A bike trick that repaired a guitar tuner

Mark Cleary

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Aug 3, 2023, 5:59:29 PM8/3/23

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We all probably know the trick of getting sticky shimano shifters to work by using WD40. I have done it a few times on repairs for others and sure enough it gets the shifter back in sync and usually it will then last longer for sure. At some point they can go back but it works.

So today repairing a guitar tuner that was sticky would not turn correctly and work smooth I wondered if the same would work? Well first of all the tuners are sealed up although they have edges that solvent can get into the inside mechanism through the back. The other issue is these are quite valuable Kluson Sealfast tuners. A set of new ones are like $400 and the used originals sometimes go for $700. Need to be careful removed them from the headstock too before you do this.

Well I set them in the WD40 and let sit for a spell took them out and work the gear like I was tuning them on a string. BINGO they now are just fine.
Deacon mark

AMuzi

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Aug 3, 2023, 6:34:39 PM8/3/23

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What is a guitar tuner?

The cure for classic analog car radio controls is
potentiometer cleaner. Doesn't leave an oily residue, which
could be a feature if the tuner is inside the guitar. (I'm
not an expert on radios nor guitars)

--
Andrew Muzi
<www.yellowjersey.org/>
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

John B.

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Aug 3, 2023, 8:22:12 PM8/3/23

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They are sometimes called "tuning pegs". The giozmo that winds the
string up to "tune" it.
--
Cheers,

John B.

Ted Heise

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Aug 3, 2023, 9:41:56 PM8/3/23

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On Thu, 03 Aug 2023 17:34:36 -0500,
AMuzi <a...@yellowjersey.org> wrote:

> On 8/3/2023 4:59 PM, Mark Cleary wrote:

> > So today repairing a guitar tuner that was sticky would not
> > turn correctly and work smooth I wondered if the same would
> > work? Well first of all the tuners are sealed up although they
> > have edges that solvent can get into the inside mechanism
> > through the back. The other issue is these are quite valuable
> > Kluson Sealfast tuners. A set of new ones are like $400 and
> > the used originals sometimes go for $700. Need to be careful
> > removed them from the headstock too before you do this.
> >
> > Well I set them in the WD40 and let sit for a spell took them
> > out and work the gear like I was tuning them on a string.
> > BINGO they now are just fine. Deacon mark
>
> What is a guitar tuner?

I didn't know either, and found this quite interesting...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Machine_head

--
Ted Heise <the...@panix.com> West Lafayette, IN, USA

Frank Krygowski

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Aug 3, 2023, 9:54:30 PM8/3/23

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At first I thought you meant an electronic tuner. I thought you had a
problem with switch contacts or something.

You may find it interesting that my fiddle has planetary geared tuning
pegs. They look like ordinary friction pegs, but have something like a
4:1 ratio. They lack the stick-slip of friction pegs and make tuning
easier.

I wonder if Sturmey-Archer makes a version?

--
- Frank Krygowski

AMuzi

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Aug 3, 2023, 11:08:23 PM8/3/23

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The Inter Webs led me to 'guitar tuner' software which is
installed on a telephone but I assumed WD-40 wouldn't work
in a telephone.

Tom Kunich

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Aug 4, 2023, 10:49:26 AM8/4/23

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WD40 can work its way into the wood of the tuning head via the attachment screws and they can degrade and pull out because there is quite a bit of tension in the strings. Especially the top three strings. So the actual way is to release the string, undo the tuner screws and slip the tuner out of the slot and clean it outside of the guitar. My brother used to build guitars as a hobby.

Mark Cleary

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Aug 4, 2023, 11:05:16 AM8/4/23

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Well of course you remove the machine head from the guitar. Otherwise it would not work and be dangerous to guitar finish.
Deacon Mark

NFN Smith

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Aug 4, 2023, 11:31:17 AM8/4/23

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Tom Kunich wrote:
> WD40 can work its way into the wood of the tuning head via the
> attachment screws and they can degrade and pull out because there is
> quite a bit of tension in the strings. Especially the top three
> strings. So the actual way is to release the string, undo the tuner
> screws and slip the tuner out of the slot and clean it outside of the
> guitar. My brother used to build guitars as a hobby.

I believe that WD-40 is an oil-solution, and there are materials that it
shouldn't be used on. For a guitar, I agree that removing metal parts
and lubricating away from any wood parts.

I agree that my first reaction on "guitar tuner" was an electronic one.

For electronics, something that I learned years ago (especially with
computer keyboards) is that aerosol Freon works well. It's just enough
to get into key switches, and then evaporates easily. Of course, that's
hard to get anymore. I remember talking to an HVAC technician, and he
suggested that more modern refrigerants can be used in the same way as
Freon, but I've never tried that.

Smith

John B.

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Aug 4, 2023, 6:47:53 PM8/4/23

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On Fri, 4 Aug 2023 08:05:13 -0700 (PDT), Mark Cleary
<deaco...@gmail.com> wrote:

>On Friday, August 4, 2023 at 9:49:26?AM UTC-5, Tom Kunich wrote:

Essentially what you did was clean the tuner. When I was fooling
around with banjos what I'd do if I bought an old one to "fix up" was
remove the tuners and soak them in a solvent bath, whether WD40 or
other solvent, and then make sure they were completely dry before
reinstalling them.

I've got a banjo sitting in the corner that I re-did years ago and the
tuners work perfectly well today and "I think" the problem is that the
tuners, at one time or another got something on them, maybe oil, that
actually caused "dirt" to adhere and thus got "sticky".
--
Cheers,

John B.

Ted Heise

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Aug 5, 2023, 3:21:29 PM8/5/23

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On Thu, 03 Aug 2023 22:08:15 -0500,

AMuzi <a...@yellowjersey.org> wrote:
> On 8/3/2023 8:41 PM, Ted Heise wrote:
> > On Thu, 03 Aug 2023 17:34:36 -0500,
> > AMuzi <a...@yellowjersey.org> wrote:
> >> On 8/3/2023 4:59 PM, Mark Cleary wrote:
> >
> >>> So today repairing a guitar tuner that was sticky would not
> >>> turn correctly and work smooth I wondered if the same would
> >>> work? Well first of all the tuners are sealed up although
> >>> they have edges that solvent can get into the inside
> >>> mechanism through the back. The other issue is these are
> >>> quite valuable Kluson Sealfast tuners. A set of new ones are
> >>> like $400 and the used originals sometimes go for $700. Need
> >>> to be careful removed them from the headstock too before you
> >>> do this.
> >>>
> >>> Well I set them in the WD40 and let sit for a spell took
> >>> them out and work the gear like I was tuning them on a
> >>> string. BINGO they now are just fine. Deacon mark
> >>
> >> What is a guitar tuner?
> >
> > I didn't know either, and found this quite interesting...
> >
> > https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Machine_head
> >
> The Inter Webs led me to 'guitar tuner' software which is
> installed on a telephone but I assumed WD-40 wouldn't work in a
> telephone.

My initial guesses were along similar lines--like one of those
gizmos that shows how close a tone is to some standard frequency.

Tony Mike

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Aug 20, 2023, 9:59:06 PM8/20/23

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