Replacing Slotted Head Nylon Guitar Tuning Machines Stewmac

more... Restoring an Original • Gear • How-Tos • DIY • Repair • Upkeep • Vintage • Guitars • November 2010

1. Sperzel Guitar Tuning Machines
2. Replacing Slotted Head Nylon Guitar Tuning Machines Stewmac Guitar
3. Electric Guitar Tuning Machines

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While rebuilding vintage tuner knobs is sometimes an option, the knobs on this mid-’50s Gibson must be completely replaced.

Soaking the replacement knobs in an acetone, water, and toner mixture at intervals will give you more control over the outcome.

This custom soldering-gun tip helps evenly distribute heat around the tuner shaft and makes installing the new knobs a breeze.

Throughout the years, many instrumentshave come across our bench in need oftuner knob restoration. This month’s guitaris a mid-’50s Gibson flattop that arrivedwith all six tuner knobs missing and a smallamount of residue remaining on the tunershafts—a clear sign that the instrument’soriginal plastic knobs had decomposed.
During the 1950sand ’60s, Gibsonused Kluson tunersalmost exclusively.There weredifferent markingvariations usedthroughout theyears, but for themost part, theKluson tuners’overall appearanceremainedthe same.(Gibson did offerGrovertuners asa special orderoption beginning in 1959.) The style of tunerswe will be resurrecting on this guitar arereferred to as “3-on-a-plate” Kluson tuners.

Tuner Removal and Prep
The tuners were carefully removed from theheadstock while keeping an eye on the press-inbushings, as they seem to find a way offalling out at times. This is a good moment toremind you to keep your bench top clean—you might need to crawl around with a fine-toothcomb to retrieve one of these bushings.
With the tuners off, I modified my Angle Viseby adding maple baseplates to the jaws, toavoid compression damage once the stringposts were clamped in. Some 1/8'-thick maplebridge plate stock (item no. 1121 online atstewmac.com) works well for cutting out twosections of 8' wide x 7/16' tall baseplates. Youcan attach these to the jaws with double-sticktape. With the string post clamped securelyinto the vice, I positioned the knob shafts so Ihad clear access to work on them.
Since the tuner knobs were already gone,I was able to avoid the steps of using heatand removing the knobs with pliers. All Ireally needed to do was thoroughly cleanthe tuner shaft with a bristle brush and razorblade before installing the knobs. I really recommendthe file cleaning brush for this task(Stew Mac item number 0825), as it providesyou with a lot of control. While cleaning, Iwas careful not to go past the portion wherethe knobs end, so the exposed section ofthe shafts would look original and unaltered.

Aging the Knobs
Stewart MacDonald has a wide variety of vintage-style replacement knobs. Their 11/16'x 9/16' oval plastic knobs are the perfectreplacement for deteriorating vintage tunerknobs. For this project, I chose Stew Macitem number 0113 in white, and aged theknobs using my own mix to really help thecolor tone and sheen match the guitar. Theinstrument certainly didn’t look brand new,so I detailed the knobs accordingly.
For the detailingmix, I used 1ounce of acetoneto 1 ounce ofwater (an equalpart ratio) in anE-Z Mix disposablemixing cup.The water dilutesthe strengthof the acetoneso that whenthe knobs aresubmerged, theplastic will not react and simply liquefy. For thevintage tint, I added 13 drops of red mahoganyand 14 drops of lemon yellow ColorTone liquidstain to the 2 ounces of acetone and water. Ithen put the six knobs into the mix for two setsof 10 minutes, gently stirring with a popsiclestick, and included five minutes of air dryingwhile gently burnishing in the toner with a lint-freecloth in between.Always remember tobe safe when working with chemicals by usingproper protection and ventilation.
By submerging the knobs in timed increments,I was able to control the degrees of tint andenhanced, aged-looking fingerprints I waslooking for. (If you peer very closely at a new,untainted knob, you will see a variety of whatI call “fingerprints.” Those fingerprints can beenhanced with this diluted form of acetonewhile melting in the toner, giving the knobs thatreal vintage look.) This idea originated fromthe days when I saw my father restoring andbuilding concertinas and accordions. He wouldsoften the celluloid plastic so it could be bentand shaped to the instrument’s wooden frame.
Installing the Knobs

Sperzel Guitar Tuning Machines

After the knobs were ready, I used a RadioShack soldering gun on the 150-watt settingto heat up the tuner knob shafts (Wellersoldering guns also work well for this procedure).A standard soldering pen or iron willwork for this job as well, but you should usea heat sink and a moist cloth to avoid damagingthe gears from excessive heat.
The key elementto using the gunis a custom tip Idesigned and madefor this specific jobout of 5/32' brassrod. Both legs ofthe inside surface ofthe tip are beveledat an 1/8' length so that the tip legs can slideover the tuner shaft. The legs set themselvesand lock to the pre-radiused notch, completingthe connection. Heat is then evenly transferredthrough the tuner shaft, and in seconds theknob goes on like butter. Use some Tri-Flow tolubricate the tuning gears and you’re done!
The following tools and supplies used in thisrepair are available from Stewart McDonald:

• Guitar Tech screwdriver set
• Stew Mac steel Angle Vise
• Maple bridge plate stock, 4' x 8' x 1/8'
• Double-stick tape
• White vintage-style tuner knobs
• Red mahogany ColorTone Liquid Stain
• Lemon yellow ColorTone Liquid Stain
• Mixing cups
• Tri-Flow

That does it for this month’s restoration.Until next time, keep those chisels sharp!

John Brown
John Brown, of Brown’s Guitar Factory, is the inventorof the Fretted/Less bass. He owns and operates a fullguitar manufacturing and repair/restoration facility, whichis staffed by a team of talented luthiers. He is also thedesigner of guitar-making/repair tools and accessories thatare used today by instrument builders throughout the world.For details, visitbrownsguitarfactory.comor shoot a notetoinfo@brownsguitarfactory.com

Replacing Slotted Head Nylon Guitar Tuning Machines Stewmac Guitar

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Electric Guitar Tuning Machines

I came to discover it did not work well. Phooey, I went back to the so-called 'wet' formula.
I also briefly used a similar dry lube called Finish Line and saw the entire bottle polymerize into the dreaded rubbery gook in a matter of a couple of months. Avoid this product, it's the same as the dry Tri-Flow, and it's not much good.
Whatever you do, do not use any common lubricants like WD-40, Three-In-One, sewing machine oil, 30-WT or any automotive oils, Caramba, or anything like them. Not Vaseline, nor rank-and-file greases, nor Mazola.
I greatly prefer the small bottles with the dripper tube, as the aerosol bottles are really hard to control. Percision application is what you want with small things like tuners.
There is another lubricant worth mentioning: Lubriplate. I mostly use it for Klusons—gears sealed inside a housing, and for the rare case of a true sealed (rotomatic-type) gear that's gone dry. More about this on the