Update- new plastic trem bar bushings

[billy]

Hey everyone-

Been meaning to post about this- I got my prototype bushings but they need a little tweaking. I expect some new parts in about two weeks.

Feeling really good about them so far- I think they will be much more reliable and functional than the stock molded parts.

[vjmanzo]

So cool, @billy! Congrats!

Count me in on this!

[billy]

You bet, thanks VJ!

Just fyi- the molded part has draft on the ID, so it gets a little smaller where the two core pins in the mold meet. This actually is pretty nice- it gives a good lead in for the bar and can deform slightly at the split line to fit the bar exactly without being too tight.

Unfortunately I didn’t account for that and just made the Id uniform all the way through, as measured from the top of the original.

TLDR- the bar fits but it’s not as snug as it should be.

[mmmguitar]

For neither the first nor final time do I thank you and everyone who does this thankless R&D work to keep Flys flying.

[billy]

For neither the first nor final time do I thank you and everyone who does this thankless R&D work to keep Flys flying.

Glad it’s appreciated! I am happy to help if I can. FYI My guy had some issues getting black delrin. Also made a small mistake and remade them for me.

I sent one out for feedback from someone I trust. There’s one or two ways to install this version so I’m interested to know his opinion.

[Ekornbakke]

I will be needing some new bushings, so count me in for a few! How are the test results? Any news to report?

[vjmanzo]

Any news to report?

I’ll chime in as @billy was kind enough to make one for me: all in all, these are great and if I needed to replace the vibrato arm bushing in any of my USM-era Flys, I’d happily use these instead of a new old stock bushing. IMO, they’re as good as the ones USM was making and, actually, I feel more comfortable using these 1) because Billy made them and I trust his design and work sensibilities/abilities, and 2) because he implemented a few tweaks to ensure that they’re more reliable than the OEM part—can’t get much better than that!

I’ve fortunately never had one of the USM bushings break, but I have replaced one with one of the original hex stainless steel bushings because, to me, those ss bushings feel sturdier and I have been concerned that the USM bushings would crack with aggressive use. Billy’s bushings, to me, seem very sturdy and, while using it, I was not concerned at all that it would fail—it felt right. The vibrato arm fit nicely as it should and didn’t chatter around in a weird way. No complaints!

I’m not a virtuosic vibrato user, so please take that into consideration.

[billy]

Olav- it’s been a minute.

Thrilled with VJs comments, and got some from another person too.

I’m traveling atm but can make what I have available next week and I think there’s material left for another batch.

My cost is just under $20 ea and I’ll check postage asap.

Figure roughly about $23 us and $25-26 international if I can get flat envelope rates.