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Topic: New Threads for Legs |
Bruce Hamilton
From:
Vancouver BC Canada
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Posted 1 Apr 2008 5:51 pm |
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| I remember this topic coming up but I can't find it in a search. What is involved in the changing the threads on pedal steel legs and where can you purchase the threads? I have a few old legs I have had kicking around that could use new threads. |
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Roger Shackelton
From:
MINNESOTA (deceased)
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Posted 2 Apr 2008 12:43 am
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I believe the standard thread size on steel guitar legs is 1/2-13.
I personally prefer the 5/8-11 thread w/a taper below the threads, on the old Fender cable operated guitars. It's much stronger and makes the guitar sturdier. IMHO!
ROGER |
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Bruce Hamilton
From:
Vancouver BC Canada
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Posted 2 Apr 2008 5:29 am
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What I am referring to is replacing the worn threads in the legs with new thread plugs. I would like to know how to remove the old thread then install a new one.
How do you krimp the leg or do you just ram it in. Or is it even possible to replace the threads without some special equipment.
Thanks |
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Jim Palenscar
From:
Oceanside, Calif, USA
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Posted 2 Apr 2008 6:41 am
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| Remove the inner sleeve (the adjustable part of the leg)- get a steel rod that will fit in the leg (roughly 1/2 inch will do the trick)- about 36" long- slip it in the leg- turn it upside down and smack it on concrete several times and the old one will come out. Or- better yet- take it to a machine shop and have them press it out. |
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Paul Redmond
From:
Illinois, USA
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Posted 2 Apr 2008 9:31 pm
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If you're going to the trouble of 're-newing' the threads on your legs, knock out the old plugs as suggested above, take the 'plugs' to a local machine shop, and have them drill and tap the old threads away in a lathe. Go to a local industrial supply house ( or order directly from ENCO Inc.) long set screws. Install the set screws in the plugs and either anchor with Loctite or, better yet, install a set screw or a spring dowel to permanently 'set' these new threaded inserts into the 'plug'. Why do I suggest a commercially-made set screw? The threads on them are rolled and very smooth by nature. The leg plugs you are upgrading were 'cut' and therefore have a mess of shark's teeth on their surfaces. They eat up tapped holes in the frame. The rolled threads don't. Press the original plugs back into the ends of the legs using a bit of lapping compound smeared in the tube hole. This ensures 'galling' and the plugs will stay put. You will now have a case-hardened male thread that should and probably will last for 50-100 years give or take a decade.
PRR |
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chas smith R.I.P.
From:
Encino, CA, USA
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Posted 3 Apr 2008 8:31 am
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| Quote: |
| replacing the worn threads in the legs with new thread plugs. |
First try "chasing" the threads with a 1/2-13 die, in the die handle. If that doesn't work, and you insist on keeping the leg, you have to remove the plug, as stated above. Keep in mind that these are not "off the shelf" items. Depending on the quality of the microphone stand that your leg was made from, because that's what these things are made from, you will most likely have to have a "plug" with the 1/2-13 threads machined at the local machine shop, which will probably cost more than a new set of legs.
Then they will have to be pressed in. If your leg is of the lower quality variety, it may also require a couple small welds of Silicon bronze, so that it remains seated. (I know that this shouldn't be necessary, if it's properly done and everything works out perfectly. Then again, when was the last time that happened in your life?) That was my experience. |
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