Old Grover Imperials?

[deacon Mark]

Have a set of old Grover Imperials from 1940’s. I want to clean them up and they come apart in back, but when unscrewing the button tuner does nothing. I cannot tell but I assume some must come apart by taking out this screw but nothing happens. The tuner button still works and I am lost. Help anyone who knows or has seen them all apart. I would like to even remove the thread and tuner shaft to clean.

[neatomic]

here's a pic of the parts...unscrewing should let you get the buttons off...might be stuck with time....hit it with some oil or even wd-40 and try again

they sell replacement buttons. so they must come off!



luck

cheers

[Cunamara]

Well, it is possible that galvanic corrosion has fused the buttons to the shaft. In that case you may not be able to get them off. On the other hand, if it's just junk and crud that's gotten in there and stuck them together, dunking the whole works in some naphtha may get them loose. You'll need to re-lubricate the tuner gears, though.

[deacon Mark]

here's a pic of the parts...unscrewing should let you get the buttons off...might be stuck with time....hit it with some oil or even wd-40 and try again

they sell replacement buttons. so they must come off!

cheers

I sure thought so thank you so much made my day!

[neatomic]

only thing with naphtha is, if the tuner uses tiny plastic/synthetic washers...a bath might not do them well

proceed with care...try one first


cheers

[wintermoon]

the ones from the 30s-40s are different from the mid 1950s style NA posted. they look like this and I'd bet this is the type on Mark's DA



this style remained unchanged until about 1950 when this type appeared for a couple years.




I haven't looked at modern ones but vintage Imperials don't have any plastic parts

[sgosnell]

Naphtha (lighter fluid) shouldn't hurt anything, it won't even affect a nitro finish unless grossly overdone. Acetone would be a problem, though, as it melts some plastics. WD40 works pretty well. I would be tempted to try naphtha first, as it's thinner and might penetrate better initially, then try WD40 or penetrating oil. It's impossible to say, without seeing the tuners, how bad the corrosion is. One of the advantages of plastic buttons is that they don't corrode, and can be broken off easily enough if necessary, and the same goes for wood. IMO metal buttons should be removed every now and then, and lubed, to prevent the corrosion. Of course, that's easier said than done.

[wintermoon]

I don't know anyone that takes the tuner buttons off to lube them now and then, there's really no reason to even if you're cleaning them.

[neatomic]

I haven't looked at modern ones but vintage Imperials don't have any plastic parts

yes, was not speaking just specifically to vintage imperials in that post!

cheers

[wintermoon]

yes, was not speaking just specifically to vintage imperials in that post!

cheers

all good NA, was just responding to the tuners we're discussing

[customxke]

only thing with naphtha is, if the tuner uses tiny plastic/synthetic washers...a bath might not do them well

proceed with care...try one first


cheers

I think you might be thinking of acetone. Naphtha won’t hurt plastic.

[deacon Mark]

[QUOTE=Cunamara;1094918]Well, it is possible that galvanic corrosion has fused the buttons to the shaft. In that case you may not be able to get them off. On the other hand, if it's just junk and crud that's gotten in there and stuck them together, dunking the whole works in some naphtha may get them loose. You'll need to re-lubricate the tuner gears, though.[/QUOT

Stuck seat post right Tim? I have played that tune?

[sgosnell]

I don't know anyone that takes the tuner buttons off to lube them now and then, there's really no reason to even if you're cleaning them.

I really don't either, but it's probably a good idea to do it every few years just to make sure they aren't corroding. With anything other than metal buttons it's a non-issue, and even metal buttons shouldn't corrode if kept in playing condition. But in a case, with the outgassing of the plastic and lining, it's possible after a long time. Checking every decade or so would be prudent, although most people aren't that prudent.

[deacon Mark]

Success! I put them all in a jar of Naphtha for 2 days and then with a bit of tugging and leverage they all came apart. The worm gears can be taken out and stairsteps buttons and shaft. Got them all cleaned up nicely and lube them again. They had been sitting in my tool draw for the last 40 years so not much can happen but they were pretty dirty.

[rolijen]

Success! I put them all in a jar of Naphtha for 2 days and then with a bit of tugging and leverage they all came apart. The worm gears can be taken out and stairsteps buttons and shaft. Got them all cleaned up nicely and lube them again. They had been sitting in my tool draw for the last 40 years so not much can happen but they were pretty dirty.

Nice to hear that you had success!

[Hammertone]

Please post a couple of pix of the unassembled tuners.

[deacon Mark]

Please post a couple of pix of the unassembled tuners.

Here is one all apart.

[Hammertone]

Thanks.
It appears that the worm gear can simply be lifted out of place.
Is the base plate, which you have not shown, locked between the cog gear and the tuner post when the cog gear screw is screwed into place, or does the gear/post assembly simply lift out of the baseplate?

[deacon Mark]

Thanks.
It appears that the worm gear can simply be lifted out of place.
Is the base plate, which you have not shown, locked between the cog gear and the tuner post when the cog gear screw is screwed into place, or does the gear/post assembly simply lift out of the baseplate?

yes it just sits down and 2 tabs of metal back go down hold the worm gear in place. I might add this took considerable force to bring out the worm gear until it was all cleaned. Also you can simply change which side of housing the worm gear sits so they are not side specific tuners as such. Actually pretty cool.

[neatomic]

yes, that vintage style imperial can be used on either side of the headstock, as the worm is reversible...the back cover has equal openings on both sides


cheers

[Hammertone]

Thanks for the pix.

Pro tip of the day:
Sperzel does the same thing, which very few folks know. Dead easy to convert a 3x3 set to a 6-inline set and vice-versa.