The first concept for the picks and Pick Bridge were more of a learning experience than anything (see my previous log post). I had two issues to overcome:

1) The picks would break easily after only a short period of use.

2) The pick axles were a loose fit in the Pick Bridge, and made a lot of clanking noises when the picks were turned quickly.

The solution to #1 was a new pick design concept, which I call the Spiral Pick, where spiral-shaped fingers protruded from the pick axle to make contact with the string when the pick was rotated. The spiral design reduced the strain on the pick features, and eliminated the breakage problem while still allowing the required flex of the pick when the string is strummed.

The solution for the noise issue was to move to a ball-bearing setup (obvious?). I also added set screw height adjustments for each pick, so that you could make the sound more consistent between strings. Here's the new design with half of the pick bridge set aside:

Here's the Pick Bridge assembly, completed.

The new picks worked beautifully! No more breakage, no more clanking noise from the pick axles slopping around, so now we can move on to the drive system.