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Topic: Legs slipping on old stringmaster |
Andy Keen
From:
Oregon, USA
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Posted 2 Apr 2018 9:14 pm |
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I have these legs from a 50s (or 60s) stringmaster and one started slipping so I opened it up and saw 3 rings which I think could be “clutchesâ€. In my infinite wisdom I opened up the second leg to compare to a perfectly working leg, and now I have 2 problems. The second clutch thing broke off and it was only 2/3rd the circumference of the leg to start, I’m guessing the other 1/3rd fell off and was lost long ago.
I searched the forum and heard about using a wooden dowel cut to size but I’d just like to fix these so I can adjust to any length (just as they would function new). Any idea of where I can get the pieces for this?
I could open a third leg to look at but my track record with that method is 0-for-2.
Any advice is appreciated.
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Bill Sinclair
From:
Waynesboro, PA, USA
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Posted 3 Apr 2018 5:07 am
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| Clutch kits for the old Atlas mic stands are supposed to work but they seem to cost almost as much as new legs when you can find them. Forum member Basil Henriques mentioned that he was planning to start making them a few months back. You might check with him. Please report back with what you eventually find! |
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Roy McKinney
From:
Ontario, OR
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Posted 3 Apr 2018 6:20 am
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| I have the same problem also on 2 legs of my 1956 Stringmaster T8. |
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Tom Wolverton
From:
Carpinteria, CA
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Posted 3 Apr 2018 8:23 am
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Jim Palenscar of Steel Guitars of North County can rebuild them.
_________________
To write with a broken pencil is pointless. |
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Brad Davis
From:
Texas, USA
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Jack Stoner
From:
Kansas City, MO
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Michael Hillman
From:
Boise, Idaho, USA
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Posted 15 Apr 2018 9:04 pm A steel player in Boise rebuilt leg clutches for me,
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Hey Andy, a lot of good responses to your question, there is a local steel player who works part time for a Boise luthier and guitar repairman, he does most of the steel repair that comes to the shop. I have a 50s Fender Dual Pro 6 that needed some attention, which included legs that didn’t function well. When I picked up the guitar, Randy had installed my newly rewound pickups, polished all the bright work, serviced the tuners and polished the legs, installed new clutch material in them, and put on new rubber tips. If you don’t find a different solution, I’ll be happy to put you in touch with him since you are fairly close to Boise. - Best, Michael
_________________
Two Spector 5 string basses, Martin D-18, Taylor 812CE, 1996’Epiphone Sheraton, 1944 Epiphone Zenith, a killer Luttrell 6 string resophonic, 1932 Model 56 Dobro, Beard Model E, Martin Soprano Uke, 10 string 1953 Alkire Eharp, Peavey Nashville 112, Fender Bassman, Fender 75 watt Rumble, and a Fender 100 watt Rumble. |
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Andy Keen
From:
Oregon, USA
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Posted 15 Apr 2018 10:53 pm
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Hi Michael, I appreciate the offer! I actually found a local guy Lynn Stafford who does great work. I’ll sing praises about Lynn all day long but he seems pretty busy for a “retired†guy so I don’t think he needs my endorsement! He had some old rusty legs from an Emmons and the clutches fit perfectly. He took a spinning wire brush to the socket threads and cleaned them up nicely too. There’s still one leg that is slipping so I was planning on ordering the atlas repair kit that Jack posted (thanks Jack!) but I haven’t gotten around to it.
For anyone who cares, I can confirm 100% that those brown ring pieces in the picture I posted are a perfect fit to the atlas mic stand ring pieces, I heard that Emmons literally used atlas mic stands for their guitar legs. And it fits my 50’s fender stringmaster legs perfect. |
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Andy Keen
From:
Oregon, USA
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Posted 15 Apr 2018 11:05 pm
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| in the original post I incorrectly referred to the rings as “clutches†but the clutches are actually the large metal cylindrical things, which were in perfect working order. |
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Michael Hillman
From:
Boise, Idaho, USA
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Posted 16 Apr 2018 5:31 am Lynn is a great guy!
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Thanks Andy, I’m acquainted with Lynn, just saw him at the Dallas Show, he did some work for my pal Terry Niendorf on the Emmons that Terry restored- I have no doubts that he could solve the problem! Take Care, Michael
_________________
Two Spector 5 string basses, Martin D-18, Taylor 812CE, 1996’Epiphone Sheraton, 1944 Epiphone Zenith, a killer Luttrell 6 string resophonic, 1932 Model 56 Dobro, Beard Model E, Martin Soprano Uke, 10 string 1953 Alkire Eharp, Peavey Nashville 112, Fender Bassman, Fender 75 watt Rumble, and a Fender 100 watt Rumble. |
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Jack Hanson
From:
San Luis Valley, USA
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Posted 16 Apr 2018 10:31 am
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Two of the legs on the Studio Deluxe I purchased as a rescue instrument also would not hold. I took 'em apart, soaked everything overnight in Ronsonol, let it dry out for an hour or so, and reassembled. No more slippage; now they work like new.
May not work in every case, but it's worth a try before you buy new legs or new parts kits. |
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Chance Wilson
From:
California, USA
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Posted 18 Apr 2018 12:26 am
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| It's pretty rare that they're worn out. It's more common that there's something missing or installed incorrectly. Taking apart, cleaning and lubing usually does it. The clutches will bind on the male threads, so scrubbing and lubing them helps in particular. On some, you can flip the 3 compression bits inside the clutch. If they're really jacked up, I think I used to put an O-ring inside the little cup in the clutch. Often you can use different innards from mic stands with the original clutches even if they are of a different design. To reassemble, stick the leg extension up through the clutch just enough to have something to set the innards on. Then drop the innards in & thread the leg into the clutch from above. |
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Will Slack
From:
Texas, USA
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Posted 30 Jan 2019 8:42 pm
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| Thought I'd ask here instead of starting a new thread...My '53 dual 8 has a leg that is slipping. I disassembled all 3 legs, cleaned and lubed them. This has helped, but the leg that was slipping has a broken inner rubber washer. These legs only have two inner pieces, the beveled metal ring and the beveled rubber washer that it compresses. I'm hoping I don't have to buy a $25 atlas clutch repair kit for one little rubber washer. Has anyone found other places to buy these? |
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Steve Knight
From:
NC
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Posted 3 Dec 2021 6:35 am
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I just fixed 3 slipping legs on my old Deluxe. The legs were slowly collapsing becuase the clutches no longer held. First, I cleaned the threads on the upper leg and inside the tightener with a rag and 3-in-1 oil, as recommended by Ricky Davis in several posts on the forum. My legs still slipped. I looked at my clutch assembly and saw that there were two metal washers and what looked like a worn-out O-ring between them. I didn't really want to buy 3 of the Atlas mic stand repair kits at $30+ each or a new set of legs. I could find plenty of plastic spacers on the web, but nothing that was a split spacer. I came up with this, and the legs have held for 24+ hours:
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Hillman-2-Count-0-625-in-x-1-2-in-Nylon-Standard-SAE-Flat-Washer/3012460
(The spacer is much thinner than it looks in the photo on the Lowes site.)
The diameter of the nylon spacer is just smaller than the lower leg. I laid one of the spacers on its side on a cutting board, inserted a small kitchen knife into the spacer, and cut it from top to bottom, along one edge. Then I was able to slide the spacer onto the lower leg, and it held. The downside is that the spacer is a little too long. I had to remove one of the small, original metal spacers from each lower leg in order for the tightener threads to reach up to the threads on the upper leg. On the lower leg, the order I put everything on, from top to bottom, is the original metal spacer, the split nylon spacer, then the tightener.
I still hope to be able to find a shorter spacer that will allow me to use two metal spacers inside of each clutch assembly. For now, this is a great interim solution. The spacers are only 70 cents each! |
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George Piburn
From:
The Land of Enchantment New Mexico
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Posted 3 Dec 2021 7:05 am Here is the Fix!
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The Phenolic ring with the split is the issue.
They tend to wear on the inside over the years. The way they work is the angled metal ring "Squeezes the ring" to pinch the leg rod.
The Fix is simple ; in the split area you file that split area some to widen the gap. This allows the gap to close more tightly, and again pinch the smaller leg tube.
Try taking the smaller leg and placing the phenolic ring on it and hand pinching it to close the gap.
If it is slipping as described , then file the gap and try again.
I've fixed dozens of legs - mic stands this way over the decades.
Hope this adds to this thread.
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Steve Knight
From:
NC
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Posted 3 Dec 2021 7:28 am
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| George, in my case, a previous owner had removed the split rings that grip the legs when tightened. The nylon spacer from Lowes was suitable replacement, once I split it. The only downside is that it's only being squeezed by one metal ring instead of two metal rings per leg. So far, the leg is holding. If I had an easy way of shortening the nylon spacer, I would have room to use 2 metal rings per leg. I couldn't find a source for a replacement split ring anywhere online, other than buying the mic repair kits at $30 each. |
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Stephen Cowell
From:
Round Rock, Texas, USA
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Posted 3 Dec 2021 10:36 am
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See the two pieces at the bottom? There should be three... there is a slanted ring to ride above them, and a ring below them... when the ferrule is tightened, these three pieces are squeezed against the inside leg.
The thick ring above is from a mic stand... someone put it in to try and make up for the missing piece. Never going to be as good as the original IMO.
If you dig inside the legs you might find the missing pieces.
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Nick Fryer
From:
Ohio, USA
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Posted 3 Dec 2021 2:35 pm
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Some hose clamps from the hardware store will do the trick if push comes to shove.
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www.fryerguitarpickups.com |
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