Removing lubricant from gears (Guitar, non-Mando content)
Okay, so this is the reverse of "my tuning gears are too stiff," and it's about a guitar not a mandolin, but the tuners are similar, so maybe it will help someone else avoid this problem.
I made a boo-boo recently. I was doing some other restoration/setup work on one of my late 1930's metal body Dobros. The tuning gears are stock, separately mounted open-gear tuners, just whatever were available back then at a low price. The tuners are so cheap that the knobs look like they might be pot metal, or maybe pewter?
Anyway, here's where I messed up. As part of the cleanup, I added a dab of "liquid Teflon" lube to the gears, just on general principle, even though the gears were moving smoothly. I just used a tiny amount, and was careful not to let it get into the mounting screws on the tuner plate.
Bad idea! Now at least one of the strings doesn't want to hold pitch (the 2nd highest string, currently tuned to B for an open E tuning with a fairly heavy .017 string). I'll tune it to pitch, and immediately the gear rotates down to a lower pitch. After a few days it's not as bad... but I think it's holding mostly on friction in the nut. I have a gig next week where I'd like to use this guitar, and I can imagine a mid-tune disaster if it releases. One or two of the other strings may be a little dicey too, for holding pitch.
So, how does one deal with an over-lubricated gear using one of these modern Teflon lubes?
My first thought (which I haven't tried yet) was to clean it as much as possible with a Q-tip dipped in acetone... trying to remove as much of the lube as I could. Then what? Maybe a little beeswax in the gears? I'm not up for pulling the whole gear plate and soaking it, because the mounting screws are original and not all that tight to begin with. I'd rather not mess with removing and re-installing the tuning gear.
Lebeda F-5 mandolin, redwood top
Weber Yellowstone F-5 octave mandolin
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