Paul Bigsby Aluminum Casting Methods?

[Tim Toberer]

Are there any pictures or specifics about this anyone can share? I know a bit about it just curious what is known about Bigsby. Found some on the web, but thought it could be a good discussion. Not many people seem to do this anymore. I have wanted to get into aluminum casting for a long time. Probably a huge learning curve.

About 20 years ago I got this book and started collecting some things to build a foundry, but then life happened. Maybe when I retire ha ha ha! If I were to do it today, I wouldn't use charcoal, probably gas. This guy built his whole shop from homemade aluminum castings. https://theswissbay.ch/pdf/Books/Surviv ... 0scrap.pdf

[Chris Lucker]

Bigsby did not do his own casting, but it was sand casting. There was a shop walking distance from his home that did casting and buffing, and others all around the Los Angeles area that he likely knew of from motorcycle parts casting.
My advice would be go to where your area hot rod and vintage motorcycle guys get their parts cast. And while you are in the vintage motorcycle restoration shop, ask to look at their spare magneto collection. You will see where the first horseshoe pickups came from—when the thicker horseshoes were the magnets.

[Bill Ladd]

Always good to see you here Chris

[Tim Toberer]

I know Bigsby was a trained pattern maker, but not surprised he didn't do the casting. It would be cool to see the original patterns.

What got me thinking about this again was a trip to a local museum which is an old windmill factory that basically closed up shop and has all the original tools from the early days. They had all of their patterns laid out and you could see the whole process from bare metal to windmill parts. Pretty cool. Instead of setting up my own foundry maybe I should learn make my own patterns.

[Mark Perrodin]

check out Kelly Coffield on youtube. he makes incredible casting patterns and pours his own aluminum.

or look up Brian Oltrogge, an industrial designer that casts aluminum.

[Brad Bechtel]

You should probably contact Todd Clinesmith directly with your questions.

[Chris Lucker]

Here are the photos of the Bigsby molds when Paul Warnik had them along with the stock of Bigsby steel guitar parts. Paul Warnik had acquired the steel guitar stuff and Fred Gretsch had acquired the guitar and Vibrato stuff from Ted McCarty.

Bigsby moulds.jpg

[Chris Lucker]

Here is another page of molds.

Bigsby moulds2.jpeg

[Chris Lucker]

Crocker_12_side_front.jpg

Notice that Bigsby used the footrest or foot shifter or whatever casting for a Crocker motorcycle as the pivoting top of a Bigsby Volume-Tone Pedal!

[Tim Toberer]

Here are the photos of the Bigsby molds when Paul Warnik had them along with the stock of Bigsby steel guitar parts. Paul Warnik had acquired the steel guitar stuff and Fred Gretsch had acquired the guitar and Vibrato stuff from Ted McCarty.

Thank you Chris! Crazy how something so crude looking can make something so beautiful. I suppose they just have to work. I can't figure out what the photo is below the headstocks and tone changers.
It appears the fretboards were cast separate?

[Bruce Zumsteg]

The last picture is a drilling fixture for the tuning key head stock.

[Chris Lucker]

Bruce is correct. Think bass side/treble side drilling jigs.
The cast necks with built-in fretboards, called "raised graphics" by collectors, was discontinued with the Lee Buck triple eight string guitar with no pedals (August 15, 1953). The cast fretboards were used on guitars with the full wood neck/tailpiece/keyhead until replaced with the screened metal fretboards. Frankly, I always assumed Bigsby salvaged the raised graphics fretboards from badly pitted cast necks to use on wood neck guitars, but I see he had a pattern for them.
Lee Buck is a short scale Bigsby and the frets are in the wrong place for correct intonation. When Chance Roulette used a 25" scale neck off my 1950 Bob Tucker Bigsby to use as a pattern to cast new necks, Chance found that the necks he produced matched the shorter scale length of my Vance Terry Bigsby! So, the shorter scale is a product of the aluminum shrinking. The frets are still in the wrong locations on the short scale necks.
Nuts etc were modified by adding modeling clay to the pattern -- the same with Wright castings. I imagine that is what the hot rod and motorcycle casting guys did too. Today, I imagine you would simply 3-D print a pattern for sand casting.
If you look at the two examples of finished keyheads you sill see an odd keyhead that looks un-Bigsby. I actually had a D-10 with those keyheads. This keyhead style facilitates pivoting tuning keys. I don't think Bigsby had a jig for drilling the Kluson mounting screw holes for these oddball ten string keyheads. See how crooked the Klusons are?

Odelle keyhead changer top view.jpg

Odelle keyhead lower under1.jpg

Odelle keyhead no jig for drilling holes.jpg