Martin Tenor Tuners ?????

suburude

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I have a 1934 to 1945 Martin tenor ! The tuners dont seem to work ?? They are either to tight or to lose ! Even tight they l slip ??
They dont seem striped ?? Its driving me nuts !! :) !!

The guy I bought this from said he de tuned it when it was shipped to me . He also said he had new Martin strings put on then brought it up to pitch ?? I have had it up to pitch but it slips ??? And it is very very tight!
Do the tuners it need to be rebuilt or something . I have tighted the tuners but dont want to got to far to brake them ????
Any help or suggestion appreciated !! suburude
 
I have had two martin tenors and with those friction tuners they should be like any other...but not slip...have you tried taking them apart and cleaning and lube them...
since you do not have a specific date...can you post pictures of them and the uke...are they the original tuners you think... does yours have two beads on the back bottom?
last case senerio...put lighter guage lower tension strings on....such as oasis, living waters, southcoast light etc....if you do not want to change the tuners after cleaning and lubing them.
good luck....
 
Nope just line them up in order your first time taking them apart and clean and lube them...then go backwards of the order you took them apart.. do one first, if it's your first time so you have something to follow if you forget the order...
 
Stan is right, a clean up and lube on your tuners should help a lot. Just keep the parts together for each tuner. It is so easy to take them apart and refurbish them. People struggle all the time with vintage tuners, but I have A LOT of vintage ukes and I am able to bring my tuners into good working order.

First, take them out of the ukulele but undoing the screw, and taking off the button, spacer, and pull the shaft out along with the washer on the top. Then clean every part with a good metal cleaner/polish, including the threads of the screw. Next put some good lubricant on the threads of the screw and screw it in and out of the shaft several times while it is not in the ukulele to get lubricant deep into the threads of the shaft. You don't want lubricant on the outside of the shaft. Then, reinstall, and adjust the screw....should work well.
 
Stan is right, a clean up and lube on your tuners should help a lot. Just keep the parts together for each tuner. It is so easy to take them apart and refurbish them. People struggle all the time with vintage tuners, but I have A LOT of vintage ukes and I am able to bring my tuners into good working order.

First, take them out of the ukulele but undoing the screw, and taking off the button, spacer, and pull the shaft out along with the washer on the top. Then clean every part with a good metal cleaner/polish, including the threads of the screw. Next put some good lubricant on the threads of the screw and screw it in and out of the shaft several times while it is not in the ukulele to get lubricant deep into the threads of the shaft. You don't want lubricant on the outside of the shaft. Then, reinstall, and adjust the screw....should work well.

Do you think this is why I am having so much trouble with tuning ?? suburude
 
Does this uke have Grover Champion tuners? They have fiber washers between the metal parts of the tuners and the wood of the peghead. Are those washers there? If not, that may be the problem. If they are there, try cleaning the surfaces of the tuners, washers and peghead and re-assembling. Don't put oil, wax or anything else on them. Mine work fine on both my Martin tenors, with only occasional tightening.
 
Does this uke have Grover Champion tuners? They have fiber washers between the metal parts of the tuners and the wood of the peghead. Are those washers there? If not, that may be the problem. If they are there, try cleaning the surfaces of the tuners, washers and peghead and re-assembling. Don't put oil, wax or anything else on them. Mine work fine on both my Martin tenors, with only occasional tightening.

These are the original 1937 tuners ??? " Grover Champion tuners " ????
 
S, can you toss up a couple photos please? Thanks.
 
I have a '57 Martin tenor with the same tuners. They don't seem to work as well as some others they used.[like the ones with the springs] My A string tuner has to be pretty tight to hold, so that makes tuning it a bit tricky. I took mine apart and noticed the fiber washers had some glaze on them, I sanded them lightly and it seemed to help. they should work like new if I can get new washers, as that seems to provide all the tension. I'm going to check my Ace hardware this morning, they seem to have everything.
 
I notice there are washers on yours ??? also on mine ? Are they fabric washers ? Paper?
 
great question! I have a '34 Martin style 0 and one of the tuners slips a little, but after tightening (the screwhead is nearly stripped) it stays pretty well. They look just like the picture posted above. Guess next time I restring, I'll take them apart...is it just taking out the screw on the bottom and everything will come off?
IMG_1531.jpg
 
BTW how do I post photos on my replys or on an ad ect??? Thanks Jim
 
I have a '57 Martin tenor with the same tuners. They don't seem to work as well as some others they used.[like the ones with the springs] My A string tuner has to be pretty tight to hold, so that makes tuning it a bit tricky. I took mine apart and noticed the fiber washers had some glaze on them, I sanded them lightly and it seemed to help. they should work like new if I can get new washers, as that seems to provide all the tension. I'm going to check my Ace hardware this morning, they seem to have everything.
UPDATE
WANTED TO CHANGE THE STRINGS so I took the tuners apart as I did it. a lot of the fiber washers were stuck to the wood, so I carefullu pried them off with a blade and flipped them all over. That eliminated the glazed side. Worked like a charm. now they are as smooth as the ones on my Koaloha.
 
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