Fail to plan = plan to fail

Posted by Habanera Hal on September 19, 2011 at 3:00pm

{sigh}  I just finished two (count 'em TWO) identical necks utilizing some 3-in-a-line tuners.  I thought I had a nice design going until I mounted the tuners and thought about how the strings would run.  Anyone see the problem?

 

 

In order to run the strings without hitting the posts, I'd have to run the MIDDLE string to the first post (closest to the nut), then run the outer strings to the second and third posts.  It's not the worst mistake I've ever made, but it sure will be awkward and unwieldy tuning it.

 

Maybe I'll finish one and donate it to Shane's museum.

 

Back to the drawing board.

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Replies

  • Habanera Hal October 5, 2011 at 8:18am
    DOH!  Why didn't I think of that?  I even switched all of them over to this side to start!


    Rafal Sulejman said:

    unscrew the middle gear and put the tuner's handle the "other way" (pointing in the opposite direction).

    Then you'll have the 1st and 2nd string on one side and 3rd on the other. Problem solved? ;-)

     

    305752524?profile=RESIZE_480x480

     

  • Seaman Jay October 5, 2011 at 5:34am

    unscrew the middle gear and put the tuner's handle the "other way" (pointing in the opposite direction).

    Then you'll have the 1st and 2nd string on one side and 3rd on the other. Problem solved? ;-)

    305752524?profile=RESIZE_480x480

  • Chuck Dubman September 21, 2011 at 3:19am
    Small staples.  Roll your own if you can't find the right size.
  • Ron "Oily" Sprague September 21, 2011 at 2:42am

    Hal,

     

    Very clean design and routing. I like it.

     

    That's not a problem, it's an undocumented feature! Seriously, don't trash 'em, they are easily salvaged. You're not the first person to run into this; look around the site, and you'll see that for many people in this situation the solution is string trees. Or as Cliff says, "deflecting studs."

     

    You can use nails, although screws or small eyelet screws seem to be the most common solution on CBN. Fender uses string trees on the Strat to give a greater string break angle to the b and e strings, and also to provide a slighly straighter route to the uppermost machine heads on the headstock. The string spread from your nut will help some, so that you may only have to add one string tree. You can run the the middle string to the middle tuner, your first string to the upper tuner, and your lowest to the lowest tuner. You might find that the nut doesn't spread 'em enough; several people on this site have fixed this with three inline eyelet screws, across the width of the neck just behind the nut slot. Looks like you have enough room for that solution, if needed.

    Another way to address this on a future build is a single channel routed all the way through the headstock, and use "classical" guitar 3-on-a-plate open back tuners. Or you could try mounting the tuners you have staggered slightly so the strings don't interfere with one another. You could rout an angled channel if you want to stay with that look.

  • Phil Chestnut September 21, 2011 at 12:16am

    good grief I never thought about that. so simple a fix.

     

  • Matthew Borczon September 20, 2011 at 12:11pm
    that is a good idea. This is what I value most about this site the good advise.
  • Clifford Eise September 19, 2011 at 6:06pm
    How about adding deflecting studs to redirect the strings. I've used 16 penny nail with the head ground off.
  • Phil Chestnut September 19, 2011 at 5:24pm
    Looks good except for that one little thing. What looks good on paper does not all ways work the way we think they should. I should know I have pulled some real bone headed things on that account.
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