Tuning keys for 80s Sho-Bud

[Tore Blestrud]

Just bought a fantastic LDG. Very low milage, been stored for years. The tuning keys are almost frozen stiff, any suggestions where I could by some new ones that fits right inn? The gutar sounds wonderful

[Ron Pruter]

You have old Sperzel tuners. There are many threads about trouble with these. Nothing so far will fit your old foot print. My personal experience is that they are a hard company to deal with. They are putting them on new MSAs.. they run about $200. RP

[Larry Bressington]

I'll put this out there even though it's not the 'correct' method...Many times Grover replacements can fit but there is problems with the 'alignment pin' not matching your keyhead.

First off, you need to know the length of the shaft and diameter of the hole, using a micrometer is good to take all the measurement. Go to their website and they have exploded views and measurements on the layout.

So here's the kicker; You may need to get ones that will not match your alignment hole as the only option, these pins can be cut off with a dremel tool, and you will have to epoxy the face of the keyhead, install one at a time and tighten the shaft nut. I have done this a couple of times on a few oddball steels and they went through some rough treatment in the case and i never had a problem, you will probably never need to replace them again but if you do the epoxy can be removed and cleaned up.
(This is not the preffered method obviously but it beats the steel being obsolete)...

I have Grovers as originals on an old shobud, maybe another keyhead is to be considered because those you have look different and maybe a later design, i'm not sure when Sho-bud went to Sperzels.

Talk to this fine Gent, and see if he can refab your keyhead to Grovers. https://www.psgparts.com/

[Dave Grafe]

I faced the same problem when rebuilding a SuperPro. I tried several other makes but ended up getting a handful of used Sperzels from Jim Palenscar, still we never did find full sets or even any new ones anywhere. I ended up moving most of the best ones to the top neck, putting the stiffest on the least critical strings.

[Charlie Hansen]

Is there any way that you could redrill the pin hole in the head stock? Asking for a friend.

[Larry Bressington]

Here’s a pic of an MSA I did that had the same problem, epoxied into place and lined up, it’s been road rashed and dropped a couple of times in the case, still going strong. Sweet new Grover’s with keystone heads about 5 years ago.

[Dale Lee]

From idle curiosity and an abundance of spare time I have read most of the threads about Sperzel tuner sludge. Most people who have tried to do so say they can’t be disassembled. I googled for a long time today and found a possible disassembly method that I haven’t seen described in any of the threads on the subject.

I hesitate to post this because I don’t have any experience doing it. I've never even seen a Sperzel tuner. But in case anyone finds it useful here are a few videos about ways to remove the back from sealed tuners. Not necessarily Sperzels but ….

This first one does the job with hot-melt glue and a wood dowel starting at 7:09 in the video.
https://youtu.be/JcM12NnBHNI

This one uses a hair dryer and a magnet. He also shows how to reinstall the cover with a hammer. Of course the magnet wouldn’t work for aluminum or plastic.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3JwcAXg0GSU

This last one uses superglue and a flathead screw in a similar fashion to the wood dowel method.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9OApmoTqktA

If anyone tries any of these methods please post here to say whether it works. I'm curious to know.

[Ron Pruter]

Charlie, I see no reason why you couldn't take the key head off, fill the problematic hole/s with bar or rod aluminum plugs then make a template. Lay out and center punch all the holes. (Dimple them to keep the drill bit from wandering). Use a drill press, drill press vise, or possibly creative clamping to a wood block. Make sure your bit is perfectly perpendicular upon contact.
It would be an easier job with a two piece keyhead.
OK; Go buy a set of 210 Grovers. Now some one go and do this and let us know how it turns out. RP

[Bobby D. Jones]

Check closely the diameter of the shaft that goes through the key head of Grover Keys. Grover has changed some of their shaft diameters for the World Trade Market, They went from 3/8" to 10mm, Near 25/64" Shaft diameter on some tuners.

I replaced a set of Grover Keys on a MSA and had to drill all 10 shaft holes out.

[Ron Pruter]

Has anyone replaced Sperzels with Grover 210c's? I'm curious if the old pin holes from the Sperzels were still visible or did they get covered up by the Grovers? Possibly, if the old holes allowed the room, you could just put some small screws in the holes. That, to me, would look better than half an empty hole showing. RP
BTW. I decided. With my arthritis and the lack of room to grab the things, the Spezels got to go. RP

[GaryL]

A few years ago I replaced the keys on my old LDG. The originals were Grover "Milk-Bottle" style. At the time, Stewart-Macdonald sold them in sets of six. You might check with them. I had to carefully grind stock from the key shafts to allow clearance between the 5th and 6th strings on the peghead. (The originals were like that from the Sho-Bud factory!) Good luck!

[Ron Pruter]

I just posted the story of putting on Grovers to replace my Sperzels. Ron Pruter

https://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=388550