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Does anyone have any idea why mandolin tuning pegs would suddenly become so hard to turn that you need pliers or another tool to turn them, yet the strings do not break? I filled the gears with oil and changed the strings, but it's still almost impossible to turn them. Has anyone ever heard of this problem? I'm stymied.
worked OK before and stopped ? or... ?
[I had a problem with a used Mix with retrofitted Waverlys , i got off the classifieds ...
one bound up due to mismatch of the drilled peghead holes and the machining precision of the tuners.]
I would remove them from the instrument then see if its still a binding issue, without a string tension load on the end of the capstan.
:popcorn:
Yes, the bushing in the peghead face can get a tiny bit of dust in it....
...I work in the Sahara and my cheapo mandolin binds up all the time due to dust getting in the bushings. I have to lubricate them every time I change strings. Lots of creaking and p-toinging noises let me know when it's due...
I undo the screw holding the worm gear on the capstan shaft, withdraw the shaft and grease the capstan bushing with a Q-tip and some molybdenum grease. Ugly solution, but it works well.
Mandroid is right about the Waverlys. They will not put up with holes and bushing anything but just about perfect. But you seem to be talking about a different problem The idea of taking string tension off and seeing if it makes a difference is a very good idea. Are all the tuners hard to turn or just a couple/ few? Just wondering. A little lube job might make a big difference. Still sounds odd. IMHO.
I've had a few mystery hangups on tuners. Took them off the mandolin, disassembled, nothing wrong, lubricated, reassembled and they worked fine. Sort of a "reboot." Wax on the shafts to let them slide in the bushings etc., but that wasn't enough to account for the fix. You might try that approach. Don't lose any parts.