US558699A

US558699A - Tailpiece for musical instruments

Info

Publication number: US558699A
Authority: US
Publication date: 1896-04-21
Anticipated expiration: 1913-04-21

Description

(No Model.)

J. MURDOOK, Jr, TAILPIEGE FOR MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS.

No. 558,699. r Patented Apr. 21, 1896.

W' 1 m g w @W UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES MURDOCK, JR., OF CINCINNATI, OHIO.

TAILPIECE FOR MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 558,699, dated April 21, 1896.

Application filed September 12, 1895. Serial No. 562,235. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JAMES MURDOCK, J11, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Cincinnati, in the county of Hamilton and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Tailpieoes for Musical Instruments, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to tailpieces for stringed musical instruments. Its object is to provide a neat-appearing economical tailpiece for violins, guitars, mandolins, and similar stringed musical instruments, by which the strings may be readilyplaced and securely held without injury to the knotted ends.

To this end my invention consists in forming the tailpiece from sheet metal, shaped and formed as illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in connection with which the invention will be first fully described, and then particularly referred to and pointed out in the claims.

The drawings represent a guitar and a mandolin tailpiece formed of light sheet metal, preferably aluminium, of which metal my tailpiece may be readily and cheaply formed, without soldered joints.

Figure 1 is a plan view of the blank from which the tailpiece of the guitar is formed; Fig. 2, a side elevation of the piece after it has been bent or folded to its finished form. Fig. 3 is a plan or top elevation of the finished piece. Fig. 4 is an end elevation, looking in front of the head and toward the rear end of the tailpiece. Fig. 5 is an inverted plan view of the head end of the piece; Fig. 6, a longitudinal section, taken through line 1 1 of Fig. 3, showing one string in place. Fig. 7 is a detailed view similar to Fig. 4:, but with the strings in place. Fig. 8 is a top or plan elevation of the head end of a mandolin tailpiece. Fig. 9 is a front end elevation of the same.

The blank, Fig. 1, is stamped out to the form shown from sheet metal, preferably aluminium, but any other suitable metal may be employed. The shank portion A and the rear part a, back of the dotted line a: a", of Fig. 1, may be formed or shaped in any suitable design. The head or forward end A of the blank has projecting tenons or lugs a, formed by notching the front edge of the plate, and directly back of these tongues are perforations a through which the tongues pass when folded around to form the stringholding roll. The ends of the tenons which pass through the perforations are turned around over the inner face of the scroll-head, as clearly seen in Figs. 2, 4, 5, 7, and 9. Between the perforations a and tongues a in the head or scroll A are formed string-openings a The string is inserted by passing the knotted end through the perforations a drawing the knot under the notches, passing the string over the top of the head A, down through the perforations a and drawing it forward over the tongues a, as clearly seen in Figs. 6 and 7. It will be seen that the smooth scroll portion of the head takes up the strain of the string and prevents the edge of the notches from cutting the knotted end of the strings, and any string may be removed or replaced without disturbing the others.

For a mandolin-head, as shown in Figs. 8 and 9, two notches branch from the opening a to pass the strings, and it is obvious that the number of string-openings and the mannor of forming the rear part a may be varied to suit the different kinds of instruments in which tailpieces are employed. Such changes will readily occur to the skilled mechanic without any detailed description.

It would be but an inferior modification of my invention to omit the tenons a and fold the plain edge of the roll A down on top of the plate in line with the perforations a In either case the strain of the strings tends to hold the scroll-head firmly and prevents its spreading, thus obviating all necessity for soldering or otherwise securing the edge of the scroll after it has been turned to the desired form.

IrVhat I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The hereinbefore-described blank for forming tailpieces for musical instruments, stamped from sheet metal to the form shown, having a series of perforations to pass the strings, a series of perforations in front of them to receive the knotted ends of the strings,

IOO

strument after passing partially around the tube.

In a tailpiece for musical instruments, the head, A, having perforations, a a and tenons, a, said tenons passing through the perforations, a and folding under the tubular portion of the said head, substantially as sho\ n and described.

JAMES MURDOCK, JR.

Vitnesses:

HOWARD II. RALSTON, GEO. J. l\IURRAY.