gotoh tuner, screws

Orpheo

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I've got now 3 sets of gotoh tuners, and they work fine, but am I the only one who has problems with the screws? the screws to bolt them to the neck i mean. of the 6 screws, I break at least 2!!! I'm fed up with it, and now I'm buying stainless steel, hardened, screws. Perhaps its got something to do with them being quite small, not threaded all the way, or just the rock hard padouk and wenge and ziricote.
 
Your problem is that you need to drill pilot holes BEFORE you try to screw them in; this is true for ALL types of tuners that require a screw to install. A 1/16" bit (1.5-1.6mm) is the right size to drill the pilot holes.
 
jackthehack said:
Your problem is that you need to drill pilot holes BEFORE you try to screw them in; this is true for ALL types of tuners that require a screw to install. A 1/16" bit (1.5-1.6mm) is the right size to drill the pilot holes.

already did...still didnt help me one bit.
 
make your piolet hole slightly larger.  use a bit of soap on the tip of the screw for lubrication.  A little bit of lube always helps to put it in.
 
I don't want to make any assumptions here, so I will ask first to make sure,  You are using a hand screw driver, right, not some powered thingy?  Too much torque in those for those itty bitty screws.  Go very slow and use steady pressure.  Exxcellent advice, too about the pilot holes.  They should be exactly the right size in circumference and depth and it will limit breakage.
 
did all those tricks, but still. some just wanna break! I bought myself a new drillbit (2mm) and it got a bit better, but the new screws I got were better suited for the job.
 
Another sneaky point is that, they don't have to be screwed all the way in. For some reason the last little 1/16th of an inch or so is the hardest, even with wax, pilot holes, a 2mm bit etc. The screw is just to keep the tuner from twisting, and it's not like it's going to rattle or something. God forbid you should ever have to get one back out if you've got it cranked in really tight. Where are you buying your SS screws? One minor beef I have with Warmoth is the quality of the screws they include with some hardware, it's probably the manufacturer's screws but I always end up having to upgrade at least 20c worth of screws. :icon_scratch:
 
stubhead said:
Another sneaky point is that, they don't have to be screwed all the way in. For some reason the last little 1/16th of an inch or so is the hardest, even with wax, pilot holes, a 2mm bit etc. The screw is just to keep the tuner from twisting, and it's not like it's going to rattle or something. God forbid you should ever have to get one back out if you've got it cranked in really tight. Where are you buying your SS screws? One minor beef I have with Warmoth is the quality of the screws they include with some hardware, it's probably the manufacturer's screws but I always end up having to upgrade at least 20c worth of screws. :icon_scratch:

I got them at a company called Beumer Corp  :cool01: dont think that will help you, haha. all I know is that they have SS screws and it works fine :)

by the way, I also bought at the same time all the mounting screws for the pickuprings. looks neat now!! 8 exactly the same screws.
 
Keep this in mind, you really only need enough grip on the screw to keep the screw from falling out, the screw is working to prevent the tuner from twisting, not from falling off the headstock, so...oversize and drilll deep your pilot holes
 
I've even thought about cutting some stiff thick wire or thin rod and just inserting little posts to keep the tuners from twisting. You could use Elmers glue to keep them in, but still pullable if for some reason you wanted to change tuners later and needed to fill the holes. The screw head itself is nothing but trouble, really. My next build will have the BML lite bass heads which have a little protruding nub to center them - some tuners just have little bumps to do the same.
 
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