Hard numbers on trem hardness...

[tanpsi]

They way I see it you can judge 2 of the 3 most important things about a locking trem by playing one for a bit:

Feel
Sound (or how it sounds in that guitar)

The one thing you can't tell is how long it will continue to function and stay in tune.

My understanding is that this is related to the hardness of the knife edges and posts.

So if a Korean Floyd feels and sounds good, and has the same metalurigiacial (spelling?)
hardness, it should hold up as good as a german OFR right?

Feel free to correct any assumptions I made here, I'm definitly no engineer!

So, how can we get these hardness numbers?

[tanpsi]

Did what I say make any sense to anyone?

I know there has been alot of talk about these korean trems on the new Charvels, wouldn't getting some hard numbers answer some of the questions?

[TommyD]

Hard numbers on trem hardness...

> On real-deal Floyds,I believe the baseplate and saddles are hardened to 60-65 on the Rockwell C scale,indicating these are made from a high-grade tool steel,and either oil,air,or water-hardened depending on exactly which tool steel was used.

This process would have taken place after heat-treating to about 1600 degrees. The parts are then hosed down with clean water,dipped in an oil bath,or allowed to cool in open air.

The parts are then ground clean and plated.

This process would make the parts every bit as hard as the black steel inserts used for knife-edges on lesser trems. So hard in fact,that in most cases,a file won't cut it,and it's even slightly brittle.

If the Schaller with it's thicker baseplate was as hard as the OFR,I think it would be superior.

The JT-6 would be a hell of a trem if it was made from high-grade parts. As it came stock,it would have been better even if made from common low-carbon steel,commonly referred to as "cold rolled". The quality of the metal in it was that bad.

I hope someone with more machining experience chimes in here,there are a few regular members here that do it for a living,but I'm heat-treating stuff in my machine shop class,so I know a little. Tommy D.

[tanpsi]

> On real-deal Floyds,I believe the baseplate and saddles are hardened to 60-65 on the Rockwell C scale,

Very cool Man! thanks, definitely increased my and other peoples knowledge, I think I'll do a little googling on Rockwell C scale, so I can better understand this.

Let me ask you, or anybody else this:

If the Korean Floyds are hardened to 60-65 would that mean they would probably be as durable
as the German ones, or are there other complicating factors?

Thanks again!

[dg]

My question is whether they harden the entire baseplate or just the area of the knife edges. I think I remember someone (Dave maybe?) saying they only harden the knife edges, so the whole baseplate doesn't end up brittle.