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I went into debt to buy a 1930's Rickenbacker Silver Hawaiian lap steel, don't ask how much. It's beautiful! Chrome plated metal body, hollow, shaped like one of the Ricky bakelite steels David Lindley used with Jackson Brown. got that horseshoe magnet pickup that sounds so great. I was on tenterhooks for it to get here from California. It was already missing one of the tuner buttons. The plastic gets old and deteriorates. Considering that i0t's around 90 years old, that's not hard to understand.

 

But when I got it home and tried to tune it, three more of the buttons crumbled like an old cookie. AUUUUGGGGHHHH!!!

 

I did some measuring, and it would appear a set of Kluson 3 on-a-plate tuners would be a direct drop-in replacement. I did look into getting replacement buttons, but the process of installing them looks like a bit much for me, and a bit specific about having the correct tools, which I don't. I will, of course, retain the original tuners against he advent of a need to sell it. But, it looks like I'll have to be patient for a bit longer before I can slide into lap steel heaven on my new electric skateboard...

Always remember that you are unique. Just like everyone else.

 

 

 

 

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Dang it!!! I've seen this happen LOTS of times. It's never fun.

 

I've never done this but a friend who is also a guitar tech will remove the old tuners and saturate the buttons with the super thin crazy glue that Stewart McDonald sells.

Then he wipes off the outsides of the buttons quickly with acetone before the glue dries.

 

I don't like acetone, it will dissolve your brain too. And stuff. Ugh.

 

The Klusons will probably work. I had an old metal Ricky / Electro lap steel body a long time ago. I uesd it to create an abomination in the eyes of the Evil One. There was a nut transducer as well so it would play The Notes That Are Wrong and as a value added feature I crossed the two middle strings so that they would only play stuff that wasn't right. Add a ton of distortion and delay and it was extraordinary.

It took a chunk of my life to get here and I am still not sure where "here" is.
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Congrats on the 30's vintage lap steel Picker! Keep us posted on how the tuner issue gets resolved...Those guitars can be very valuable so I think it would be a good idea to have a pro restoration tech take a look at it. You may have to use new parts and save the old ones. The right tech will have the right tools and know-how to get the job done without causing additional problems/damage. They can at least give you some good advice (many times free of charge as they love seeing the vintage stuff)...Good luck and I hope you get her fired up! :thu:
Take care, Larryz
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Sounds like old Bakelite knobs - that stuff disintegrates.

 

Congrats on the Rick! That's a piece of Guitar history right there! Well worth getting the right replacement parts, and the right person for the job. Good luck!

"Monsters are real, and Ghosts are real too. They live inside us, and sometimes, they win." Stephen King

 

http://www.novparolo.com

 

https://thewinstonpsmithproject.bandcamp.com

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She's very "purty" Picker! I wonder if you ran that serial number by Rickenbacker to see if they might still have that badge and some old parts in a warehouse somewhere? I know it's a long shot but maybe they might respond with some old advertising materials so you can see what they looked like. From the write up, it sounds like its been used in some old studio recordings. Interesting history if you can find out what recordings it was used on. Good luck and have fun! :thu:
Take care, Larryz
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This is my second Rick lap steel. The first one was like a stuident model, I think. It had a mildly trapezoidal plank body, and was splatter painted in kinda tan and pink and yellow. It had the horseshoe pickup, but it was narrower. I mention it because it had similar problems with the tuner buttons. I just had the tuners replaced with a cheapo set. Later on, I found out the vintage value too a big hit because of that. The "vintage" dude who told me about it said I shouldn't have replaced them, I should have just had the buttons replaced. Collectors and vintage dudes are fanatic about everything being original. They even get weird about solder joints on pots, for crying out loud!

Always remember that you are unique. Just like everyone else.

 

 

 

 

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This is my second Rick lap steel. The first one was like a stuident model, I think. It had a mildly trapezoidal plank body, and was splatter painted in kinda tan and pink and yellow. It had the horseshoe pickup, but it was narrower. I mention it because it had similar problems with the tuner buttons. I just had the tuners replaced with a cheapo set. Later on, I found out the vintage value too a big hit because of that. The "vintage" dude who told me about it said I shouldn't have replaced them, I should have just had the buttons replaced. Collectors and vintage dudes are fanatic about everything being original. They even get weird about solder joints on pots, for crying out loud!

 

Yep, you can't change a screw unless you can find another screw that was certified to come off the same exact model from the same year, or they will poop themselves and curl up sobbing in the corner.

And yes, it is the same screw that was used by dozens of other companies to hold toasters or other widgets together, but it still matters.

 

Old Switchcraft jacks must come with provenance, never mind that Ma Bell, the US Military and , well, EVERYBODY used Switchcraft jacks. If it goes in a 1957 Strat, it MUST have come out of one.

 

Old tuners are a sore spot, the plastic rots over time. I once attempted to solder the coil end of a vintage Gibson P-90 back onto the lead wire. It burst into flames, celluloid. Hosed that puppy!!!! :laugh:

It took a chunk of my life to get here and I am still not sure where "here" is.
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Old tuners are a sore spot, the plastic rots over time. I once attempted to solder the coil end of a vintage Gibson P-90 back onto the lead wire. It burst into flames, celluloid. Hosed that puppy!!!! :laugh:

 

Wow, celluloid? I didn't know they used celluloid in early P90s. It must have been REALLY early.

Always remember that you are unique. Just like everyone else.

 

 

 

 

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