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Topic: The Dust Bowl Is Not Pedal Steel Guitar Friendly |
John McGlothlin
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Posted 10 Apr 2008 1:57 pm |
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We had the most devastating dust storm today here in Portales New Mexico...Susan bought a tarp to put over the cooling unit outside to keep dust from blowing indoors but the room where my MSA Classic is setting evidently has a window that is not air tight. By the looks of my fretboards the changer system has got to be a total catostrophic wreck. There would be no point in putting clean oil in that changer until all that dirt is cleaned out first and that means a total overhall.   P.S. AIN'T LIFE JUST GRAND. |
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Charles Davidson
From:
Phenix City Alabama, USA
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Posted 10 Apr 2008 2:09 pm
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John,might have been worse,I would'nt doubt if some of our friends in some of flood areas they have been showing on TV may have some nice instruments under several feet of water.DYKBC.
_________________
Hard headed, opinionated old geezer. BAMA CHARLIE. GOD BLESS AMERICA. ANIMAL RIGHTS ACTIVIST. SUPPORT LIVE MUSIC ! |
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John McGlothlin
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Posted 10 Apr 2008 2:15 pm
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| I agree with ya Charles...just over in Texas thay have been flooded and then the tornadoes in AR and other states. It was a year ago this week that a tornadoe hit in Clovis which is only fifteen miles from us. |
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Charles Davidson
From:
Phenix City Alabama, USA
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Posted 10 Apr 2008 2:51 pm
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Your dust problem reminds me of last spring,I have a lot of pine trees in my yard,My wife raised the window in my music room [she said to air it out,I smoke a lot]That yellow pollon blew through the screen and got on all my instruments,steels,guitars,mandolins,cd players,recorders,etc,She WON'T do that again.DYKBC.
_________________
Hard headed, opinionated old geezer. BAMA CHARLIE. GOD BLESS AMERICA. ANIMAL RIGHTS ACTIVIST. SUPPORT LIVE MUSIC ! |
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John McGlothlin
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Posted 10 Apr 2008 3:18 pm
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| I got about a pint of three in one oil flushing through my changers...maybe that will help a little. |
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Alan Brookes
From:
Brummy living in Southern California
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Posted 10 Apr 2008 5:12 pm
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They always seem to build PSGs open underneath. The usual dust covers only cover the top and sides but leave the underneath open, on the assumption that dust falls downwards. Maybe it would help to build a hinged bottom with a slot to let the pedal rods through. I would think that that would keep out most of the dust. The only other alternative is to put it away in its case, but I realise how much of a hassle it is to keep setting it up.
What about a dust cover over the top and shoving a pillow underneath when it's out of use ? |
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chris ivey
From:
california (deceased)
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Posted 10 Apr 2008 9:46 pm
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| john...i would try blowing the dust out of everything with compressed air before disassembling anything....might not be necessary. |
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Jim Bob Sedgwick
From:
Clinton, Missouri USA
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Posted 11 Apr 2008 5:02 am
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| I agree with Chris. If you did not work the changer (play) with the dust on there, it probably has not worked its way into the changer. A total rebuild is probably not necessary. JMO |
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Jim Sliff
From:
Lawndale California, USA
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Posted 11 Apr 2008 5:19 am
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| Quote: |
| There would be no point in putting clean oil in that changer until all that dirt is cleaned out first and that means a total overhall. |
A few suggestions:
1. Don't use oil on your changer. It *attracts* dust.
2. Don't use oil to try to flush out dust - it has nothing in it that cleans the changer, nor will it properly loosen the dust.
3. Flush the changer out (on the guitar is fine) with lighter fluid (naphtha). The plastic Ronson squeeze bottles are the easiest to use and give you some pressure to the flow. It will not harm any of the parts of the guitar and leaves no residue. If you have used oil the way you mentioned it'll take 2-3 flushes (maybe more!) to get it clean.
4. Lube it with Tri-Flow Teflon lubricant, which is a liquid that dries out leaving a Teflon film that does not attract dust. Or use another dry lubricant (there are a few others) - but NOT an oil, especially if you live in a dusty area. ALL oils will be counter-productive, as the dust they gater will wear away parts more than they will lubricate them.
Hope that helps -
Jim
_________________
No chops, but great tone
1930's/40's Rickenbacher/Rickenbacker 6&8 string lap steels
1921 Weissenborn Style 2; Hilo&Schireson hollownecks
Appalachian, Regal & Dobro squarenecks
1959 Fender 400 9+2 B6;1960's Fender 800 3+3+2; 1948 Fender Dual-8 Professional |
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John McGlothlin
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Posted 11 Apr 2008 6:20 am
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Thanks Jim for your advise on the newer type of lubracant such as the Tri-Flow but thats for a newer steel. My steel is just a few days older than baseball so the 3 in 1 oil is OK. I had heard back in 1984 from a friend that was at Jeff Newmans college that Paul Franklin said that he just pourd a quart of 30W motor oil into the changer of his guitar and that did the trick. This day and time most new products are just a marketing tool and therefore just a means of selling a new product but thanks anyway.  |
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Donny Hinson
From:
Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.
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Posted 11 Apr 2008 7:57 am
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The long cotton swabs (sometimes known as "Q-tips") are excellent for cleaning the surfaces of things like this. Any dust normally settles on the outer surfaces, and trying to "flush it out" will sometimes make it just flow deeper into the works - unless you really drench it. Clean the thing with cotton swabs as best you can, re-oil it, and go on playing. The mechanical movement is very limited, so there's little chance of enough wear to worry about, even if some dust and dirt did get in there.
Since you've already tried to mitigate the situation, just remember this for future reference.
A steel might normally last 40-50 years before a rebuild. If yours should last only 20-30 years, it probably ain't no big deal.  |
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John McGlothlin
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Posted 11 Apr 2008 8:21 am
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| Thanks Donny. I guess it was the shock to my systen when that dust storm hit...I had never experianced anything like it before, seeing it on TV and then seeing it for real really makes a difference. I could imagine how someone would feel if they were painting their house when a dust storm hit. |
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Jim Walker
From:
Headland, AL
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Posted 11 Apr 2008 10:48 am
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Jim is right, I wouldn't use 3 in 1 oil on anything. It attracts dust and grime. For example, when I was a kid I used 3 in 1 oil on my bicycle chains and ruined 4 or 5 pair of my good school pants because of the grease marks left on the pants leg. Not to mention 3 in 1 oil smells horrible.
JW
_________________
Show Pro D10, Session 400 |
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John McGlothlin
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Posted 11 Apr 2008 11:29 am
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| What about sewing machine oil...any comments. |
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Donny Hinson
From:
Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.
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Posted 11 Apr 2008 1:08 pm
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That's what I use!  |
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Stuart Legg
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Posted 11 Apr 2008 3:48 pm
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| Hi John In Portales NM you don't do anything about the dust except blow or sweep it off because it's gonna happen again tomorrow. |
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John McGlothlin
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Posted 11 Apr 2008 5:12 pm
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| Thats right Stuart and on top of that...I can feel the fall of the year in the air already. |
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Fred Shannon
From:
Rocking "S" Ranch, Comancheria, Texas, R.I.P.
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Posted 11 Apr 2008 7:45 pm What I use, so what. LOL
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Well after about 45 years of using 30 weight motor oil, transmission fluid, 3 in 1 oil, sewing machine oil, Hoppe's #9 gun oil, and about every other thing that anyone mentioned, I tried Sliff's formula.
I put the naptha in an old oil squirt can and really douse the mechanism up. Then I blow it with low pressure air, and do the naptha dealie again, blowing it dry. I do this until I'm satisfied the fingers and mechanical working parts are clean.
Then for the coupe de gracie, I get the trusty Tri Flow out and slather the entire mess up. Best dang thing I've ever used. You'll be surprised at the ease of the pulls. You might even swear you got a different guitar. Just my take. I'm a believer.
phred |
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Dale Hansen
From:
Hendersonville,Tennessee, (USA)
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Posted 12 Apr 2008 8:00 am
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John,
I was in Albuquerque for 12 years.
I remember the annual dust storms every spring. They'd last about a month, give or take, every year. And, they always showed up every day at the same time. I could almost set my watch by em'.
That dust was a super fine sand, and got into everything. It didn't matter how well your car doors sealed up either, it still got in there, and there would be a 1/16, or thicker layer of the stuff on the dash every day. |
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Jim Sliff
From:
Lawndale California, USA
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Posted 12 Apr 2008 8:18 am
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I KNEW I could teach Fred something someday, with all the stuff he's taught me! 
John, it makes NO difference how old your guitar is, and you're quoting old, dated advice as well. Something that worked in the 80's may have been due to the fact there were limited products/resources then. It's outdated and simply bad advice nowadays.
| Quote: |
| This day and time most new products are just a marketing tool and therefore just a means of selling a new product |
IMO that's really a short-sighted way of looking at things, and also totally incorrect. SOME new products may be primarily marketing-driven (Monster cables and Groove Tubes are two that come to my mind), but petroleum products have certain effects, dirt attraction being one of them. Dry lubricants have another - they DON'T hold dirt. There's no marketing BS involved - chemistry/physics doesn't change through marketing.
I used to use sewing machine oil myself (but never 3-in-1) and had a devil of a time cleaning guitar parts of gunk until I asked some of the guys who work for me in my "day job" how they kept certain tools so completely clean and trouble free.
Depending on other things the solvent may contact, there were only 3 materials that every guy used (and this is out of 30 field employees) - MEK (which I would not get near a guitar, as it'll melt formica, plastic, and lacquer), acetone (aka nail polish remover, and one I use on wood guitars - not good near some types of formica or other plastics) and naphtha (lighter fluid), the least aggressive and safest of the three. FWIW acetone also contains a small percentage of water, and I would not use it on steel parts.
For lubricants, except for electronic parts where Caig products (expensive and worth every cent) are recommended, Tri-Flow or dry graphite were the only choices EXCEPT when oil is specified for particular reasons, as in certain bearings and such. Graphite is usually pretty messy but works well (a #2 pencil is the guitar tech's best friend for 6-string nut lubrication) and Tri-Flow beats everything for most other uses.
ALL oils will attract dust. There are no exceptions. If you live in a dusty area oil is the worst thing you can use, as the dust it picks up will wear your parts out FASTER than if you used NO lubrication. The dust/oil combination works to speed cutting and wear.
Believe me, if Teflon works on my '50 Gibson EH620 it will work on something just a little newer just fine. 
_________________
No chops, but great tone
1930's/40's Rickenbacher/Rickenbacker 6&8 string lap steels
1921 Weissenborn Style 2; Hilo&Schireson hollownecks
Appalachian, Regal & Dobro squarenecks
1959 Fender 400 9+2 B6;1960's Fender 800 3+3+2; 1948 Fender Dual-8 Professional |
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