The Steel Guitar Forum

Any suggestions on how to straighten bent tuner pegs, seem common on lap steels.

thanks

if it's ivory ends, be prepared to be really careful. Heat gently with a torch, be careful to keep the torch far enough away where it won't discolor the chrome. Go slow. Use a vise and straighten slowly. Harrison

If it's metal the torch will melt the solder holding the knob on the shaft...I just did that. From my and my Father's experience, replace it!

Unfortunately I've got a 1930's 3-on-a-side tuner that lost its button (age disintegration) and, I would guess, was tuned using pliers or visegrips on the bare stem. This would be a good explanation for the bent stem. I haven't been playing this guitar so I haven't addressed the issue but I worry that trying to bend it back will snap it off. Seems to me there is no safe way to bend a metal stem back to straight & true. I'd love to learn otherwise, though.

I have been successful at straightening tuners on my old Oahus. The steel is soft to begin with or it would not have ended up bent. You remove the tuner and the shaft and gear. Hold the tuner securely in a soft jawed vice (brass) and turn the bend into the vise jaw so as not to distort the holding bracket when you apply SLOW STEADY pressure with smooth jawed or padded pliers. Do not use a long handled tool as you want to feel that the metal has some resistance to your efforts. When it feels like its getting easier to straighten you are feeling a stress fracture. Stop and buy a new set. Remove the button if necessary. This usually works well for the first bend not so well on a rebend. Watch out for damage to the two brackets that hold the shaft, too much free play hear will cause tuning problems later. If you want to send them to me I will give it my best shot free of charge, you pay shipping.

When limited time and circumstance is a consideration: I've had good luck many times using small needle nose pliers with the tuner still installed on the guitar. I grasp the bent shaft with the deeper flat part of the pliers jaws plane perpendicular to the tuner's bent plane, and slowly bend it back with the jaws clamping pressure, sometimes slow and slight twisting force required. Don't fully insert the pliers jaws because doing so will concentrate the bending moment where the shaft enters the shaft boss (tuner casing hole for the shaft); Leave some room for a curved rather than concentrated bend at the boss; The pliers jaws spreading the clamping / straightening force over the curved length of the bend beyond the boss. Keep the inward / outward pressure on the shaft neutral; Pulling the pliers outward away from the gear can agrivate stress failure, while pushing inward will again concentrate the bending upon the boss. The slighter the bend the better chances of success; And if the bend is more than average then I do what Robt. M. suggested.

You can also check with local guitar techs; Often they will have a bucket of old tuners for parts. Some tuners's parts are machine-pressed in assembly and will require some thoughtful surgery and hand "machining" (filing, crimping, etc) ...although sometimes it's just a matter of slip-in disassembly / reassembly. And if it's just a matter of disassembly / reassembly and no replacement parts, ...and a person has the time to do it, ...then Robt.'s suggestion should be given serious priority consideration ....imho.

I straighten them like Denny does,except that I use duck-bill pliars. I don't think heating the shaft will work without collateral damage to the buttons etc.

As usual, thanks for all the neat input and the generous offer of Robert Murphy to assist