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Post by weirdwayne on May 30, 2020 11:52:21 GMT -5
Just got a box from Warmoth yesterday with my new strat neck and a bunch of hardware. Neck is maple with ebony board, fatback contour with 6150 frets, headstock reamed for vintage style gotohs. Now the tuners come with 2 sets of 6 bushings, 6 tall and 6 shorter. I am assuming that the taller ones go in from the rear and shorter from the face side ( I've got a 50/50 chance here ). Is this correct? There is a tool included for pressing the bushings in, I assume I use a hammer to smack them into place. Another option might be to use a vise to press in both sides at once, will this work? Also, should I put a dab of glue on each bushing? As you may have guessed, I am new to this and don't want to screw it up. Btw, this is going on a chambered, swamp ash Warmoth strat body, wish me luck.
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Wish
Wholenote
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Posts: 157
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Post by Wish on May 30, 2020 12:24:33 GMT -5
On the tuners, the larger ones are closet to the nut, and the shorter ones are further away so the strings have a better break angle over the nut.
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Post by funkykikuchiyo on May 30, 2020 13:29:02 GMT -5
Wait, are you talking about putting bushings on both sides of the peghead? Definitely don't do that.
Why they'd provide two sets is unclear. One might be wider adapter/conversion bushings for retrofitting back to vintage style if it is drilled out for larger modern tuners. If the only difference is length, then it really makes no difference.
The specialized tool is more a quality of life thing than any kind of necessity. They might just press in for you. If not, a soft faced hammer (or a hard hammer with a softer intermediate like a large dowel or block of wood) with a hard and non-marring backing is ideal. Glue can be used if they are loose. I just use regular ol' wood glue because then I know squeeze out won't cause heartaches.
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Post by weirdwayne on May 30, 2020 13:43:30 GMT -5
OK, thanks. Just used the taller set with hammer and tool. Now to drill some tiny pilot holes for the 6 screws that hold everything in place.
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Post by Peegoo 🏁 on May 30, 2020 16:04:00 GMT -5
Lay the neck face down and drop the tuners into place. Lay a short straight edge flat on the back of the headstock and gently push it against the tuners' mounting plates. The tuners will all wiggle a bit and line up against the straight edge. Holding this in place, use a fine Sharpie held vertically to make a mark through each screw location. This is where you drill your 1/16" diameter screw holes.
WARNING! Put a piece of tape on the drill bit to serve as a depth gauge so you don't drill all the way through the headstock. You want to come up about 1/8" short of going all the way through.
Also important: press a little plug of paraffin wax or candle wax into each screw hole before you drive the screws in. This prevents two possible outcomes: stripping out the screw head (bad) or breaking off the screw in the wood (muy bad).
Take your time and work accurately. Don't force anything.
Cheers!
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Wish
Wholenote
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Posts: 157
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Post by Wish on May 30, 2020 16:56:49 GMT -5
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Post by weirdwayne on May 30, 2020 17:21:51 GMT -5
Thanks again guys, said neck is ready for the next step. And Wish, after your 1st post, I measured all the shafts and since the shafts were all the same, I disregarded your advice, muttered to myself and continued on. All good and no holes through the headstock. Still waiting for my loaded pickguard to arrive so it will be awhile before I find out how this thing will sound. Oh yeah, also waiting on the Erlewine book for set up tips. Thanks again.
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Post by funkykikuchiyo on May 30, 2020 19:24:53 GMT -5
Remember: posting here could be less hassle than trying to get your way out of a jam after the fact. Feel free to post if you have questions along the way.
Also remember that if your neck has the Gotoh side adjust, that thing is for small tweaks only. It is actually a pretty dainty unit and can be broken if you crank on it. Ideally, set it to somewhere around the middle of its adjustment range, then adjust for the first setup using the heel adjust, using the side adjust only for small seasonal changes.
That wax can be your best friend for getting the neck on the first time, and possibly for installing the bridge, depending what type you have.
That's all I got off the top of my head. Back to my gin & tonic.
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Post by Peegoo 🏁 on May 30, 2020 20:24:29 GMT -5
Same "tape on the drill bit" thing applies when drilling the face of the headstock for a string tree if you decide to use one.
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Post by hushnel on May 31, 2020 8:15:58 GMT -5
I usually just wax the screws them selves, by scrapping the threads against the fluted end of a 100% bees wax candle. Seems the best way to get wax in the screw hole. Either way is probably fine, I just like to see the screw covered with the wax.
Wouldn’t the two sets of bushings be for headstock thickness?
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Post by funkykikuchiyo on May 31, 2020 8:29:33 GMT -5
Wouldn’t the two sets of bushings be for headstock thickness? I've never actually seen a bushing too long for a headstock, so I'm not sure. I know sometimes the long ones are a bit more difficult to get in, so maybe they just wanted to give options to get fewer customer complaints. |
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Post by hushnel on May 31, 2020 9:35:27 GMT -5
Wouldn’t the two sets of bushings be for headstock thickness? I've never actually seen a bushing too long for a headstock. Yeah, neither have I. They really only need to support the tuner shaft on the string side. |
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Post by Peegoo 🏁 on May 31, 2020 10:28:50 GMT -5
I've never seen it. There may be differences in length across manufacturers, but I've never seen more than a millimeter or so.
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