Loose tuner button?

**charleyrich99** · 12-25-2023, 01:35 PM

I have an Andersen archtop with a loose tuner button. The tuners are Waverly, with tortoise buttons. There isn't a screw for the button. However, the button is turning a bit without the gears tuning.

Is this something easily fixed or do I need to take it to a Luthier? Will a drop of crazy glue in the button do the job or does it need something more?

Thanks,

Charley

**sgosnell** · 12-25-2023, 02:46 PM

More like half a drop.

**charleyrich99** · 12-25-2023, 03:33 PM

Originally Posted by sgosnell

More like half a drop.

Do I need to clamp it? Which glue brand/type to use?

**deacon Mark** · 12-25-2023, 04:28 PM

Waverly tuners are quite expensive, and I personally would contact them about the situation they should do something about it. The button turning in the shaft to me is pretty major and under much pressure. The glue I concerned over time will not hold but I don't how they are attached to begin with. I do know some of the most expensive tuners are Waverly.

**sgosnell** · 12-25-2023, 05:50 PM

No need to clamp with CA. Dan Erlewine seems to advocate for its use in tuner buttons, and Frank Ford shows use of glue for tuner buttons, but perhaps someone else knows better. It doesn't bother me, but I'm not a repair professional.

**charleyrich99** · 12-25-2023, 06:57 PM

Originally Posted by deacon Mark

Waverly tuners are quite expensive, and I personally would contact them about the situation they should do something about it. The button turning in the shaft to me is pretty major and under much pressure. The glue I concerned over time will not hold but I don't how they are attached to begin with. I do know some of the most expensive tuners are Waverly.

I searched online for Waverly company website but couldn't find it. Does anyone have their contact information?

**charleyrich99** · 12-25-2023, 06:57 PM

Originally Posted by sgosnell

No need to clamp with CA. Dan Erlewine seems to advocate for its use in tuner buttons, and Frank Ford shows use of glue for tuner buttons, but perhaps someone else knows better. It doesn't bother me, but I'm not a repair professional.

Not sure what you mean by "CA"?

**lammie200** · 12-25-2023, 07:39 PM

Originally Posted by charleyrich99

Not sure what you mean by "CA"?

It’s an abbreviation for the chemical terminology of crazy glue. Same thing. You might want to determine which form will work best for getting the most contact and strength. Crazy glue gel, or variation of liquid.

**sgosnell** · 12-25-2023, 08:38 PM

CA is short for cyanoacrylate, which takes a lot more typing.

Krazy Glue is one brand among hundreds. There are several viscosities available. For this I would suggest thin, water-thin if you can find it easily, so that it wicks into the gap. Thicker viscosities can't get in there. A thin flexible nozzle helps. eBay/Amazon et al have kits with it all ready to go. They're usually far, far larger than you will need, but that's the way it is. I've bought the packs with a dozen or more small individual tubes, and been very disappointed. Some of them were completely dried up and hard, or had nothing inside. Cheap is the enemy here. Just accept the certainty of some wastage and get a bottle, and hope it stays liquid for awhile. Keep it out of light and especially moisture and it should last for months at least. Adam Savage, who was on the Mythbusters TV show, has a long YouTube video on CA use and misuse, FWIW.

**Ol' Fret** · 12-26-2023, 07:07 AM

As others have pointed out use thin CA. Just take care you hold the guitar in the right position (here the concerned knob and tuner shaft pointing towards the floor).
To prevent that the surplus of CA is running away too much, just use a tiny dip of CA for the first time, wait two or three seconds until the glue has scattered down the shaft. Stop further running and harden the spot with a puff of CA Activator. Repeat this procedure until the transparent CA forms a tiny "bulk" around the spot where the shaft and the tortoise buttons meet. That spot is often filthy from the start, so it would be wise to clean it before gluing with some naphtha or similar. I like to use CA Primer for this which was especially developed for more difficile CA jobs (plastic-plastic or plastic-metal jobs). They don't tell us the chemical formulas of CA Primers, so that stuff could simply be nothing but basically cheap naphtha. Anyone here knows?

**Bill Eisele** · 12-26-2023, 08:00 PM

I would recommend one of the lighter viscosity GluBoost Fill n Finish CA glues along with their accelerator spray. If you order directly from them you are guaranteed it will be fresh: Fine Wood Glues, Fills and Matched Repairs by GluBoost. And, Rick, the owner of Gluboost, is very responsive and helpful if you have any questions. Tracy Longo shows how to secure rattling bass metal tuner buttons on metal posts using GlueBoost CA glue in the YouTube video below. However, I would definitely not use acetone around your Andersen as Tracy does in the video and go with Naphtha for cleaning the mating surfaces between your tuner button and the metal post. Tracy mentions that this is a temporary repair but he says these repairs have lasted at least five years or more. YMMV.

.

**garybaldy** · 12-26-2023, 08:13 PM

I've roughened the metal shaft with a small metal saw and fixed the button on with 2 part Gorilla epoxy. It was a metal button though.

**powerwagonjohn** · 12-27-2023, 10:43 AM

I had two sets of Waverly turner heads with plastic buttons and both sets ended up with the buttons come lose and start spinning. One set on a Martin flat top and the other on a 52 Epiphone Zephyr. I called Stewmac and they replaced both sets no charge. This time I went for the gold metal buttons. No problems since.
Thanks john

**charleyrich99** · 12-27-2023, 11:32 AM

Originally Posted by powerwagonjohn

I had two sets of Waverly turner heads with plastic buttons and both sets ended up with the buttons come lose and start spinning. One set on a Martin flat top and the other on a 52 Epiphone Zephyr. I called Stewmac and they replaced both sets no charge. This time I went for the gold metal buttons. No problems since.
Thanks john

I will try your approach before I start putting glue anywhere near my beloved archtop!

Thanks for everyone's detailed suggestions, but...
While I have a lot of confidence in my guitar skills, there's not much for my gluing abilities...

**charleyrich99** · 12-28-2023, 12:03 AM

I contacted StewMac and a new tuner is on its way to me. There was no charge for the tuner or for shipping. That's great customer service.

**sgosnell** · 12-28-2023, 11:51 AM

After you get the new tuner installed, you can work with the old one to see about fixing it for a spare. If you get CA in the wrong places, acetone will remove it easily. You definitely don't want acetone near a nitro finish, but off the guitar is safe, and you can practice using CA if you want. Or not.

**charleyrich99** · 12-28-2023, 11:59 AM

Originally Posted by sgosnell

After you get the new tuner installed, you can work with the old one to see about fixing it for a spare. If you get CA in the wrong places, acetone will remove it easily. You definitely don't want acetone near a nitro finish, but off the guitar is safe, and you can practice using CA if you want. Or not.

Thanks for the great suggestion. Definitely doing this away from the guitar is the way to go for me. Now, to get back to practicing for tonight's gig.