1979 Les Paul tuner repair, any suggestions??

[Bruce Herrmann]

Just tried a fix on this 70's Les Paul, it has the plastic tuner buttons with a metal bushing that is
press-fit into the button. The bushing had come loose so, of course, the screw just backed out
when turned counter-clockwise. I was finally able to remove the bushing, I ground in small slots
lengthwise and then used an epoxy designed for plastics/metals and glued the bushing back in.
I then used red loctite on the screw. It's holding up well so far but would like to know a better
way to do this job. Also, for when it fails....., anybody have an extra button available? How's that
for confidence!

The top photo shows a good, working button and the 3 washers that came with it.
The bottom shows the problem tuner with the bushing part of the way out. I used a wave washer and a neoprene washer from a later Grover Sta-tite tuner, seemed like at least as good as the 3 flat washers...


Thanks
Bruce

[Russell Vance]

There are a number of ways to fix this - there are replacement plastic buttons available which are literally melted on to the fluted shaft - but, without wishing to draw the ire of those who wish to repair rather than replace - the amount of time spent repairing these things cost more to me than the cost of replacing the set and as it is a 1970s model with a squillion of them built I'll be long gone before they are worth anything and all good LP's have them replaced anyway. The other thing is that the original Klusons often fail because they are an old and dodgy design and have no place on a performing instrument - do the world a favor and replace them with a set of reliable quality tuners such as Tonepros (who do repo Klusons with good insides and better turret height) or Schallers (less technically correct in appearance but v. reliable and strong).

If you are a collector who never fixes or changes anything just turn your head away from this advice. Rusty.

[Bruce Herrmann]

Thanks Rusty, the guy that owns the guitar is not a collector, I think he would like to stay away from drilling
new holes so a set of tuners that kept the footprint the same would be the way to go. I'm not familiar with
the Tonepros or Schallers for these guitars, would they be a direct swap? Like you say, the guitar is
far from a rare instrument but I sense that he wants to keep it as close to original as possible but wants
to be able to keep it functioning. Maybe the Tonepros would be good, I'll check into them.
Bruce

[Russell Vance]

Bruce, yes, the replacement tuners are an identical footprint to the original Kluson footprint and if you order the appropriate Tonepros vintage style post (either press-in bushing or threaded ferrule) set you will have nothing to do apart from screw them in. Schaller have ferrules/threaded bushings and require the peghead holes to be reamed/drilled out to accomodate the larger post system if the original is a press-in bushing style. This bigger, more stable bushing does however contribute to the tuning stability and longevity of the tuners. Go with the vintage nickel Tonepros TPK33-N (available in satin nickel TPK33-SN for that cool 'aged' look) for the best look. Rusty.

[Bruce Herrmann]

Excellent, thanks Rusty, that's what I'm going to recommend to him. Seems like the ideal fix. I know
he'll want to go that route, he keeps his guitars in good shape. I appreciate your help.
Bruce