The Steel Guitar Forum

just out of curiosity, how often should we lubricate the changers on our guitars? And what oil do we use?

Years ago, I used '3 in 1' once a month or so putting a drop between the changers. Now that I have a 'new' generation GFI with lots of nylon bushings and washers, I thought I'd better ask FIRST. I keep my guns lubricated with Remington's REM oil (with teflon lubricant). That works fine on GUNS ... not sure about the guitar, though. Any ideas?

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Bob's Place bobeldridge@bobeldridge.com GFI S-10D - ProFX2 + 2 Nashville 1000's

Like you, I use a little 3 in 1 on the Emmons every few months.

I have what I think is one of the earlier GFI Ultras and this may seem crazy, but I believe the story with these is that no lubrication should be necessary.

I'm sure I'll be corrected if this is wrong

Right, John, thx. I was concerned that putting oil on the nylon bushings between the changers would do little more than just attract dust and perhaps even deteriorate those nylon bushings! We'll see what the other folks have to say about it...

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Bob's Place bobeldridge@bobeldridge.com GFI S-10D - ProFX2 + 2 Nashville 1000's

Speaking only for GFI, this comes out of their owner's manual....

"Moving parts are designed to need no lubrication or have been sufficiently lubricated at the factory to last the lifetime of the guitar."

Bob, the info that I got from the famous and super friends (who passed away - I do miss them) Dick Miller and Zane Beck, was to use very little oil because it does attract dirt. Dirt and oil will get gummy. Bud Carter and Zane told me to use the lightest oil possible. Like what they use for the blow (horns) instruments. Bud also seems to like the stuff that has a pull out tube called 'Zoom'. You can get that in a hardware store. Oiling once a yr should do the trick.

Thx, Ted & Jeff... The ONE thing I didn't get with my 'new' GFI was the owner's manual, so I couldn't really refer to that for the answer. However that shouldn't be a big problem since Gene Fields is literally around the corner from me! I'll get one from him. Thanks for the guidance, all!

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Bob's Place bobeldridge@bobeldridge.com GFI S-10D - ProFX2 + 2 Nashville 1000's

Try that gun product Hoppes #9 . It works good and smells good too. Bob

Bob,
If you go to GFI's web-site www.gfimusicalproducts.com and click on "steel guitar features" you can look at/print out a copy of the owners manual sheet at the bottom of the page. The "owners manual" is only a single sheet of paper.

DO NOTput any oil/lube in the GFI changer. Gene Fields is a Genious designer and has designed his Changers to never need oiling for the life of the instrument. If you drop oil in there; you will MESS IT UP.
Ricky

I agree that Gene Fields is a genius.

When I got my GFI used it was in a completely different setup. I had to completely take everything off and build it back up for standard E9.

When you do that, you can see the level of thought that goes into every little detail - each set screw placement, every little adjustment, and the way everything fits together. It's very apparent he spent a lot of time considering the best design possible for every single piece.

Oh, and I like the way it sounds, too.

My experience and knowledge acquired from working on tape mechanisms has taught me: Do not lube anything that rides in a nylon or teflon bearing. The nylon or teflon acts as the lube. I assume this would also apply to a steel guitar. Metal to metal would require lube. 20w non-detergent oil works for me. ........JD

Oiling is a great subject! The kind of oil and the brand of oil is very different. The difference in the oils is, has the pariffin been refined out. I was taught when working for Singer Co. years ago that pariffin based oil will leave a crusty residue like thin wax on where ever it stayed. You could after some use, scrape it off with a knife. We were told to check it out by pouring some on a white tissue paper, if it was clear, pariffin was refined out, but if it left a color of slightly yellow or any other color, it was still there, so never use it on a sewing m/c. I have used this method for years to determine whether are not it has pariffin or wax in it. If I need a light oil for lubricating purposes, as my steel, I always use Singer oil, no wax. Try it by the white tissue method. It works on my Emmons and Mullen. Very small amount, not too often T. A.

Thanks, Ricky, that sounds pretty direct ... so I'll stay away from the lube rack! Thanks, Jeff for the manual info. I'll download it.

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Bob's Place bobeldridge@bobeldridge.com GFI S-10D - ProFX2 + 2 Nashville 1000's