No bushings - problem?

[Derek Blalock]

I’ve started disassembling this clean and restore project I’ve started and realized that there are no bushings installed on the cross shafts. There is an adjustable metal “collar” of sorts on the back apron side but nothing on the front. They are held in place my the front and back aprons.

Do I need bushings in this situation? This is my first time doing this and I want to do it as “right” as I can, and it seems like they are held in place fine. But if they are necessary I certainly want to get some in there.

Rear


Front (hard to see I know)

[Ron Pruter]

No. Just oil now and then. Make sure you leave a little side to side looseness .RP

[Jon Light]

Might be a moot point. I mean, the way the shafts fit in the holes, could you even fit a bushing and still have movement? I'm a big fan of bushings and have had issues with one guitar whose flexing cross shafts makes the lack of bushings an issue. But if the parts are not machined to the specs required to add a bushing, you have a situation beyond just adding a part. (If what I'm saying seems sort of obvious.....sorry).

[Jim Pitman]

I'm a fan of bushings. I've had a couple guitars seize up due to the aluminum/oil slurry that gets created over time/use.

[Russ Wever]

. .
Front (hard to see I know) . .

Derek,
Sorry, I have nothing useful to
offer to the bushing discussion,
but your picture has me curious:

What are the two parts that the
Red Arrows are pointing to?

What is the purpose of the two
angle pieces indicated by the
Blue Arrows?
They appear to be
glued (epoxied) into place (?)

What build is this guitar?

Thanks,
Russ

[Ron Pruter]

The red arrows must be pedal rods. The epoxy parts, or rather why they are epoxied, has me stumped.

[Bobby D. Jones]

The rods marked with the Red Arrows are interesting. I wonder where the other end attaches. They are not pedal rods. The flat metal bars with a hole in them are where the pedal rods would hook.

UNDER SIDE OF MSA CLASSIC BORN JULY 9,1974


Looking at the lay out, A guess, Someone looked at the underside of a MSA Classic from the 1970's and using it as a pattern, Made parts, And assembled their own version of a steel guitar.
They did not include the cross rod bushings in their design. Visible in above picture. To install bushings in the guitar would take tearing it down till the side plates cross rod anchor holes could be drilled out, And bushings fitting the cross rods installed. It would take a lot of time and money, And still not make a dependable playable guitar.

Just a dab of Zebco silicone fishing reel grease should allow it to move. To see if it will work.

Some would call it a Frankenstin steel to work on and get it playing proper.

If you want to tinker, Go for it . SORRY, If you want to learn to play a steel guitar, Find a good guitar, OUCH!! pay the price, And start learning to play.
Good Luck in this project.

Voice of experience speaking, I used an old Sho-Bud for measurements and went down that road in about 1970, Got 3 pedals working perfect, Learned a lot on it, 1989 I bought a MSA S10 4/4. Now another MSA and 2 GFI'S 50 years later.

[Derek Blalock]

. .
Front (hard to see I know) . .

Derek,
Sorry, I have nothing useful to
offer to the bushing discussion,
but your picture has me curious:

What are the two parts that the
Red Arrows are pointing to?

What is the purpose of the two
angle pieces indicated by the
Blue Arrows?
They appear to be
glued (epoxied) into place (?)

What build is this guitar?

Thanks,
Russ

Hi Russ,
Sorry for the late response! The red arrows point to the stop screws for the pedals. They are fairly long.

This is a Frankenstein build that I picked up for cheap as my first project. That metal piece was epoxied there I believe because the pull was rubbing against the nut of the stop screw, so somewhere along the way somebody installed that piece as a lazy fix. I’ve filed it back some. As far as the vertical piece - I have no idea.

[Derek Blalock]

Here’s that spot zoomed out so you can see the stops

[Derek Blalock]

The rods marked with the Red Arrows are interesting. I wonder where the other end attaches. They are not pedal rods. The flat metal bars with a hole in them are where the pedal rods would hook.

UNDER SIDE OF MSA CLASSIC BORN JULY 9,1974


Looking at the lay out, A guess, Someone looked at the underside of a MSA Classic from the 1970's and using it as a pattern, Made parts, And assembled their own version of a steel guitar.
They did not include the cross rod bushings in their design. Visible in above picture. To install bushings in the guitar would take tearing it down till the side plates cross rod anchor holes could be drilled out, And bushings fitting the cross rods installed. It would take a lot of time and money, And still not make a dependable playable guitar.

Just a dab of Zebco silicone fishing reel grease should allow it to move. To see if it will work.

Some would call it a Frankenstin steel to work on and get it playing proper.

If you want to tinker, Go for it . SORRY, If you want to learn to play a steel guitar, Find a good guitar, OUCH!! pay the price, And start learning to play.
Good Luck in this project.

Voice of experience speaking, I used an old Sho-Bud for measurements and went down that road in about 1970, Got 3 pedals working perfect, Learned a lot on it, 1989 I bought a MSA S10 4/4. Now another MSA and 2 GFI'S 50 years later.

Bobby, I definitely understand that. I’ve got my everyday player. This is a project that I went into knowing I might end up throwing it out a window out of frustration, but so far everything is going as planned. Just needed a good ole project while stuck at home so much from the virus.