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Author Topic:  Replacement tuners for Ric B6
Gary Goldsmith

 

From:
Florida, USA
Post  Posted 7 Sep 2016 8:48 am    
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Hello Rickenbacker Bakalites.

I have a 1946 B6 that needs replacement tuners. I have read the archived posts regarding possibilities. I wondered if any new solutions where at hand or whether reaming the peg holes is still the most accepted solution. Someone also said that there were Waverly vintage tuners that worked with only one screw in place. Since I have always had a screw loose anyway that might work for me. Any ideas as to which Waverly models? Thanks for any suggestions.
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Erv Niehaus


From:
Litchfield, MN, USA
Post  Posted 7 Sep 2016 9:22 am    
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I would pull up www.stewmac.com and see what they have to offer.
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Gary Goldsmith

 

From:
Florida, USA
Post  Posted 7 Sep 2016 9:35 am    
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Thanks for the reply Erv, I have an inquiry to their customer service people. They do have some possibilities perhaps.
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George Macdonald

 

From:
Vancouver Island BC Canada
Post  Posted 7 Sep 2016 9:38 am     B6 tuners
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Gary, I replaced the tuners on an older Rick then yours with "Golden Age Restoration Guitar Tuners Item #2517 Relic Nickel" from Stewmac.com. They look very close to the originals and they were almost a perfect fit.
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Gary Goldsmith

 

From:
Florida, USA
Post  Posted 7 Sep 2016 9:48 am    
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Thanks George,
Excellent. That's why I love this Forum.
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Erv Niehaus


From:
Litchfield, MN, USA
Post  Posted 7 Sep 2016 9:51 am    
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Gary,
Can you get any model numbers off the old tuners?
I was looking for tuners for a ZB I was restoring and the only place I could find them was in Germany.
Sometimes you have to troll the internet to find what you are looking for.
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Gary Goldsmith

 

From:
Florida, USA
Post  Posted 7 Sep 2016 10:17 am    
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Erv,

I haven't found any #s on them. I do know I can't mess with that Bakelite other then to use a fine, small file if I have to enlarge the hole at all. Those Golden Age tuner look like the real deal.
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Erv Niehaus


From:
Litchfield, MN, USA
Post  Posted 7 Sep 2016 10:55 am    
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Gary,
You might be able to find a small, round file or rasp that would fit the hole.
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Allen Hutchison


From:
Kilcoy, Qld, Australia
Post  Posted 7 Sep 2016 2:28 pm    
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Think Jewellers or Lapidary supply stores on the files.
Some are even available with diamond coatings.
I will certainly archive the stewmac part info for future reference. Thanks for the tip. Cheers! Cool
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Ted Duross

 

From:
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Post  Posted 14 Jan 2017 11:00 am    
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Hi Gary,

Just as a follow up on your post from September... Did you have any luck replacing the tuners on your B6. I recently picked up a B6 of a similar vintage and am contemplating doing the same...Those "Golden Age Restoration Guitar Tuners" look great! Any chance you gave them a try?

Incidentally, if 'yes', did you need to ream out the peg holes?

Thanks,
Ted
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George Macdonald

 

From:
Vancouver Island BC Canada
Post  Posted 14 Jan 2017 11:35 am     B6 tuners
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Hi Ted, The peg holes on mine were fine, but as I recall the screw holes were very close but not perfect. I had a guitar repair guy at a local music store do the job for me. I think he may have elongated the holes on the tuners just slightly to fit the holes on the guitar peg head. I've attached a couple of pics. The one with the blue panels has the replacement tuners. I bought the tuners from Stew Mac and took them to him. Hope this helps.

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Ted Duross

 

From:
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Post  Posted 14 Jan 2017 12:15 pm    
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Thanks George,

They look great... guitars and tuners both!

Good picture. I can easily make out how they had to shift the screw holes a bit.

I've got an order I'm planning to send into StewMac. I'm really good at sending in an order and then thinking a few days later I wished I'd included...

So thanks again. Very helpful!
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Mark van Allen


From:
Watkinsville, Ga. USA
Post  Posted 14 Jan 2017 6:20 pm    
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Blue panels! Very cool.

Just a shout to anyone visiting this thread with the same issue… if you should do any filing on the bakelite, do NOT breathe that stuff.
_________________
Stop by the Steel Store at: www.markvanallen.com
www.musicfarmstudio.com
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Ted Duross

 

From:
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Post  Posted 15 Jan 2017 4:31 am    
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Quote:
if you should do any filing on the bakelite, do NOT breathe that stuff.

Mark, when you say this am I right in assuming that you are referring to the possible presence of asbestos? I'd be very curious to know more about this... In the second page of a previous thread this was discussed and this comment was made.

Quote:
There's no asbestos in this material. If you read up on Bakelite you'll see that the various formulas differ mainly in the reinforcing material and use the same phenolic binder. Asbestos was used in the 1920's, but later it was other things: canvas, linen, Nylon, paper.


Here's a link to that thread.

http://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopic.php?p=2018998&sid=90051a8eb7e96eedcbf596c4bacf0548
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Erv Niehaus


From:
Litchfield, MN, USA
Post  Posted 15 Jan 2017 6:53 am    
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I understand that the filler material used in bakalite was ground up walnut shells, very toxic. Rolling Eyes Rolling Eyes
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Ted Duross

 

From:
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Post  Posted 15 Jan 2017 7:19 am    
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Yes, Erv, you're right. I've seen that mentioned in a couple of places.

http://plastiquarian.com/?page_id=14339

They seem to have used a number of different fillers in Bakelite including wood pulp, mica, ground walnut shells and asbestos... I'm searching around a bit online to see if I come across anything authoritative about which products used or didn't use asbestos.
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Ted Duross

 

From:
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Post  Posted 27 Jun 2017 11:55 am    
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Hi, I just wanted to do an update on the replacement tuners question. I finally got around to installing new ones. I went with the “Golden Age Restoration Guitar Tuners” which a few people had recommended. They turned out great.

Some small adjustments were required. As was mentioned the screw hole placements were a little off. So I brought them into a repair shop and they redrilled the holes.

Also, for my B6 (made sometime between 46 and 49) the Golden Age string posts were a little too large, .236 of an inch as opposed to .218 on my old ones.

I never could clear up the question of whether they were using ‘ground up walnut shells’ or ‘asbestos’ as a filler material. So, erring on the side of caution, my guitar tech suggested that he knew a machinist friend who could grind them down. I went this route.

Incidentally the thread on the tuner screws, just in case you ever need to replace one, is 3-48. The screw head type is panhead. As you can see the top right tuner has one odd screw. I just haven’t gotten around to purchasing a box of replacements yet.



PS: my guitar tech knew two machinists. One of them worked on clocks. The other on jet engines. I went with the second guy... I think it's been really good for my tone Smile
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Cartwright Thompson


Post  Posted 27 Jun 2017 2:35 pm    
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I bought some of those for my '46 ES-300. They looked just like the originals, and the gear ratio was much better so I thought they'd be a nice upgrade. I had the exact same problem with them not fitting right. I drilled out one of them so it would fit, using a hand drill, not the best job.
It fits but what the hell?!? You'd think they could get it right. Jeez....
I'm going to use a jig and a drill press for the rest of them but it still amazes me that StewMac dropped the ball on these...
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Roy McKinney

 

From:
Ontario, OR
Post  Posted 27 Jun 2017 3:21 pm    
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Any information on what could be used on a B8, probably early to mid 40's.
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Ted Duross

 

From:
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Post  Posted 28 Jun 2017 3:16 am    
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When you read the reviews on StewMac for these tuners you hear quite a few people who have had 'dropped right in' success with them. Especially for Martins from the 40s. There's even a 37 Rickenbacker Silver Hawaiian that was a perfect fit. They are apparently a good match up for pre war Klusons... But, not surprisingly, things weren't completely standardized back then.

They look nice on your ES-300. Also, I don't know about you but I find they have really smooth action.

Roy, sorry I don't know about the B8s. StewMac seems to have a good reputation for customer service. I wonder if you did some careful measurements and then used their 'Contact us' line.
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Cartwright Thompson


Post  Posted 28 Jun 2017 12:16 pm    
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I should quit whining, I guess my original tuners are just a little different. I get a kick out of the originals. The ES-300 was a high end guitar but in 1946 because of the war, a lot of parts weren't available, so they used those cheapo tuners. The Stew-Macs will be a big improvement in terms of gear ratio, and still maintain the look of the originals.
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Gary Goldsmith

 

From:
Florida, USA
Post  Posted 29 Jun 2017 7:21 am     replacement tuners
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B6 owners,
I did install the Golden Age tuners on my 1946 B6 and the went in easily and work great. I did have to carefully ream the holes about 1 turn. I recently acquired a 1941 B6 and did the same operation with it, also successfully.
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