Has anyone tried repairing one of these?
I think silver soldering would be tricky if even worth attempting, as the shaft would have to be in motion while the solder hardened, sort of a cold solder joint on one part and a good bond on the other.
The other thought I had is to silver solder a brass band around the outside of it. Not pretty but might give the strength needed to function well.
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Tinners use soapstone sticks to create an area where solder won't adhere. It produces a line much like chalk on a chalk board. I have never used it with silver solder, but the sticks are not expensive, and it would be worth trying it first on some scrap brass.
The guitar is from the 30's and the new Grovers are not the same specs. I already verified that and I doubt Grover will send me a 30's tuner.
I agree that the repair has a good chance of being tentative at best. The fact that the supporting brackets for the worm gear shaft are open style is an Achilles heel in itself, and I feel that any of them could fail. And 12 tooth gear to boot!
I have some Waverly tuners on the way.
Are the uprights bent from the bass plate or in some way attached? Would it be possible to cut the broken upright back so it was flush with the base and make a new upright which dovetails or pegs into the base? I'm sure Ive seen something like this on Frets.com.
The plate is bent to produce the uprights, and the end of the shaft is peened over. I'm guessing that these were made by pressing the shaft through the uprights and worm gear all at once, and then the key was pressed or brazed on, or the assembled shaft with gear and keys was placed in the journals, and then the two uprights were bent over the shaft to hold it in, hence the split on the uprights?? I would have to bend the collar around the tuner shaft, which seems like it would weaken the brass unless I anneal it and bend. It seems like a lot of work for one tuner. There are plenty of vintage nickel ones available, but gold seem hard to find.
I'll search on the discussions for grover repairs. I have the guitar for sale, so I might be under the gun at some point to deliver. The Waverly tuners are a good bet to get this 1930's L-12 healthy again.
Thanks!
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