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Broken Buttons |
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| On many old instruments, it is now impossible to get replacement buttons. They were either bone, ivory or plastic. Modern bluegrass style buttons are too large. It is even difficult to raid other old instruments, as the buttons often crumble as they come off. The only option has been to fashion my own replacements in bone. | |||||
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| I start with a piece of bone, nut material mostly, a little bigger than the button I need to make. | It is roughly shaped on the band saw or with a hacksaw.. | Afterwards it is shaped more accurately with a file to the required size. | |||
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| A 3mm hole is drilled by hand for mounting on the spindle. | To prevent slipping, many old spindles are squared off, so a square needle file is needed to achieve a square hole. | Finally the newly sanded and polished buttons is glued in place. The bone can be stained to match the colour of the original buttons. | |||
| New buttons available in most luthier suppliers. If you need help, drop me a line on the Contacts Page. | |||||
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