Tuning Peg Screw replacements

[civilaggie06]

Hey everyone,

I am a first time builder and am running into things bordering on the NEWB territory.

I was installing the following Gotoh tuners.http://www.stewmac.com/Hardware_and_Parts/Tuning_Machines/Solid_Peghead_Guitar_Tuning_Machines/Gotoh_Magnum_Lock_Trad_6_In_Line_Tuners.html

After lining everything up and boring the holes for the screws I installed 3 tuners successfully. Got to the last 3 and I managed to strip the screws .

My question is if you had to replace the screws that come with tuners you buy where can you pick up just the screws without having to buy another whole set of the Tuners?

I tried Lowes and Home Depot and the screws sizes appear to be too big.

From what I can tell the length of the screw is about 12 mm and the thread length is 2.4mm

Any help or suggestions anyone can provide is most appreciated.

Best regards,

Sam Y.

 

[stratamania]

Welcome to the forum.

I am assuming you are in the US, so will leave one of the US members to advise on well-stocked hardware stores.

On a related note, did you wax the screws before using them? 

It would seem that this was probably not the case and why they stripped. If so you have avoided something worse, which is a screw snapped off in the headstock.

I leave this as a cautionary note for reference:

Wax screws for use in hardwoods such as guitar necks.

 

[civilaggie06]

Thanks for the advice on the wax.

 

[stratamania]

Here is a link to a post I made where there are some photos and info on pre-threading the holes and so forth.

It might be useful to someone who comes across this thread looking for information.

http://www.unofficialwarmoth.com/index.php?topic=22445.msg336528#msg336528

 

[Cagey]

When you say you "stripped the screws", do you mean the holes lost their threads, the screws lost their threads, or the heads of the screws snapped off?

If the holes lost their threads, they were too big to start with. 

If the screws lost their threads, that would be weird.

If the screws lost their heads, the holes were too small or weren't lubricated.

In any event, you can buy replacements here.

If the pilot holes are too large in diameter, you can either open them up some more, plug them with dowel and redrill, or maybe just jam a toothpick in the hole and break it off flush.

If they're too small, then A. Open them up to the right size and B. wax the screws before running them in. It's critical. Those little screws have very little strength and can be broken very easily. They're just cut/formed/stamped out of wire.

In most cases, except for some junk tuners like Klusons, the screws aren't "fasteners". They're only there to prevent rotation of the tuner under tension. So, don't feel like you have to torque the little rascals in like cylinder head bolts.

 

[civilaggie06]

Here is a link to a post I made where there are some photos and info on pre-threading the holes and so forth.

It might be useful to someone who comes across this thread looking for information.

http://www.unofficialwarmoth.com/index.php?topic=22445.msg336528#msg336528

Thanks for this Post it is going to help out a ton when I get to the rest of the routing through the Guitar Body!

 

[civilaggie06]

When you say you "stripped the screws", do you mean the holes lost their threads, the screws lost their threads, or the heads of the screws snapped off?

If the holes lost their threads, they were too big to start with. 

If the screws lost their threads, that would be weird.

If the screws lost their heads, the holes were too small or weren't lubricated.

In any event, you can buy replacements here.

If the pilot holes are too large in diameter, you can either open them up some more, plug them with dowel and redrill, or maybe just jam a toothpick in the hole and break it off flush.

If they're too small, then A. Open them up to the right size and B. wax the screws before running them in. It's critical. Those little screws have very little strength and can be broken very easily. They're just cut/formed/stamped out of wire.

In most cases, except for some junk tuners like Klusons, the screws aren't "fasteners". They're only there to prevent rotation of the tuner under tension. So, don't feel like you have to torque the little rascals in like cylinder head bolts.

Thanks for your quick responses!

When I say the screw is is stripped the head where you put in the Phillips Screw Driver is stripped there is no way to turn the screw because the Alloy of the Screw was softer than the Screw Driver and the amount of torque I put into the screw driver literally destroyed the "X" on the screw head.

I was able to safely remove the screws, now working on finding replacements.

 

[Cagey]

I see. Yeah, that can happen, although you may want to inspect the tip of your screwdriver. Sometimes that can get worn to the point where it'll ruin screws.

I put a link to replacements in my post you quoted.

 

[bagman67]

You'll also want to make sure you're using the right sized screwdriver.  You can sometimes force a #1 bit to do the same work as a #2, and vice versa; but not for long.

 

[Cagey]

Good point. Been guilty of it in the past myself.

 

[civilaggie06]

You'll also want to make sure you're using the right sized screwdriver.  You can sometimes force a #1 bit to do the same work as a #2, and vice versa; but not for long.

Definitely True! I tried a few different heads on the screw driver I had and ended up just buying a different screw driver set just for these projects.

 

[ghotiphry]

One thing I bought from stewmac is this tool kit.  http://www.stewmac.com/Luthier_Tools/StewMac_Tool_Sets/Guitar_Tech_Screwdriver_Set.html

It includes a set of hardened screw starters, which I use all the time.  I love this kit.

 

[rgand]

Here's a little trick to removing stripped screw heads I learned working on aircraft. Screws can often get corroded into a hole in aluminum because of the electrolysis from dissimilar metals. Take a screwdriver with a good head and dip the tip in fine valve grinding compound. Push firmly into the screw and turn. As long as there's anything at all to grip, it'll usually come right out. On a guitar, you'd want to be careful to not contaminate the wood with the compound.

 

[stratamania]

One thing I bought from stewmac is this tool kit.  http://www.stewmac.com/Luthier_Tools/StewMac_Tool_Sets/Guitar_Tech_Screwdriver_Set.html

It includes a set of hardened screw starters, which I use all the time.  I love this kit.

I have those too. The post I linked to for him, has some photos of them in.

 

[civilaggie06]

One thing I bought from stewmac is this tool kit.  http://www.stewmac.com/Luthier_Tools/StewMac_Tool_Sets/Guitar_Tech_Screwdriver_Set.html

It includes a set of hardened screw starters, which I use all the time.  I love this kit.

Just picked one up last week and waiting for replacement screws thanks again!

 

[civilaggie06]

Here's a little trick to removing stripped screw heads I learned working on aircraft. Screws can often get corroded into a hole in aluminum because of the electrolysis from dissimilar metals. Take a screwdriver with a good head and dip the tip in fine valve grinding compound. Push firmly into the screw and turn. As long as there's anything at all to grip, it'll usually come right out. On a guitar, you'd want to be careful to not contaminate the wood with the compound.

Thanks again, I'll check the holes as best I can and make sure there is no breakage into the holes themselves.

 

[rgand]

Here's a little trick to removing stripped screw heads I learned working on aircraft. Screws can often get corroded into a hole in aluminum because of the electrolysis from dissimilar metals. Take a screwdriver with a good head and dip the tip in fine valve grinding compound. Push firmly into the screw and turn. As long as there's anything at all to grip, it'll usually come right out. On a guitar, you'd want to be careful to not contaminate the wood with the compound.

Thanks again, I'll check the holes as best I can and make sure there is no breakage into the holes themselves.

This won't work if the screw is broken off in the hole. It's good if the slot(s) in the head are starting to round off.