| Author |
Topic: Sierra players: I have a mechanical question |
Kerry Hutcherson
From:
Richmond, Virginia, USA
|
Posted 30 Jan 2012 12:18 pm |
|
I have a '78 Sierra "Timberwolf" (that's what I've heard it called, but I don't know if that's a common name). I think that other Sierras from the same era have similar legs, so I'm hoping that someone has encountered this problem before. If you have a '70s Sierra, I think you'll know what I'm talking about. If it turns out that no one has seen this sort of thing before I might post a couple of photos.
The other day I noticed that the right side of my pedal bar was a good two or three centimeters lower than the left side. I turned the guitar upside down in its case to check it out and discovered that the bottom part of the right front leg was slightly loose (just loose enough to move when I put pressure on the pedals and the pedal bar). For some reason Sierra made all four legs adjustable in height. Strangely, the back legs have easy-to-adjust screws that you can turn with your hand, but the front legs don't have anything like this. I'm not sure how one is supposed to adjust the front legs, but I noticed that when I pushed the lower part of the right front leg up and down there appeared to be several centimeters of height adjustability. I pulled the whole lower part of that leg out of the hole that connects to the upper part of the leg to get a better idea of how the thing was put together. Apparently, whatever was holding that part of the leg in place has broken.
The result of this movement is that the C pedal (and to a lesser degree, the B pedal) is hitting the floor when I engage it. I suppose that I could attempt to solve this problem by adjusting the pedal rod lengths, but even when I make the rods as short as possible the problem isn't completely solved.
If anyone has encountered and solved this strange problem, I'd love to get some advice as to what I should do. At this point I'm thinking of cutting a small length of a dowel rod that is a small enough circumference to insert in the hole that enters the upper part of the leg so that I can keep the lower part of the leg from sliding too far up into the upper part of the leg when I engage the pedals. That's the best fix I can come up with so far, but if someone has a better idea, I love to hear it. |
|
|
|
Fred Glave
From:
McHenry, Illinois, USA
|
Posted 30 Jan 2012 12:26 pm
|
|
That's the one thing about the Sierra's are the folding legs. I had an Sierra with the same legs and they worked okay but I wondered how long they would last. Since your's is broken, you have 3 choices. 1. Call Sierra and see if they have a repairable solution such as a replacement part. 2. Buy a new leg from Sierra. 3. Use your repair idea. The hole and dowell seems like a good idea. Maybe a small bolt and nut would work. But I'd check with Sierra first.
_________________
Zum Encore, Zum Stage One, Fender 2000, Harlan Bros., Multi-Kord, |
|
|
|
Tony Glassman
From:
The Great Northwest
|
Posted 30 Jan 2012 12:57 pm
|
|
The front legs are adjustable......at least they were when I was building guitars at Sierra (late seventies).
There should be some set-screws on the front square leg (in fact there may be two/leg), right above where the round inserts enter. Loosen them & adjust the round insert to the desired height and then re-lock'em.
Once you get'em where you like them, back out the set-screws, apply a dab of "blue" locktite to them and then re-tighten......that should hold forever. Do not over-tighten the screws.
If the set-screws are stripped, then try the dowels. |
|
|
|
Kerry Hutcherson
From:
Richmond, Virginia, USA
|
Posted 31 Jan 2012 6:27 am
|
|
Hey Fred and Tony,
Thanks for your input. It's good to know that you both seem to think that the dowel rod trick will work.
Tony,
I'm interested in trying to adjust the set screws, but I'm not sure what tool I need to use to adjust them. I thought that maybe a very small Allen wrench might do the job, but the hole in each screw appears to be round, not hexagonal as would be the case if it were designed to be worked with an Allen wrench. I just haven't had any experience with set screws before, so if you have a suggestion for how to loosen the screws I would really appreciate it.
Thanks! |
|
|
|
Joachim Kettner
From:
Germany
|
Posted 31 Jan 2012 7:03 am
|
|
Kerry I never noticed the front leg height adjustment screws before. Good to know about them! In my case a 3/32 size Allen wrench will loosen them. Maybe yours was just to small of size, (or in the worst case the screws are damaged).
_________________
Fender Kingman, Sierra Crown D-10, Evans Amplifier, Soup Cube. |
|
|
|
Kerry Hutcherson
From:
Richmond, Virginia, USA
|
Posted 31 Jan 2012 7:24 am
|
|
| Thanks, Joachim. I'll give that 3/32 wrench a shot and see if it works. |
|
|
|
Tony Glassman
From:
The Great Northwest
|
Posted 31 Jan 2012 7:54 am
|
|
If the holes have become rounded, try an "easy-out" which can be bought at any decent Ace Hardware or Lowe's. Then replace with new setscrews.
If the threads have been stripped, redrill and re-tap the holes to fit the next larger setscrew size. |
|
|
|
Bo Legg
|
Posted 31 Jan 2012 10:09 am
|
|
I don't know what year my Sierra is but it is an old one.
When you extend the front legs you should always place a spacer that fits between the square part of the leg and the top of the pedal rack to take the pressure off the set screws as well as keeping the leg from dropping if the set screws fail.
A short piece of pvc pipe the same diameter or slightly smaller cut to length and sawed the entire lengh of one side (this insures a snug fit and lets the cut side slide past the set pin in lower leg as you push it up the leg). Color the pvc with a silver magic marker. |
|
|
|
Ross Shafer
From:
Petaluma, California
|
Posted 1 Feb 2012 7:41 am
|
|
As per some of the comments above, it sounds like the set screw hex sockets are stripped. Just about any competent mechanic should be able to figure out a way to get them out so you can put new ones in. If you've got any auto, motorcycle, bicycle mechanic pals....or know a machinist, ask them for some help....six pack in hand (a well presented 6 pack of good beer can do wonders when trying to find someone to help out without charging too much). I'd be happy to do it for you, but sending the leg all the way to the left coast probably isn't neccesary....shipping a six pack would be expensive as well.
Also go to www.sierrasteels.com and nab yourself some new replacement knobs for your rig. For a limited time Sierra is offering free anodized aluminum replacements for the horrid plastic ones that came on their guitars originally. |
|
|
|
Ross Shafer
From:
Petaluma, California
|
Posted 1 Feb 2012 7:42 am
|
|
As per some of the comments above, it sounds like the set screw hex sockets are stripped. Just about any competent mechanic should be able to figure out a way to get them out so you can put new ones in. If you've got any auto, motorcycle, bicycle mechanic pals....or know a machinist, ask them for some help....six pack in hand (a well presented 6 pack of good beer can do wonders when trying to find someone to help out without charging too much). I'd be happy to do it for you, but sending the leg all the way to the left coast probably isn't neccesary....shipping a six pack would be expensive as well.
Also go to www.sierrasteels.com and nab yourself some new replacement knobs for your rig. For a limited time Sierra is offering free anodized aluminum replacements for the horrid plastic ones that came on their guitars originally. |
|
|
|
Kerry Hutcherson
From:
Richmond, Virginia, USA
|
Posted 2 Feb 2012 6:32 pm
|
|
| Thanks for all the input, fellas. Ross, I just noticed that offer for free knob replacements when I was fiddling around on the Sierra site a couple days ago. I'm definitely going to take them up on that. |
|
|
|
