endpin is the larger diameter steel tube type, so the right diameter dowel slots right in. I tried both walnut and oak, I *think* they sound subtly different from each other, but the difference between wood and metal is the more noticeable, it's a little bigger sounding. The rubber stopper I used on the wood does like to wear through, so I only really bring out the wood pin if it's an unamped setting where I'm shooting for every last drop of projection available.

[Burns-bass]

21 minutes ago, Beer of the Bass said:

My endpin is the larger diameter steel tube type, so the right diameter dowel slots right in. I tried both walnut and oak, I *think* they sound subtly different from each other, but the difference between wood and metal is the more noticeable, it's a little bigger sounding. The rubber stopper I used on the wood does like to wear through, so I only really bring out the wood pin if it's an unamped setting where I'm shooting for every last drop of projection available.

 

This is really interesting. 

 

The stopper on the post is a standard 1" fitting and at 50p a time is hard an issue to cut off and replace when needed I guess.

[NickA]

7 hours ago, Burns-bass said:

far too much flex

Especially after my failed attempts to mend it 😂😂. 

 

I've a carbon one on my cello; it's super stiff and light and, I think, improves the tone ( tho that may be the £100+ I spent on it speaking). 

Edited Wednesday at 13:18 by NickA