The screw holding the machine head on the E string has broken off. On top of that the machine head itself will not keep the string in tune. I need to remove it. Any ideas.
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The screw holding the machine head on the E string has broken off. On top of that the machine head itself will not keep the string in tune. I need to remove it. Any ideas.
Hi Poida,
did the guitar keep tune before the tuner screw broke ?
I assume you are using the stock tuners ?
Might be time to upgrade the tuners, what kit is it ?
with the broken screw best way to remove it drill 2 or 3 small holes adjacent the broken screw. Get some needle nose pliers to remove it. Then drill one bigger hole and plug and glue it. Sand flush and you may need to refinish that area.
The tuners are brand new from pitbull guitars. I guess they are of a cheap quality. Thanks.
The stock tuners and their screws are the weakest link in PBG kits. Always worth the money to upgrade to Wilkinsons or Gotohs, which are relatively cheap but much better quality.
Did the screw break off while you were tightening the machine head in place?
...and you drill a pilot hole first?
It's very unlikely it's the tuner that's at fault with the tuning. 99% of the time it will be a problem with the nut.
Was lucky and got the screw out using pliers and patience. I will now upgrade the machine heads for better quality ones. Thanks for all your help.
I know your pain...
Attachment 19601
circa 2015
If you have a set of vernier calipers you can measure what size hole you need but just measuring some of mine I would use something between a 1.5 (maybe a little tight) to at most 1.8 diameter drill but I have found that the screws are cheap garbage that are soft and the slot strips easy and I always replace them. Another thing I have found and was told by my Dad was, as he used to say, when putting screws into wood just use some mouth lube (spit) but I upgraded to a more modern and less harmful lube and just use the smallest wipe of Vaseline and the screws go in much easier and it doesn't introduce moisture and have never broken a screw. If you need to get them out they don't rust in the hole like with spit and have never had a screw come out and you can use a slightly smaller hole so it holds better. Don't forget to use a bit of masking tape as a depth guide so you don't drill through the head.
Dikkis dad is wise. after that first and only incident ALL my screws get a douse of parafin wax before fitted
good to know. Thanks.