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Tuner screw broke in the headstock!

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Esplender

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Warrgh! And to think that I just got the guitar parts just at the end of last week! :sad1:

I was screwing in the last Gotoh SG38 tuner into place until I heard a small snap. I didn't discover what happened until I tried to remove the screw; Only the top half came out whilst the other remained embedded in the headstock!

What should I do!? Superglue? Duct tape? :sad1:
 
Oh crap!  :sad:

I would also like to know from the pros around here how to prevent such an occurance. :icon_scratch:

Sorry buddy.  Hang on and the fella's will have a fix for you.

Good Luck, Shane
 
an easy out might work, but wait for more responses.
to prevent this from happening again, wax the screws.
you might be able to drill the screw out. and if worst comes to worst, just go to a tech, and they would fix you up.

oh and don't soap the screws, it works, but theres a risk of the soap rotting out in 5 to 10 years.
 
CB has a great fix, don't do anything till he chimes in, i can't wait to see how many trips to the hobby store he sends you on, 3 i bet.
 
Are you sure it wasn't on the old board? I was searching for it and couldn't find it, post the URL if you know where it is....
 
Broken tuner screw help?  in the tips and tricks section?  WTF were they thinking?
 
Just for search for some scrap tubing... steel tubing is best if you can get REALLY small stuff.  Brass works.  Hobby shop's have brass... maybe you can find steel... I dunno where (my brains dead)

What ya do is get some thin tubing that the screw "just fits" into.  Then you file and or Dremel some teeth in the end of it.  And then you put it in yer crank - hand powered - drill.  Then ya make it go counter clockwise... grinding out bits of wood from around the stuck shank.  Before ya know it the wood snaps out, shank and all.

Then... ya get a little piece of dowel, maple of course, and grind and or sand it match the hole you just made.  Glue it in, and trim it flush.  Now you can DRILL the proper hole, and screw in a replacement screw.  You'll never "see" the repair, as the screw is in the hole, and the tuner and screwhead cover what little wood would "show"

FWIW, I had to plug and redrill one hole on the tuners of my latest Tele.  Something went awry and when I put the screw in the hole, I saw it wasn't straight.  Put a dowel in the Dremel, cranked it up... used sandpaper to "grind" the dowel down till it just fit the hole and glued it in.  Redrill properly... done.  No panic.  Just a bit of mahogany dowel in a goncalo neck (close enuf... I keep mahogany and maple dowels on hand here just to plug holes!).
 
Those Gotoh screws are just not that strong. I've broken 3 of them (1) installing and (2) removing them, and thats even with waxing and drilling the holes. I now change them out with bigger screws

-CB- fix works great for getting them out
 
im wondering if people have had any similar screw breakage with Grovers, Shalers or Planet Waves tuners? anybody have a story?

Brian
 
Nope, never had a breakage with Klusons, Planet Waves, Schallers or Gotohs; DID manage to strip the phillps on a Kluson tuner, but was able to extricate it with needle-nosed vise grips.

The trick is to drill the pilot hole DEEP enough, and use a properly sized jewwler's screwdriver. It seems like there've been a number of posts lately for those squeamish of drilling, with some of the tuner screws it seems like you're drilling down close to the front edge of the peghead, here's a tip for those not into adventure:

Take your 1/16" drill bit and match it up to the screw shaft of your tuner screws, PAINT the drill bit to match depth of screw....
 
jackthehack said:
Nope, never had a breakage with Klusons, Planet Waves, Schallers or Gotohs; DID manage to strip the phillps on a Kluson tuner, but was able to extricate it with needle-nosed vise grips.

The trick is to drill the pilot hole DEEP enough, and use a properly sized jewwler's screwdriver. It seems like there've been a number of posts lately for those squeamish of drilling, with some of the tuner screws it seems like you're drilling down close to the front edge of the peghead, here's a tip for those not into adventure:

Take your 1/16" drill bit and match it up to the screw shaft of your tuner screws, PAINT the drill bit to match depth of screw....
Click to expand...

I'll second this.  I didn't quite get the holes for my Klusons quite deep enough, and I had a hell of a time screwing them in.  I even stripped a couple of the screws a little.
 
Deep hole, a hole you think is a bit too big.  Those threads dont need to catch by a whole lot. 

Here's the screw size - drill size chart, with sizes for soft and hard woods

http://aaronswoodscrews.com/freetable.htm
 
ok CB

here is the stupid question. when you get a set of tuners, do they tell you what screws come with the package? I havnt bought tuners yet for my build so i have no clue.(gonna buy planet waves 3+3)

Brian
 
ok, but do they tell you in print what kind of screw driver to use? do they tell you the size pf the tuner screws?

Brian
 
bpmorton777 said:
ok, but do they tell you in print what kind of screw driver to use? do they tell you the size pf the tuner screws?

Brian
Click to expand...

I don't recall seeing any manufacturer indicate a specific screwdriver to use.  Just match up the screw with your drill bit.  Buy a combination metric and std set of drill bits.  That should cover just about any size hole you'd need.  I'll strongly echo the suggestion to predrill your holes and use soap/lubricant on the screws.  As you've seen, they're pretty small, regardless of the brand of tuners.

If you're still concerned, take the neck and tuners to a tech for installation assistance.

-Eric.
 
I've used a 1/16" bit for all my Kluson/Planet Waves/Gotoh tuners order from Warmoth - along with with Schallers ordered somewhere else, and never had any problems except with 1 screw on one of my first builds that I failed to drill deep enough....
 
bpmorton777 said:
ok CB

here is the stupid question. when you get a set of tuners, do they tell you what screws come with the package? I havnt bought tuners yet for my build so i have no clue.(gonna buy planet waves 3+3)

Brian
Click to expand...

No they don't, so jump to plan B.

PLAN B
Get out your trusty Mitutoyo inner and outer carbide tipped .100 revolution Dial Calipers, and measure the major thread diameter, and compare it to the chart, realizing that screws will vary a bit from brand to brand etc etc.
<end of Plan B>
 
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