The community repair thread

roundthebend

Got it. Blimey, that was sticky.

roundthebend

Now, I'm guessing that this tangle of threads, of which a few seem to be soldered to the pot, is the cause of my issue. The other pots and joints look good in comparison.



I'm a little bit scared to attack it. My approach would be to snip them back and start fresh. I can then remove the solder from the pot, and do a neater job of it. I'm no expert with an iron, and I know I need to get the pot warmed up well to get a good bond.

roundthebend

Question though. The lump of solder there has a thin wire joined to the tag which makes me think it'd be easier to just connect everything there. What am I missing?

Jonathangus

@roundthebend - I find the easiest way is to get a couple of teaspoons, put them under the knob opposite each other (use a piece of kitchen paper to protect the finish) and lever the knob off with even pressure from both sides.

thermionic

I think I posted about my Cambridge Audio hifi amp a few pages earlier. I thought I’d fixed it but the fault came back. A light smack on the top of the housing always kicked it back to life so I kinda put up with it, while trying to think of logical explanations. Anyway, in the meantime I stumbled on a great YouTube channel called Mend It Mark, and I watched a video this morning where he fixed a hifi amp by reflowing solder connections around the power amp transistors. Made sense, as that part of the board gets hot. So I opened my amp up again and took the main board out. The solder joints around the transistors didn’t look bad (unlike the one on a cap which seemed to the problem first time round), but I went over them all with an iron. That seems to have finally sorted it. I’m slowly getting better at this!

BillDL

@roundthebend ; More members will see your question about the guitar wiring if you post a new question comment in the "Making and Modding" topic and add the images you have posted here.

https://www.thefretboard.co.uk/categories/making-modding

This thread here is really just for people to talk about how they have repaired things rather than to give advice about fixing things.

roundthebend

Cheers @BillDL ;
My intention was to fix it in the same run of posts, but the problem got the better of me. I've solved it now... by giving it to a pro. Actually some local guy who I just found and he's a bit handy with tools and guitars. He tried to fix it on the spot for me but seems that numerous issues existed so he kept hold of it for a few days and rewired the whole thing. This time using solid core wire for durability, and a NOS paper oil cap.

roundthebend

Today, however, I have performed a repair which is pretty simple by standards in this thread, but one that has been due for a long time.

My Hercules guitar stand fell apart. The handle which lets you change the height of the next perished somehow and all the plastic became soft and sticky eventually falling to pieces. I decided to remove the remnants of that, which required drilling out a rivet.





Once that was gone, the handle slid off and into the bin. I've never used a rivet gun before but had bought one for another job (which also sits unfinished). So, here was a chance to try it. Fortunately, one of the included rivet sizes looked about right in diameter and length to do the job. I learned that you need to pump the handle a few times to fully expand the rivet and snap it off.





I made sure it was real enough for my bass. The body support piece actually moves up and down but locks in place when you fold it out so it works for guitars too.

Just in time for a gig next week, with a fixed guitar I now have two available so one can be on the stand while I'm using the other. Bingo

WezV

The tumble dryer was squeaking.  My wife was talking about getting a new one.

This is the old and new rear drum bearing


now sorted for a few minutes work and a cheap part

Chris.B

That's a great way to save wasting materials on a new machine. 

Can you recommend a good supply for parts?  Our washer is bouncing around the floor, I can't see any broken springs, so I think it may be a shock absorber that needs replacing. 

WezV

I just put the part name and model number in ebay

Emp_Fab

I wonder why they don't use solid core wire (ie not stranded) in guitars?  They would be so much easier to route and solder.

I don't even know if you can get shielded single solid core wire.

drofluf

Simple compared to most things here but my mouse wasn’t scrolling down properly. Took it apart and removed a big ball of fluff that was clogging the scroll wheel. Good as new now

Winny_Pooh

Emp_Fab said:

I wonder why they don't use solid core wire (ie not stranded) in guitars?  They would be so much easier to route and solder.

I don't even know if you can get shielded single solid core wire.

I assume because it eventually breaks and you do need to often move pots up and out of a cavity for many guitars. Especially wont work for any Hollowbody.

Kittyfrisk

drofluf said:

Simple compared to most things here but my mouse wasn’t scrolling down properly. Took it apart and removed a big ball of fluff that was clogging the scroll wheel. Good as new now

Mechanical mice 101, keep your rollers & balls clean & fluff free... 

drofluf

Kittyfrisk said:

drofluf said:

Simple compared to most things here but my mouse wasn’t scrolling down properly. Took it apart and removed a big ball of fluff that was clogging the scroll wheel. Good as new now

Mechanical mice 101, keep your rollers & balls clean & fluff free... 

Just back from a very cautious shave then I realised you were still talking about mice. 

sev112

roundthebend said:

Today, however, I have performed a repair which is pretty simple by standards in this thread, but one that has been due for a long time.

My Hercules guitar stand fell apart. The handle which lets you change the height of the next perished somehow and all the plastic became soft and sticky eventually falling to pieces. I decided to remove the remnants of that, which required drilling out a rivet.





Once that was gone, the handle slid off and into the bin. I've never used a rivet gun before but had bought one for another job (which also sits unfinished). So, here was a chance to try it. Fortunately, one of the included rivet sizes looked about right in diameter and length to do the job. I learned that you need to pump the handle a few times to fully expand the rivet and snap it off.





I made sure it was real enough for my bass. The body support piece actually moves up and down but locks in place when you fold it out so it works for guitars too.

Just in time for a gig next week, with a fixed guitar I now have two available so one can be on the stand while I'm using the other. Bingo

I think Hercules replace those stands where the rubber degrades - the have been various threads on that I think

drofluf

sev112 said:

roundthebend said:

Today, however, I have performed a repair which is pretty simple by standards in this thread, but one that has been due for a long time.

My Hercules guitar stand fell apart. The handle which lets you change the height of the next perished somehow and all the plastic became soft and sticky eventually falling to pieces. I decided to remove the remnants of that, which required drilling out a rivet.





Once that was gone, the handle slid off and into the bin. I've never used a rivet gun before but had bought one for another job (which also sits unfinished). So, here was a chance to try it. Fortunately, one of the included rivet sizes looked about right in diameter and length to do the job. I learned that you need to pump the handle a few times to fully expand the rivet and snap it off.





I made sure it was real enough for my bass. The body support piece actually moves up and down but locks in place when you fold it out so it works for guitars too.

Just in time for a gig next week, with a fixed guitar I now have two available so one can be on the stand while I'm using the other. Bingo

I think Hercules replace those stands where the rubber degrades - the have been various threads on that I think

Yes mine was replaced under warranty or goodwill

Corvus

A few pics because easier to show than write, there's more than one way to use a drill press -
My other half bought a Thing that attaches to a knitting machine, not a clue what it's for but it was quite big and a few hundred squid s/h. It had a fault though. We narrowed it down to this little beastie -



Dinky thing with a flat disc head, then a section with two flats. The thread was toast so the thing wobbled about.
No chance buying a replacement or me making one. The dimensions of every bit seem fairly critical to the whole shebang.

So, centre the vice for the drill press, clamp a drill bit - the second one is the same size and there to stop the jaws racking-


Here we go -


Satisfying swarf and got it drilled pretty damn right up the middle of it


Tapped it and JB welded a machine screw in. Chop to length when set, it's been good ever since, scored me a few points there : )

thermionic

Someone asked what they could get me for Christmas and I thought I was going to get myself one of these anyway:

https://i.imgur.com/hgWbqIi.jpeg

It's an iFixit Pro Tech Tool Kit. All the drive bits you need in high quality steel, a very nice driver with a flexible extension, a very useful magnetic tray to prevent tiny screws getting lost under the desk, and a big range of spudgers and blades to prise open modern electronics gadgets. I have a set of Rolson bits and driver but I''ve eaten harder cheeses tbh - this stuff is quality. First job will be to remove the screen of my ancient iMac to see if I can save the machine and put it some use.