Fixing Stiff Machine Heads
This is one of those "tips" I dread giving for fear that those of you with expensive finishes are going to sue me for damages.
So, please don't do this unless you have consulted with the maker of your guitar.
When I have a guitar with stiff machine heads / tuners, I simply spray each one with the smallest squirt of WD40, wiping off the surplus which runs down the neck as soon as I can.
This invariably removes stiffness and squeaks in the metal shaft, cog and worm drive.
(It is possible to have stiffness caused by the cylinders not rotating as smoothly as they should in their pre-drilled sockets in the headstock and this problem is not improved at all by the WD40 method.)
I have never found that WD40 damages the finish on the guitar but I am nervous that it could do and so the warning - please do not follow this tip unless you have satisfied yourself - preferably by asking the manufacturer or luthier - that it is not going to do so.
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So, please don't do this unless you have consulted with the maker of your guitar.
When I have a guitar with stiff machine heads / tuners, I simply spray each one with the smallest squirt of WD40, wiping off the surplus which runs down the neck as soon as I can.
This invariably removes stiffness and squeaks in the metal shaft, cog and worm drive.
(It is possible to have stiffness caused by the cylinders not rotating as smoothly as they should in their pre-drilled sockets in the headstock and this problem is not improved at all by the WD40 method.)
I have never found that WD40 damages the finish on the guitar but I am nervous that it could do and so the warning - please do not follow this tip unless you have satisfied yourself - preferably by asking the manufacturer or luthier - that it is not going to do so.
