The Steel Guitar Forum

Having trouble with my fairly late model Fessy with 3rd string breaking. Tried all the usu

al fixes, remove burrs, make sure roller is loose, etc. but still breaking 3rd string at the tuner. Then I noticed a lot of play in the shaft that the string winds on. Can actually move it back and forth about 1/32 when no string is attached, where all the other shafts seem very secure. Can anybody tell me who made these tuners for Fessy so I could buy one and see if it helps solve the problem ?

I doubt that the key is the problem.
The problem might be the string you are using.
What gauge are you using?
I find that a 12 gauge string works best for me.
Also I like the Live Steel strings, more durable and better tone.
Erv

Try swapping the tuner with one using a wound string.

Try more wraps on the tuner.. like 5 minimum. The Mullen site has a useful video on winding the 3rd string.

Hello Martin.
You may already know this, but when winding the string around the shaft, do not let the string lay on top of itself. When the string is tuned to the proper pitch, the string is pulled very tight around the shaft. If the string is wrapped on top of itself, it can actually cut itself. This is especially true for the third string because it is very small in diameter.

Mitch

Cut the 3rd string length to the space of 3 keys. Make sure you have enough string to wind enough wraps to get a couple wraps off the hole and onto solid smooth shaft. Carefully wind the string from the hole toward the key head bar very smooth and even.

Like others have suggested do not wind the string over itself, It will break where it crosses over.

Be careful, A new string breaking at the key head is dangerous, Wear safety glasses, Till you find the problem.

Mickey Adams suggests taking the 3rd string up to F or F# let it set a while then take it up to G# if you have time.

Thanks to all the guys who responded. Have used all the tricks you provided and seems to have settled down for now. Happily pickin' and grinnin' again for now. Thank again all !

fwiw, all the tuning posts on my 4 year old Williams have quite a bit of wobble/play when not under string tension. I don't know what tuners they are. I just take it as a given....I guess.

Generally you can determine wherein the problem lies by looking at where the string is breaking. If it's at the tuner all the time- look there for a sharp edge- same at the changer if it's breaking there. If it is between the 2- it is the string itself. Every so often this happens- the metal used in the strings is the problem. I recall in the early 90's I had to change the scale length on a guitar from 25-24 1/4 because I could not get a string to stay on- GerryDog Walker had the same problem w his new 25" scale Sierra. There were no strings that would hold- it lasted about 3-4 months and my hands had tons of "owies" then settled down. I am seeing that again to a lesser degree now. In general I restring 2-3 guitars a day and have a pretty good feel when this happens.

When Buddy Emmons was designing the Emmons guitar, he determined that 24 1/4" was the maximum scale you could have without excessive string breakage.
However, that doesn't really apply to a keyless guitar because you eliminate that extra length of string behind the nut. That is what causes the problem with keyed guitars.
Erv