Pot shaft problem

[jackson929]

Hi,

On my rear cavity V-R I am putting a decorative control panel on top (Like a Jackson RR-1) but it seems even without the .125"  control plate the pot shafts are not coming through the top with enough threads to put the knobs on.  There seems to be little metal nubs on the pots (maybe .125") that  I assume go into the wood to keep the knob pots from spinning.  I have tried to push these into the wood to gain some thread with no luck.

I assume I will need to rout out the cavity the thickness of the plate plus a bit more since the shafts are not getting enough thread through the top without the plate?

Any help would be appreciated. 

TIA

 

[mayfly]

Those nibs are for mounting the pots in metal panels and would normally go into index holes on the panel.  They are not really required for your application.

I would just cut those little nibs off. Or bend them out of the way if they are made of sheet-metal. 
This is not a big deal - I personally do it all the time. 

 

[jackson929]

Okay, thanks.

So are most guys getting the shafts through and nuts on?  Even without the control plate I do not think I have enough thread to attach the nuts.

 

[kucoyote]

I have ordered a rear route strat and have been looking at this issue as well.

I did a search for rear route in this forum and there have been some discussion.  It seems that the consensus is that with a rear route the depth of the wood left is just barely thin enough to engage a thread or two of a standard pot, but not for a real positive grab.  This is not including adding the depth of a control plate.  The suggested options are long pots, which leave the switch in limbo, or to route out an additional bit of wood from just around each pot hole (or the whole control route).  One option for the nubs is to drill (VERY CAREFULLY) where the nubs go to give them an indent space.

Additionally on the stats and probably other styles as well, it appears that the switch too needs to be routed down as otherwise the switch head will hit the body and not complete into the detent and possibly damage the finish. 

If it is just the pots that is an issue, and you are not going to use a push/pull or dual pot, then I would recommend jut getting long pots.  If the switch and/or you are going to use a push/pull//dual pot then routing out additional is about the only option.  JMHO of course.

Mike