Jorn Overa Posted June 4, 2013 Share Posted June 4, 2013 Hi all. I've just bought some replacement machine heads for my jazz bass, and upon attempting to install them, it turns out they're a bit on the small side. Once I have the washer and nut on, they sit tightly enough, but there's a lot of space surrounding them. The only part that completely covers the hole is the washer. I'm guessing it's desirable to have as much contact between the shaft and the head stock as possible, so what would be best? Do you think it would work if I filled it in with dowel, and then drilled new holes? Would that be able to hold the tension? Thanks in advance for any help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KiOgon Posted June 4, 2013 Share Posted June 4, 2013 You've answered your own question, the proper job would be to fill with dowel & re-machine. Cheerz, John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waldflote8 Posted June 4, 2013 Share Posted June 4, 2013 haven't tried that one (yet) if the hole is too big then you could dowel it for sure, need to be accurate when re drilling (drill press) also you may also get away with using some copper pipe or something as a sleeve. experiment with some scrap. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jorn Overa Posted June 4, 2013 Author Share Posted June 4, 2013 Thank you both. Luckily, I have access to a drill press, so that's fine. As for fitting the dowel, what would be the correct procedure? Is wood glue strong enough for this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted June 4, 2013 Share Posted June 4, 2013 Provided that the inside of the hole is bare wood and both surfaces are properly cleaned, the glue joint should be stronger than the wood itself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jorn Overa Posted June 4, 2013 Author Share Posted June 4, 2013 Okay, that sounds good. How clean is properly cleaned? The thing is fresh off a CNC, so it's quite rough. Would it need sanding down first? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apa Posted June 4, 2013 Share Posted June 4, 2013 (edited) Clean as in no varnish or other coatings. The fit needs to be at least snug with no gaps, better if its a little tight. The tricky bit is finding dowel that's the correct size. You may end up making the holes a bit bigger to suit the dowel. Unless you want to turn a bit of wood down? The wood glue will be fine. It works best if under pressure. That's why you need a good fit. You cant really clamp a dowel insert!! Just make sure if you do machine the hole bigger it doesn't protrude past the machine head nut or back plate. I did this on a neck to convert it from a 4+1 to a 5 inline. I veneered the back face with maple to cover the filling and it blended in quit nicely with the rest of the neck. A Edited June 4, 2013 by apa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geoffbyrne Posted June 4, 2013 Share Posted June 4, 2013 I'm sure you can get adapter bushes for this, but I don't know where - just looked at Axes'R'Us & they don't seem to have them. G. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul_5 Posted June 5, 2013 Share Posted June 5, 2013 I did this to a 'Yamato' headstock that I wanted to fit 'proper' size machine heads to. I dowelled and glued the original holes and then marked out and drilled new holes (wood awl) and the job was a good 'un. It looks a bit weird, as the dowel is pine and the head is maple, but I reckon if it bothered me that much I'd get some veneer / paint on it. It's my 'stay at home' bass, so there's no issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iiipopes Posted June 5, 2013 Share Posted June 5, 2013 Another thing you might try is to reinsert the bushings for the larger tuners and see if that brings the inside diameter down to the point the new bushings will fit inside them. That's what I did when changing out the old "elephant ear" tuners on my bass for Hipshot Ultralights: I just kept the old bushings on the headstock and installed the Ultralights in them. This saved me much time, energy and consternation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gerryc Posted June 9, 2013 Share Posted June 9, 2013 I did a temporary job on mine five years ago by using insulating tape round the shaft. Worked fine, must get round to fitting correct size ones someday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmorris Posted June 15, 2013 Share Posted June 15, 2013 [quote name='iiipopes' timestamp='1370440548' post='2100879'] Another thing you might try is to reinsert the bushings for the larger tuners and see if that brings the inside diameter down to the point the new bushings will fit inside them. That's what I did when changing out the old "elephant ear" tuners on my bass for Hipshot Ultralights: I just kept the old bushings on the headstock and installed the Ultralights in them. This saved me much time, energy and consternation. [/quote] That sounds a much better approach to me. Much less hassle and less to go wrong compared to glueing etc. But I wondering if you could simply get complete tuners with the correct dimensions ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danthevan Posted June 16, 2013 Share Posted June 16, 2013 [quote name='gerryc' timestamp='1370788872' post='2105510'] I did a temporary job on mine five years ago by using insulating tape round the shaft. Worked fine, must get round to fitting correct size ones someday. [/quote] All it needs really. The nut should hold it tight, and once the string is tensioned it's not going to move in the hole. I can make you some steel/ali bushes if you're really worried Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.