Wrench for endpin jack

For those of you who have retrofitted a pickup with an endpin jack into a ukulele, what tool do you use to tighten the jack nut inside the body cavity? I'm sure StewMac probably sells a specialty wrench for $35, but I'm wondering if there's any DIY tool I could bodge together for one-time use. It would have to be something that can be used by going through the sound hole, and has to be able to deal with the cable coming off the back of the jack - right?

My initial thought is to maybe cut a slot (for the wire to pass through) into a deep socket of the appropriate size, then use an extension and ratchet with the ratchet handle sticking up through the sound hole. Is there an easier way, or a way that won't cause me to take a grinder to my socket set?

Dealing with the cable ... what's the opportunity of disconnecting the cable from the electronics, threading the cable through an appropriate spanner/wrench for tightening the nut (I'm thinking box spanner here, not socket), then reconnecting the cable afterwards?

Alternatively, I've used what is known as a "crows-foot" spanner in the past ... probably best you do an on-line search for that term rather than me trying to describe it

Good luck :music:

Yeah, if I could buy just one crowfoot socket in the right size, that would work. My idea of cutting a slot in a deep socket would work in a similar manner - open on the side for the wire to pass through. Unfortunately, I don't see a way to connect the wiring after the installation.

Well I might be missing something here, but in my experience you don't tighten the endpin jack from the inside - you do it from the outside. The inside nut is adjusted freehand to the correct thickness of the endblock, then the jack is inserted through the hole, and the outside nut is then tightened. To tighten the outside nut you typically place a nail or allen key through a hole in the jack on the outside, and then tighten with an open wrench - not a socket - with the nail keeping the jack from rotating. After that you screw the strap holder onto the end of the jack just finger tight. If you ever do need to adjust the inside nut you back out the entire jack till you can reach it inside the sound hole.

SpaceForRent said:

Yeah, if I could buy just one crowfoot socket in the right size, that would work. My idea of cutting a slot in a deep socket would work in a similar manner - open on the side for the wire to pass through. Unfortunately, I don't see a way to connect the wiring after the installation.

Click to expand...

For the purposes of doing this one relatively light-duty job, how about making a basic crows-foot spanner? Take a length of steel of appropriate gauge and dimensions, cut an open recess in the end to accept the nut in question, square would be fine, it doesn't need to be hexagonal, bend that end to 90 degrees, utilize then discard?

Just a thought

:music:

besley said:

Well I might be missing something here, but in my experience you don't tighten the endpin jack from the inside - you do it from the outside. The inside nut is adjusted freehand to the correct thickness of the endblock, then the jack is inserted through the hole, and the outside nut is then tightened. To tighten the outside nut you typically place a nail or allen key through a hole in the jack on the outside, and then tighten with an open wrench - not a socket - with the nail keeping the jack from rotating. After that you screw the strap holder onto the end of the jack just finger tight. If you ever do need to adjust the inside nut you back out the entire jack till you can reach it inside the sound hole.

Click to expand...

It looks like you're right! I was totally over-thinking this and completely overlooked the hole in the side of the shaft near the outside edge. Saved me a trip to Harbor Freight (king of "I just need this tool once" outlets) to buy a set of crow foot sockets. Thanks!