Repairing endpin rubber

Rubber Endpin Stopper

Some of the rubber stoppers on the endpins of basses have an effective life of about 2 hours. By that I mean  as soon as the weight of the bass is put on them (in a playing position) the rubber distorts and starts to split  leaving a sharp metal point which manages to gouge holes in the floor, back of the car and probably you as it is lifted to and from a vehicle. Better made endpins have a screw on rubber stopper which can be removed when occasionally you need to anchor your bass to the floor for a performance. 

It is possible to buy the replacement rubbers for the endpins but why would you bother when the life of the previous one was so short. The solution is a rubber doorstop by Zenith which is available from the hardware store for about $3. It has a convenient hole for a screw which is just the right size for a 10mm endpin. It is important that the ferrulle is still on the endpin as this stops the pointy end from working its way through the rubber. It is large and hard wearing and if you need to refine/customise the shape it can be done easily with a disc sander or course sandpaper.