single tuner buttons?

[otterly2k]

Hi all-
Wondering if anyone here knows where (or if) I can get single Schaller tuner buttons anywhere.

In particular, I need one black mini guitar tuner button
trying to avoid purchasing a whole set.

I might consider one that is mismatched (it's for my own Larrivee parlor guitar) but would prefer to match what's on there.

thanks!
KE

[kkmm]

For this, I go to a local guitar repair shop and pray that they have some of these in their misc. items box.
You would be very lucky if there is a matched button.

[otterly2k]

Well, that's why I posted here... there are a lot of folks here who do repair work and may have something like this in their bits-n-pieces box. Worth a try anyway.

[kkmm]

The trick is how to get the button in the tuner shaft. My local luthier told me to heat up the shaft with a soldering iron (or a torch), then push the button in, the hole in the button will melt to match the shape of the shaft, once it cools down, it's solid. That worked great for me. But this has to be done with the tuning hardware removed from the head stock to prevent heat damage to the finish on the headstock.

[otterly2k]

hmm... I think it's held in place with a screw. Will have to check, but I think it won't need to be heated. Remember this is a guitar tuner button, not mando... so the larger size might make for a different mechanism.

Regardless, I don't mind removing the tuner from the headstock if the job requires it.

[kkmm]

If it is held in place with a screw, you have to be lucky to get a similar one with proper hole size.
I have put single tuner button on one mandolin and and recently one guitar. I happen to have ukulele friction tuners which I do not want to use, these buttons are held in place with screw, but the screw is the wrong size for the target instrument. So heat up and slide it in turns out to be the easier method, regardless the size of the hole

[MikeEdgerton]

Actually they are readily available in sets, Karen knows that. She's simply looking for a single. If this was three months ago I had a few but they were given to others with the same problem.

http://www.stewmac.com/Hardware_and_...ent_Knobs.html

http://www.lmii.com/products.html?pa...ategory_id=364

http://www.allparts.com/TK-0978-055-...rs_p_3770.html

http://www.guitarpartsresource.com/t...lerbuttons.htm

[Jim Garber]

Prob the best and safest thing to do is to find others looking for the same thing and split a 6 pack. i wish i could help you, Karen, but you never know, there might be a few folks here. Hey even one will save you 50% of the price.

[MikeEdgerton]

Karen, try contacting Larrivee. You might luck out.

[mandrian]

Karen,

When I needed some Schaller buttons for a Hodson Djangolin that I had, I contacted Schaller through their website. They sent them free of charge from Germany to the UK.

Regards

[otterly2k]

Thanks, all.

I did actually send an email to Larrivee, but I did not get any reply.
Haven't tried contacting Schaller, and will do that.

And yeah, I may bite the bullet and buy a set... just hate to do that when I only need one.

[allenhopkins]

Buy the set, post a classified offering to sell off four of the five you don't need, as singles or whatever.

Keep one because you never know…

Long-winded digression: I bought a Polk-A-Lay-Lee (don't ask, just Google it; you'll be surprised/horrified at the things I'll buy), which had red molded plastic friction pegs, and broke one of them. This is a peg no one makes or wants. Resigned myself to having an untunable instrument…

But, went on eBay, found someone selling another Polk-A-Lay-Lee (yes, there's more than one), with two black and two red pegs; said he'd had to cannibalize two red pegs from a trashed Polk-A-Lay-Lee. (And I always thought they came trashed!) So, e-mailed him; did he have the other two pegs? Yes. Would he sell them to me? Yes, for $20 each.

So, $40 for two red plastic pegs, probably worth 50¢ if you could get 'em. Installed one, kept the other -- because you never know...

[otterly2k]

May end up doing that, Allen!

Got a reply from Schaller and they will only sell sets.
Re-sent inquiry to Larrivee and still (again) no reply at all. Which is disappointing.
Only seeing sets on ebay.

Oh well - it was worth a try here in case anyone had a spare button around. I guess I'll be ordering a set - so if anyone needs a single, you know where to find me...