Old Gibson friction tuners

OK all you techky ukers...I need some help.
I have an old 40s Gibson TU-1 that I absolutely love except for the tuners...they suck!!!
I'd like to replace them with something decent but don't want to alter the hole size and decrease the value of the instrument. Has anybody out there done something like this to an old Gibson tenor?
Alternatively, is there any good detailed info out there on dismantling, cleaning, and restoring the original tuners to where they will work decently?
I really love the sound and feel of this uke but find I don't play it that much because of the tuners.
Any and all suggestions greatly appreciated!
Glenn

My TU-2 had replacement Grover (Stu-Mac) tuners when I bought it. The next string change will result in the originals (one broken and replaced due to generosity of a member here) being reinstalled.
There was a Soprano on Elderly's site with a similar condition.
R

I would use Ping tuners as the shaft is narrower than most other brands and usually drops right into old tuner holes. I put some on my friend's vintage Martin for him. I used a flat stainless steel washer I got from the hardware store instead of the one that comes with the Ping tuners (which needs a countersunk hole on the top of the headstock). You can get a flat washer that fits over the shaft of the tuner and rests against the flange on the top side of the tuner. Get a stainless steel washer rather than a galvanized steel one. The stainless will match the Ping exactly.

You can take each of the vintage tuners out, clean them and oil the threads of the screws. Also, some combo of a washer between the wood headstock and the plastic button can often cure old tuners. Can you post a picture of the old tuners?

lakesideglenn said:

OK all you techky ukers...I need some help.
I have an old 40s Gibson TU-1 that I absolutely love except for the tuners...they suck!!!
I'd like to replace them with something decent but don't want to alter the hole size and decrease the value of the instrument. Has anybody out there done something like this to an old Gibson tenor?
Alternatively, is there any good detailed info out there on dismantling, cleaning, and restoring the original tuners to where they will work decently?
I really love the sound and feel of this uke but find I don't play it that much because of the tuners.
Any and all suggestions greatly appreciated!
Glenn

Click to expand...

You are assuming that we know what kind of tuners are on your uke........we don't. Gibson, like others builders used a variety to tuners over the years. Post a photo. You also assume that altering the hole size will devalue the instrument, it won't necessarily.

Thanks, I will post some pics tomorrow

These seem to be the new "go-to" replacements for vintage uke friction tuners:

http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Tuners/...Friction_Pegs.html?actn=100101&xst=1&xsr=4080

They're spring loaded for constant friction and have the smallest needed hole diameter of any of the friction tuners I know of. I'll put them on my early 1930s Martin Style 2 when I get around to fixing it.

Here are pics of the original tuners...are they Grovers? Can I rebuild them? If so, are there detailed instructions out there? I'm pretty mechanically inclined but don't mind a clean swap if I don't have to modify the holes. Just looking for a good set of tuners that are easy to tune and hold tune!

Thanks for your suggestion Rick, gonna check them out.

I have seen those tuners before. Don't know who made them, maybe Kluson? Anyway, the problem with those tuners is they use a friction fit on the bottom of that barrel up against the countersunk hole in the back of the headstock. I have a similar set of tuners which I added a thin washer between the back of the tuner and the wood of the headstock and things slid and tune much better. You have nothing to lose by taking one tuner out, put a bit of lubricant on the threads of the screw, then reinstall the whole thing with a washer between the wood and the metal of the back of the tuner.

Others have used a leather or fiber washer. I bet that would work well here, but I haven't tried it so I don't know....let us know what you work out.

thanks for the input...stay tuned!

Lakesideglenn, I have the same tuners on my Gibson 40's tenor, you are right they do suck, what did you end up doing ??, I need to sort mine out, it sounds fantastic when it stays in tune.

Actually I've bought several other ukes since my original post and haven't done a darn thing...on my 'to do' list when life gets less hectic!
Havent played it in awhile...damn shame! It's a great sounding uke!