Hello, this is my first kit, and I have a few questions about six parts with threads around them with a nut at the top and the washers that came with them. I can’t figure out where these are supposed to go. Anything helps!
It sounds like you are talking about the nuts and washers for the tuners. The main body of the tuner fits through the hole in the headstock, then the threaded screw part with a washer fitted is screwed down into the body of the tuner from the top of the headstock. When finally fitted, the nut needs to be done up tight. With the tuner positioned at the angle you want against the headstock, you’ll then drill a small hole for the anti-rotation screw and fit that. I always drill the pilot holes with the tuner in place. Mark off the screw depth on the drill bit as you don’t want to get carried away and drill right through to the face of the headstock.
The kit screws are made from very soft metal, so it’s important that you drill pilot holes that are just a bit smaller than the screw diameter (the maple of the neck can be very tough to screw into) and putting some wax on the threads from a candle or a block of beeswax helps the screw to go in smoothly. This screw is there to help stop the tuner rotating under string tension, not to hold the tuner against the headstock, so there’s no need to over-tighten them or you’ll strip the soft screw head. The top nut keeps the tuner in place (for this type of tuner - vintage style tuners are different). All the force on the screw is sideways.
From time to time, tighten the tuner nuts and screws as they will vibrate loose. I do this with the string off and use a 10mm socket in the tuner nut, as it’s far less likely to slip and mark the headstock than a spanner is.
Need help with parts of ES-3 kit
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