The Steel Guitar Forum

"All's well that ends well" but what a scare!

At the sound check before a gig, last week, I started feeling something weird about pedals. The B pedal seemed to be lower than I was used to feel it...
It was working great, just a bit closer to the ground.
Decided to check it and noticed that the ball joint screw was badly bent. I tried to losen it even before checking if I had a spare one, but as soon as I started unscrewing it, with no force at all, the screw broke!
All the thread stuck inside the hole, and the "hex and ball" part on the floor....

I decided to sacrifice another pedal and replace it with my damaged B pedal. And I was lucky that I could remove the pedal! I was playing and old MSA; the pedal is locked on its axle by a small allen screw mounted in the same hole of the screw that broke.
It was probably a bit too lose so that I could push and extract the axle as well even without unscrewing the allen screw.... otherwise I really don't know how I could fix it.
I'm glad it happened ad the sound check... it could happen during the show!!!

So...
how often it may happen? Suggestions? Quick remedies?
is it there a way to fix such a breakage?

The shoulder of the ball stud must make solid contact against the pedal! If it isn't seated properly, then the strain will break or bend it. The old MSA design would also not allow you to use one of the stud holes in the pedal, sometimes, due to the pedal axle retention screw, which was also in the same hole. In that case, you had to grind a little off the ball stud threaded end, or use a washer so the studs threaded end wouldn't bottom out before the shoulder made solid contact.

This is a very rare problem, provided the ball stud shoulder makes solid contact, so it doesn't require any "fix" other than what I've mentioned above.

Every issue I've ever hd with my steel has been parts wearing out on the B pedal. I guess that's because it's the one getting stomped the most! You could replace that pedal.....but I've never had any trouble finding someone with proper tools to get a trouble making screw free.

How about that happening to a BRAND-SPANKING-NEW GUITAR?! When I lived in Houston in 1979, I bought a new MSA Vintage XL D-10, 8 X 4, that I still have, through Herb Remington, at his music store. When I came to Herb's store to get the guitar, Herb wanted me to fully set it up there at his store, to make sure everything was alright and that I was satisfied. Well, when I first pushed down on each of the 3 E9th pedals, the stud on one of the pedals snapped right off! I was using normal pressure--not stomping on it. The funny thing about it was, Herb immediately got on the phone and called Maurice at MSA to tell him about it and Maurice's reply was--"Well, was he stomping on it?" Herb assured him that I was using normal foot pressure, so a new stud was sent in the mail. It just goes to show you that metal can be defective.

Thanks you all for the answers.
I am inclined to believe that the problem was the one indicated by Donny, a defective contact between screw and pedal.
I am going to fix the breakage today and I will surely check and re-check all the others!

I am also glad to hear that it's a quite rare problem....

Heh, well, like Donny said it is a rare problem...but You're not alone one of My first gigs on PSG I lost My A pedal on My '75 Excel...half way through the LAST song of the night!!!that was dumb luck if ever I saw it,

I like to keep a spare pedal in my pack seat "just in case".

I had one break off once during ..."Proud to be a redneck"..or "Redneck Muthas"...or whatever that tune was. I think I was pushing it a little hard. Anyway we took a break & I got the threaded part out and this guy ran out to the parking lot and brought me one (ball) off his carburetor. It worked fine and I just left it on there permanently as the guy had disappeared. Those years are a blur but I'll always remember that.

Hi, This is not a rare occurrence for this old stomper! But the one I broke on my old MSA classic last night was the first for that guitar. Very glad the threads came out clean. Sure was fun finishing the song without my b pedal......

I have had this happen to me on my Dekley a few times, but it is easier to correct on these pedals, since they munt on the side and have a thru tapped design. I find that it is best putting a washer and an excellent lubricant when the studs are put in, so you will have ease at removal.. These things happen when you least expect it. Keep washers and studs on hand as well as allen wrenches, and a big hammer in case things get really out of hand. My two cents.

Dwight

Breaking a ball is one thing... Soon after I got my D-10 Dekley the B pedal broke in half. Reason I bought another Dekley for spare parts..

Ray Minich wrote:Breaking a ball is one thing... Soon after I got my D-10 Dekley the B pedal broke in half. Reason I bought another Dekley for spare parts..

Wow Ray, that's the first I've ever heard of a Dekley pedal breaking! I'd guess it must have been a bad casting. Has this happened to anyone else?

Once a ball joint is made they are heat treated to make the ball resist the constant friction of the housing. Where the shoulder is cut at a 90 degree angle sometimes a small crack will begin with the heat treating. then later just break. When I was in the Army had a pintle ring on a trailer break at the shoulder and dangle on the safety chains 200 miles from home base. Bad day. We used ball and coupler setup in the light bulb factory on linkages. Once in a while one of them would break and wreck the whole dang system. It is one of the mechanical Utt-Ooo's we have to face as a steel player. Spare parts and hope is our only way to go. Good Luck and Happy Steelin.

Jim, I still have the "D" part of the pedal hanging on a nail on my workbench. I will look at the fracture surface and tell you what I see.