| Author |
Topic: Tech Question about loose tuners |
John Billings
From:
Ohio, USA
|
Posted 2 Feb 2004 1:15 pm |
|
I'm workin' on the GFI I bought last week. Many of the tuners are loose. They look like Gotohs. Needed a 10mm deep-well to tighten them. Should I put a little dab of the blue (medium grip) Loktite on the threads to prevent further loosening in the future? Or won't this help?
Thanks, JB |
|
|
|
Eric Einarsson
From:
Los Gatos, California, USA
|
Posted 2 Feb 2004 4:27 pm
|
|
Hello John:
I recently bought a used GFI and it had two loose tuning gears. They are Grovers, and they appear to be an aftermarket installation. I bought ten metric (10mm) flat washers to add a little thickness to where they grip the gearhead. It worked beautifully.
Eric Einarsson |
|
|
|
Donny Hinson
From:
Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.
|
Posted 2 Feb 2004 4:51 pm
|
|
| The Loctite blue is fine to use, but it only works on clean threads. (Some people have a tendency to oil the tuners, and this wicks out onto just about every surface.) Normally just tightening should do for a few years, but you can use the loctite (or even clear fingernail polish) if you find them loosening up frequently. |
|
|
|
John Billings
From:
Ohio, USA
|
Posted 2 Feb 2004 7:08 pm
|
|
Thanks for the ideas, guys. There is a ring-style lock washer, a flat washer, and a chrome trim washer. Maybe I should see if I can do without the flat washer. I'm getting this guitar ready to sell, and I'd like to do a good job for the next owner.
JB |
|
|
|
John Billings
From:
Ohio, USA
|
Posted 3 Feb 2004 10:38 am
|
|
| Well, here's a kicker! The tuners CANNOT be tightened without the use of another flat-washer. IE, the lock-washer, TWO flat-washers, and the chrome trim_washer. Evidently, the tuners have always been loose on this guitar. Maybe they're replacement tuners. They work well, they just won't tighten up. |
|
|
|
Ricky Davis
From:
Bertram, Texas USA
|
Posted 3 Feb 2004 10:44 am
|
|
John that does sound like replacement tuners for that particular steel....>too many washers.....>I think your onto it in that doing without that flat washer....might let the sleeve tighten and hold onto the lock washer moreso....>good luck.
Ricky[This message was edited by Ricky Davis on 03 February 2004 at 10:45 AM.] |
|
|
|
John Billings
From:
Ohio, USA
|
Posted 3 Feb 2004 12:38 pm
|
|
| Actually Rick, I've got to add a washer to make them snug up. The tuners look just like the ones used on the GFI Ultra. Grover-style buttons. I see that the Ultra has a different style peg-head, so maybe that was a problem in the original design. Anyway, the additional washer seems to solve the problem. And a little dab o' blue Loktite. |
|
|
|
John Floyd
From:
R.I.P.
|
Posted 3 Feb 2004 6:08 pm
|
|
Anyone planning to use the Blue Loctite, read the warning on the label. A few years ago I had to hide some out during an OSHA inspection where I work and Left it in my SUV in a plastic tub, Several bottles of it. The fumes off that stuff caused me some serious breathing problems that lasted for more than just a few weeks.
At one time I almost passed out while driving with that junk in the back of the Blazer. It might be good stuff, but it is hazardous. |
|
|
|
Jim Eaton
From:
Santa Susana, Ca
|
Posted 4 Feb 2004 7:55 am
|
|
Sounds like the "nut" bottoms out in the threads before you get it tight enough to hold position. Maybe you can grind them shorter by a thread or two and do away with the extra washers.
JE:-)> |
|
|
|
John Billings
From:
Ohio, USA
|
Posted 4 Feb 2004 9:47 am
|
|
| Jim, you nailed it! Much better explanation than mine. But I think I'm just gonna use an extra washer. Lot easier than grinding 20 of those "nuts" down, and there's no clearance problems. JB |
|
|
|
