Stringmaster Lollypop Tuners Question (and a mystery)

Ben Alt · From: Austin, Texas

I've got a D8 Long-scale Stringmaster with lollypop tuner buttons that has a tuner gear that has ceased to work and needs repair. I've pulled out the tuner pan, and it looks like the gear is beyond saving. I looked at just replacing the gear, but I don’t think that is likely. My question is - what's the best way to remove the tuner buttons from the shaft that will preserve them? I've read that I can use a soldering iron to heat them up and remove them, but feel unsure that this is as simple as it's made out to be. How do i go about reinstalling them? I'm pretty handy, and willing to do this work, but it's not like I can just pop into a shop and pick up a replacement if I hose this operation up.

Alternately - I got my hands on a Fender-branded kluson-style tuner pan and tuners. I was hoping to salvage the tuners, possibly repair all four on the side that's busted. Installing the whole pan might be an option, but will mean removing some wood from the cavity to make it fit. I wonder if you all have any opinions on that? I like the idea of repairing with a part that I’m not worried about failing at an inopertune moment.

This guitar is by no means a perfect example - the finish has seen better days, and is missing bridge covers. It's had some repairs and alterations over the years. The pickups appear (to my eyes, based on on photos I've seen) to be original, as is most of the hardware, but it has a tele-style three position selector (with what's maybe a strat-or-jazzmaster-style tip). The working tuner pan also has had some of the tuners replaced, so I'm not super concerned with preserving this as anything other than a player's grade guitar. Sounds great, but it's not going in any museum.

Here's the mysterious bit. I really prefer the sound of the pickups on the non-busted-tuners neck, so took both pans out in order to swap them out. When I did this I found that the two different cavities have two different dates written in what looks like pretty similar styles and pencil: 1/53 and 1/54

I can't imagine that they had two body parts a year apart just hanging out in the factory. The finish on the two bodies is pretty well matched and doesn't have and tell-tale signs of a refinish - i guess it's possible that this was frakensteined together, but it doesn't seem that way. Anyone ever seen anything like this?

Mike Harris · From: Texas, USA

Raise your hand if you've ever written a check in January and filled in the previous year instead of the present one. I think they both are from 1-54 and somebody was living in the past on the day they scribbled in the one on the right.

Glenn Wilde · From: California, USA

Jon Light · From: Saugerties, NY

Ok -- let me throw some confusion into things.

There are lots and lots of transitional models with Fenders. But......

My 10/54 Stringmaster is the first version with the specific features of chrome pickup covers, black slider switches and no balance wheel on the bridges.
That lever switch should come with black pickup covers and a balance wheel. With a date earlier than my 10/54.....this does not make sense to me. It makes me thing that yours might really be a Partsmaster. Actually, the only thing that would seem 'transitional' would be the neck switch. But it seems out of sequence with either of the dates (53 or 54).
I'm here to learn, if anyone thinks that 'transition' explains this.

Jeff Mead · From: London, England

Maybe Tadeo (or whoever wrote the date) was suffering from the tendency many of us have to continue writing the previous year for most of January on cheques and stuff and wrote 1-53 without even thinking.

Jon Light · From: Saugerties, NY

I just realized -- your guitar is 26" scale. That means (to me) that the switch plate is not original. it should definitely have the black slider switches.

Ben Alt · From: Austin, Texas

Ha! I hadn’t thought about the ‘I forgot what year it was’ theory - that would make sense. I wonder if someone saw that and said - “what will someone taking this apart in 70 years think”.

I’m pretty sure this guitar has had some non insignificant renovations in the past - the repairs on the tuners and the odd for the period switch selector make me think this spent time in someone’s shop to keep it running.

I was under the impression that chrome pickup covers, no blend wheel were the standard on the first version of stringmasters from 53 and 54, but that they typically had round push button pickup selectors. Perhaps I was wrong about that. The pickup wiring on mine seems to correlate with my understanding on how these were set up - a kind of pickup blend that adds a tone control the further you turn.

Jon Light · From: Saugerties, NY

In fact, as far as I can see from some picture browsing, there is no such thing as that switch plate on the front neck. When the SM went over to the blade switch, the entire pickup and bridge and control plate was one piece. So that piece would appear to be fabricated.
I'm surely not looking to diminish your guitar. Just trying to puzzle things out.

Bill Sinclair · From: Waynesboro, PA, USA

Yep, I think Jon is right about the blade switch control plate being a later fabrication. Looks good to me though. I would stick with it.

Removing the lollipop tuner button by heating the tuner shaft works well. Pull on it with some padded pliers while heating and it will come right off. Put on some safety glasses just to be sure no solder goes in your eye when they separate. I have replaced the older style tuner pan with the newer style on one project but it required a lot of routing and would only recommend it if the old pan was unrepairable.

K Maul · From: Hadley, NY/Hobe Sound, FL

In my experience : “with Leo-all things are possible”.
_________________
KEVIN MAUL: Airline, Beard, Clinesmith, Donner, Evans, Excel, Fender, Fluger, GFI, Gibson, Hilton, Ibanez, Justice, K+K, Live Strings, MOYO, National, Oahu, Peterson, Quilter, Rickenbacher, Sho~Bud, Supro, TC, Ultimate, VHT, Williams, X-otic, Yamaha, ZKing.

Ben Alt · From: Austin, Texas

Thanks for the info on the guitar. It's a mystery for sure.

Bill, Thanks for the info on getting the buttons off - I wonder if you had any thoughts about how i might get them onto a new tuner shaft?

Bill Sinclair · From: Waynesboro, PA, USA

Ben Alt · From: Austin, Texas

Thanks for the info - will report back if I give this a try this weekend

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