Cleaning Old Friction Tuners

[pdxuke]

Hi All:

I have a Martin c40s Tenor that has very stiff friction tuners. I'm going to put new strings on this weekend. Should I take the tuners apart and clean them? WD40? What should I do to spruce them up?

Thanks!

 

[Sven]

Do NOT put whole old tuners in spirit or solvent to clean them. A friend of mine did that on Gibson tuners and the knobs just melted.

Just a quick warning. Others will know what to actually do.

Sven

 

[coolkayaker1]

http://frets.com/FretsPages/Musician/GenMaint/Gears/GearTune/geartune1.html

thom, seek from the oh holy master. frets.com lol

P.S. I cannot get that '27 Koa Martin soprano on Gryph out of my mind. But, I'm uked out on this end. It seems too good to be true from photos, and every other similar 2K Martin I see online is about two hundred doll hairs or more higher. Hmm.

 

[pdxuke]

Thanks Steve! Frank is the guru.

That 2k is nice. Mmm....

 

[Rick Turner]

The old "patent" friction tuners often respond well to careful cleaning...Mineral Spirits or Xylene should be safe for old plastic...and then custom made leather friction washers installed between the back of the peghead and whatever bits of metal or plastic are next in line. I've also done this with felt strap button washers that I get from All Parts. All too often old parts that are restorable are tossed when more careful attention can bring them back to utility.

 

[AlaskaTheo]

I was cleaning some old tuners myself the other day, well started to. Without thinking I grabbed a little denatured alcohol to clean them up. I could smell instantly that was a mistake. I quit and haven’t quite gotten back to them. It still looks ok, lost some color, I may have to do it to all of them in the end just so they still match , I didn’t lose the striped ivroid pattern.

When you say ‘patent’? what kind of tuners. Are you referring to something like these?
I think these say ’PAT END’??, they are pretty old grovers I have no idea how old.

 

[Zefira]

hi i have never seen ukulele friction tuners, but if they are wooden like violin tuners, the way you get them to turn easier/be less stiff, is to put a bit of graphite on the bit that goes into the instrument. i use a 4b pencil on my violin tuning pegs, works a treat

 

[Rick Turner]

You won't lose the striped pattern in Ivoroid because it's in the material, not on the material; it literally has a grain pattern. Denatured alcohol is great for cleaning tape recorder heads and guides, but stick with Xylene or mineral spirits for old instrument parts. Alcohol is the solvent for a lot of old shellac based finishes, so it's a real no-no for cleaning parts, and NEVER use acetone around vintage ukes; it'll melt tuner buttons, celluloid bindings, lacquer, and it will certainly etch shellac or spirit varnish.

"Patent " tuners is how any of the non-tapered, non-violin style friction tuners are referred to. The friction is between flanges on the tuner posts and button assembly and the face and back of the peghead rather than being from the tapered pegs and matching holes of traditional violin pegs.

Also, those Grovers actually are "Patent Pending"...

 

[tobinsuke]

Also, those Grovers actually are "Patent Pending"...

Pending? Still? Damn, how long does it take for a patent to go through, anyway?
Ha ha.

 

[RyanMFT]

I take apart and clean all the old tuners when I get a new/old ukulele. I take each one apart, and rub each metal piece down with Brasso and a cloth. I haven't used what Rick suggests, but he knows what he is doing. The Brasso, a metal cleaner/polish has always done a good job for me. When the metal is clean, I reassemble the tuner, and I lubricate the screw (before I put the whole thing back in the headstock and screw it in and out of the female end several times to get some lubrication into the threads. This allows better tension adjustment.

When I reinstall, I tend to add a flat metal washer, usually a brass one between the button and the back of the headstock, where Rick puts a leather washer. I don't have any leather, but I've found a good washer provides a better sliding surface for most buttons and also doesn't let the screw sit as deeply in the threads, providing the ability to adjust that screw a bit more.

 

[Nicko]

Anyone got a source on leather washers of the dimensions that would be appropriate for this application? Or do you make your own? I can only find leather washers online that are WAY TOO BIG.