A Stafford Bender Design and Construction Paradigm Shift

I had already started the 3Bender design when Bob Stafford called to say he had a new idea. This guitar hardware design enhancement inspired a new and different configuration.  The idea of separating the bridge and the bender unit eventually improved reliability and manufacturability.

Bob and I still talk by phone occasionally.  

Once he called and asked me to make the trek back over to Locust Grove, OK. He said that he wanted to show me something.  So, a few weeks later, I made the 2.5 hour trip. When we visited the shop, he showed me a modified Fender Telecaster. He told me that he had been thinking about some of the challenges he had with manufacturing the bridge and this new version might be the solution. I agreed with him and offered to buy the guitar. He didn’t want to sell it. So, we went over his design and he let me take a few pictures and make a few sketches.  

Not until about a year or so later did he let me buy that second guitar that made a design impression on me. Pictured here is Bob with that modified design.