Zinc (Gold color) Loose Tuner Button Repair - Gotoh SEP780-06MGG

[DanielleOM]

Anyone know how to repair a loose tuner button? (Slotted headstock tuner)

SEP780 - G-GOTOH

The metal button just seems to slip on to a metal tab.

I recall seeing a post somewhere that I can no longer find that referenced a JB Weld product. However, I see JB Weld is a brand name and not specific product.

A friend tried a cyanoacrylate product, but it failed after a week.


Thanks

Danielle

[garybaldy]

Anyone know how to repair a loose tuner button? (Slotted headstock tuner)

SEP780 - G-GOTOH

The metal button just seems to slip on to a metal tab.

I recall seeing a post somewhere that I can no longer find that referenced a JB Weld product. However, I see JB Weld is a brand name and not specific product.

A friend tried a cyanoacrylate product, but it failed after a week.


Thanks

Danielle

I've had success with a 2 part epoxy glue. I put a few shallow saw cuts on the shaft for added grip.

[Jimmy blue note]

Are you talking the button on the machine's shaft? (Perhaps a photo please? The product description photo you linked to doesn't show the end of the button nor the shaft interface). The buttons are usually secured onto an oiled machine shaft, the screw system includes a nylon bushing and a spring loading washer to maintain tension. Nylon bushings often deteriorate, fall off leaving too much play on the securing screw. If you tighten the screw down all the way and it doesn't produce a tighter resistance in the string tuner, get a new nylon bushing (and washer if you may have misplaced that in the process.) Rule of thumb by the way, DON'T reach for the crazy glue as your first choice nor your last choice. That shaft is oiled. Cyanoacrylite doesn't stick to oil. And where it does stick is where you don't want it to be when you're going for a fine close tolerance fit.
There are some times a wooden button is fitted to a grooved shaft. This is another design flaw. And in early Schaller ebony buttons there was a wonky system of nylon inserts to mate a drilled surface to a fitted aperture on the metal buttons, but they corrected that pretty quickly.

I really can't tell from what you described, sorry. But pictures can help. But glue is not a fix-all in the way that liberal amounts of spackle are not going to fix a crumbling bridge or a badly designed deep sea submersible.
Right tool for the right job?

[DanielleOM]

Are you talking the button on the machine's shaft? (Perhaps a photo please? The product description photo you linked to doesn't show the end of the button nor the shaft interface). The buttons are usually secured onto an oiled machine shaft, the screw system includes a nylon bushing and a spring loading washer to maintain tension. Nylon bushings often deteriorate, fall off leaving too much play on the securing screw. If you tighten the screw down all the way and it doesn't produce a tighter resistance in the string tuner, get a new nylon bushing (and washer if you may have misplaced that in the process.) Rule of thumb by the way, DON'T reach for the crazy glue as your first choice nor your last choice. That shaft is oiled. Cyanoacrylite doesn't stick to oil. And where it does stick is where you don't want it to be when you're going for a fine close tolerance fit.
There are some times a wooden button is fitted to a grooved shaft. This is another design flaw. And in early Schaller ebony buttons there was a wonky system of nylon inserts to mate a drilled surface to a fitted aperture on the metal buttons, but they corrected that pretty quickly.

I really can't tell from what you described, sorry. But pictures can help. But glue is not a fix-all in the way that liberal amounts of spackle are not going to fix a crumbling bridge or a badly designed deep sea submersible.



Right tool for the right job?

Although I currently have some play in the button, I don't want to pull the button off at this time to get a photo. There's no screw holding the button on. The Zinc button appears to have been just pressed on to a metal tab at the end of the worm gear shaft.

Guitar is an Eastman FV680CE FV680CE - Eastman Guitars

[sgosnell]

JB Weld is sold everywhere, even WalMart I think. It's a great product, a two-part epoxy with apparently metal in it. I've used it for all sorts of repairs, including repairing a break in an automobile engine exhaust header. It held for a couple of years, when I sold the POS GM car. That said, it might not be the ideal fix for your guitar. I haven't seen a Vignola model in person before, so I can't really say. It would certainly hold a tuner button in place, though. It would require only a tiny dab, and you would need to mix much more to insure a proper ratio. Metal buttons usually are held in place by screws in the end of the shaft, but not all. If you do go the JB Weld route, I would use a toothpick to get a very small amount into the hole and then reattach the button, and let it cure for a couple of days before applying any pressure. Epoxy cures slowly. It will harden rather quickly, but won't actually reach its full hardness for awhile.

[Jimmy blue note]

Although I currently have some play in the button, I don't want to pull the button off at this time to get a photo. There's no screw holding the button on. The Zinc button appears to have been just pressed on to a metal tab at the end of the worm gear shaft.

Guitar is an Eastman FV680CE FV680CE - Eastman Guitars

Great, and ouch. Yeah, the designs on these is not meant to be repaired. Got a drawer full of these :-( and there are some really high grade machines of this ilk that will last and last, there are lots of lesser machine makers that aren't so good.
You didn't use crazy glue on yours did you? If you did, clean it out with acetone to remove residual traces before attempting anything else.
Thanks for the information on what you've got there. I'm with sgosnell on this with the long set epoxy.
These style open tuning machines I've always installed Waverly machines and never had problems. If you can't get a good bond with epoxy, see if your decent repair shop has a drawer like mine. We always knew there was a high failure rate with this design so when a customer wanted a Waverly switch out, they'd often donate the old ones which we'd use a replacements for the cost of our time.
Eastman makes great instruments but one of the areas I don't give them high marks for is equipping some of their guitars with Chinese hardware made from weaker alloys. One of the places they cut the corners to cut the bottom line.

Good luck!

[Cunamara]

This guitar cannot be all that old and it is a spendy instrument at 3800 bucks list. Have you tried contacting Eastman to see if they'll just send you a replacement set?

[DanielleOM]

This guitar cannot be all that old and it is a spendy instrument at 3800 bucks list. Have you tried contacting Eastman to see if they'll just send you a replacement set?

I just sent a request to Eastman. (Probably best not to be working with solvents and glues if one can avoid it.) Although I have had this guitar for 6 years, it really has not had a lot of use.

Off Topic: (RE: FV680CE)

In many respects I find it to be an incredible guitar with very consistent attack and response. It's not a warm guitar, but I find the clarity, and response to right hand to be amazing.

On the down side, I often wonder if I received some kind of one off special. The specified 1 3/4 nut measures closer to 1 13/16. Out of all the Eastman guitars I have here this neck is the beefiest. I find I need to be extremely careful not to spend to much time working on a new chord melody piece with this guitar. My fretting hand and thumb can get easily fatigued.