Fitting The Rosewood Tuner Buttons....(Post #4 of 4.)
...At last, the final part is here! Well done for making it this far kind reader.
Pic 1. Mounting screw checked in insert for a nice sliding fit.
Pic 2. Check slot on shaft....again....
Pic 3. File some more until the perfect fit is achieved, then check again....An accurate but sliding fit on the shaft is important so that the button can still be tension-adjusted as required via the mounting screw, while any 'slop' would just twist the insert around the shaft over time. It has to be spot-on to work....and stay working over time.
Pic 4. Check fit of insert in button, and file any excess off to bring level with base, then superglue it in place. I applied the glue with a cocktail stick and got it in there pretty quickly before it set. I learned that this was important....
On my second insert, I'd got it to this stage and was starting to feel all pleased with myself, when the glue set too quickly and the insert only went in about half way before the glue grabbed it...... Three hours or so later, once I had calmed down a bit....(!), I could only drill the thing out and hopefully start again. Of course, despite wrapping the button with large amounts of masking tape to protect it in the vice, I still managed to press in two large dents into that beautiful wood..... Five hours or so later, once I had calmed down a bit more....(!), I simply stuck a cotton bud up the mounting hole of the button and held it over the steam from the kettle I'd just boiled to make a brew. The wood was still 'there' and the heat and moisture just swelled it right back out again in about 15 seconds...I didn't even have to sand it smooth or level.....RESULT!! Happy again, apart from the fact that I still had this one and four more of the little baskits to construct, I started counting Moorland Blue Sheep.....again.....
Pic 5. Sometime later (ok, a LOT later....!), I had all six buttons fitted and working perfectly and looking rather nice on the guitar. Ben was so pleased with them, and all the effort doing it was nothing compared to the look of joy on his face when he got his hands on his 'new' guitar. You just can't buy stuff like that....you have to make it....... Best of all, he knows just how much we love him.....
Brian.
...At last, the final part is here! Well done for making it this far kind reader.
Pic 1. Mounting screw checked in insert for a nice sliding fit.
Pic 2. Check slot on shaft....again....
Pic 3. File some more until the perfect fit is achieved, then check again....An accurate but sliding fit on the shaft is important so that the button can still be tension-adjusted as required via the mounting screw, while any 'slop' would just twist the insert around the shaft over time. It has to be spot-on to work....and stay working over time.
Pic 4. Check fit of insert in button, and file any excess off to bring level with base, then superglue it in place. I applied the glue with a cocktail stick and got it in there pretty quickly before it set. I learned that this was important....
On my second insert, I'd got it to this stage and was starting to feel all pleased with myself, when the glue set too quickly and the insert only went in about half way before the glue grabbed it...... Three hours or so later, once I had calmed down a bit....(!), I could only drill the thing out and hopefully start again. Of course, despite wrapping the button with large amounts of masking tape to protect it in the vice, I still managed to press in two large dents into that beautiful wood..... Five hours or so later, once I had calmed down a bit more....(!), I simply stuck a cotton bud up the mounting hole of the button and held it over the steam from the kettle I'd just boiled to make a brew. The wood was still 'there' and the heat and moisture just swelled it right back out again in about 15 seconds...I didn't even have to sand it smooth or level.....RESULT!! Happy again, apart from the fact that I still had this one and four more of the little baskits to construct, I started counting Moorland Blue Sheep.....again.....
Pic 5. Sometime later (ok, a LOT later....!), I had all six buttons fitted and working perfectly and looking rather nice on the guitar. Ben was so pleased with them, and all the effort doing it was nothing compared to the look of joy on his face when he got his hands on his 'new' guitar. You just can't buy stuff like that....you have to make it....... Best of all, he knows just how much we love him.....
Brian.
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